Tag: teen athletes

Be Like Water

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“The river will take whatever goes with it.”

I thought to myself this morning, after a nightmare, and before my daughter’s knee surgery to repair her miniscus and ACL injuries from a recent soccer collision.  

“Be determined,” I tell myself in light of this. 

Then, “be still, let God, be strong, wise, and calm.”

As a last resort, “be like water that doesn’t resist, but accepts what comes and continues on.”  

Predictably, this does the trick. 

I keep thinking at some point all of this will get easier. It does not.

The night before, I read everything there was to read on knee surgery. My sailing friend warned me of the pain she felt when she had a similar surgery done, but it wasn’t mentioned in my pre-op interviews. It was glossed over to say the very least. I’m sure she’s not surprised. How to warn a person of this?

The fires turned our beautiful Moraga neighborhood a dreary grey. Walnut Creek, looked much the same. The surgery proved more complicated than at first appeared, both her interior and exterior miniscus was severely damaged, putting the hope of the simultaneous ACL surgery, and recovery, out of the question. 

As usual we had much support, our neighbor, Dan, was with us for the entire day. Other friends arrived after, at the hospital, and then more at home. Siena’s sweet, and sunny nature attracts so many people, love and support. 

I’m not going to lie, it was pure hell to see her in pain and crying. They had to give her three additional doses of morphine, and a second nerve block, before the pain was under control, and she stopped crying. 

Of course, I was crying too. She couldn’t see me because I was cradling her head in the hospital bed as she screamed. I kept thinking it felt similar to having a baby; the pain, but also the relief that it was over, and she was going to be alright. 

Later, she watched movies with a group of friends in her room. Our home is full of flowers, candy, balloons, and cards. My lovely daughter is asleep now.

The smoke from the Napa fire has mostly cleared, and all is well. I’m sitting peacefully with my dog, as everyone sleeps. 

Grateful.

Love and blessings to all. 

Summer Sports – Kids and Smoothies

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There are moments we think we will never forget as parents, and yet we do, as we move on to the next thing.  I love Facebook, not so much because I can keep in touch with my 20 first cousins scattered across the world, but because it helps to remind me of the best times of my life.  At one point I was not such a manic FB poster, and only shared a few photos per season.  I guess I was a shy poster, but now I think of Facebook as a family photo album and I love looking back at the photos from the past.

Siena
Siena, Summer 2013

The other day I was looking at this photo of Siena after the IM in 2013.  This was the summer she got her gold time.  It was a giant achievement for her as she is not a natural swimmer and it took so much hard work and determination for her to achieve it.

As many of my followers know, Siena is mostly a vegetarian, so making sure she gets enough protein is always a high priority for me as a mother, and especially when she plays multiple sports as she did in 2013.   As a result, I made her blackberry smoothies almost every day.  Blessed to have them growing through our fence in the backyard or easily available at most grocery stores, I would then meet her at the pool with an insulated cup and she could drink her smoothie on her way to soccer.  As per Healthy Eating SF Gate, eating a snack or small meal, such as yogurt, within an hour of a workout functions to replenish your glycogen stores and provide protein for the small muscle tears incurred during an intense workout. Fat-free Greek yogurt contains the most protein, between 17 and 20 grams for a 6- to 7-ounce serving.

At the time I thought it was pretty much child abuse to pick a kid up from a one and half hour swim work out and then drop them off at a 2 hour soccer practice, but honestly, it was what she wanted to do and would still do if she could fit it in this summer.

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Blackberry Smoothie

High Protein Blackberry Smoothie

Ingredients

1 cup fresh blackberries

1/2 banana

6 oz. fat free plain or vanilla greek yogurt

4 ice cubs

1/2 cup lemonade

Preparation:

Add all ingredients and blend.  Make sure you have enough liquid or you can blow up your Bullet (sadly, I learned this the hard way).  You can add a little sugar or low fat milk to get it a little sweeter and creamier.  My kids like theirs tart, so the lemonade works perfectly for them.

Cooking for Teen Athletes

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I shop for food like other women shop for shoes.  It is my passion and the highlight of my day.  I have always been like this.  Even when I was in high school and my mom would send me to the grocery store.  I love food.  And I especially love going to Whole Foods.  I love everything about this place.  It is  my very favorite store in the world and on this occasion I was talking with the sales person that stands in the area where they sell all of the supplements.  I love that there is always someone there to help you with whatever problem you might have.  I was looking for a protein drink for my younger daughter who is mostly a vegetarian.  I was worried about her because she had been doing double soccer work outs.  I always think she looks really thin, but in reality she is a perfect weight for her height and is amazingly strong.  I am her mother and if I want to worry I can.

The sales person said, “It’s different cooking for athletes isn’t it?”  She had noticed that I was also buying a ton of veggies, chicken and yogurt. And yes it is different, but still I think every child should eat really healthy food, but families with athletic kids have the challenge of not always being able to sit down to a normal meal due to varied  practice times.  One child has practice from 5-7 and the other from 7-9.   I also have this sense, as a mother, that kids who practice at a high level for two hours should have a really good meal before and after.

For a while I made a lot of hot sandwiches (think chicken, cheddar cheese and BBQ sauce),  which the girls loved until they didn’t anymore, and then I switched to cold wraps (chicken caesar was popular for a long time).  Before that I frequently made soup and the White Bean soup in my cookbook (Real Food for Real People – Amazon) was a giant hit.  In the summer I make salads and stash them in the fridge and then broil some fish when I get a chance or I make a few pounds of chicken and serve it with salad or with this delicious sauce that is packed with fresh herbs.  It is great on anything (chicken, fish, steak or brown rice).

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Chicken with Argentinian Chimichurri Sauce (click for recipe).

As the girls get more and more competitive athletically I have to work harder to make sure they are getting the proper fuel to help them do their best.  Last summer I asked my younger daughter what she wanted for lunch and she surprisingly said, “I want whatever will make me run faster.”

Nike Cup

Siena Soccer

I love soups for athletes, but they can be tricky.  Kids are not always excited for a bowl of soup.  But some soups are more popular with kids than others and this one is always a winner.  I make it all the time.  The ginger in the soup is a natural anti-inflamitory, so it is good for kids that have injuries or knee problems like my daughter.  This is an update on my classic Italian White Bean soup, but any soup with beans will provide long lasting lean protein for your child.   These soups also freeze amazingly well.  I store them in small containers, so I can defrost a single portion for them to (sadly) take in the car.

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Vegi, Ginger and Sausage Soup (click here for recipe)

I have been experimenting with juicing and it’s an easy way to load the kids (and myself) up with the nutrients found in leafy greens.  Especially, the very iron dense, but kid dreaded, spinach and kale.  The girls really like the sweeter green juices, so I add pear and tangerine.  Apples and carrots are good, but the pear and tangerine are especially delicious.

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By the way, I ended up not buying her a powdered protein drink and went back to food as the proper fuel for a growing athlete.   It takes planning to keep our kids healthy and well fed, but it is so worth it.

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