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Stock Your Pantry (& Freezer)

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Cute stocked vintage pantry. 

They say the worst possible time to grocery shop is on an empty stomach because the choices you make are going to appease your body’s worst cravings.

And I say the worst time to prepare a meal is when you are both hungry and have an empty fridge.

That’s when cookies and cheese for dinner start to sound mighty good.

But neither cookies nor cheese will replenish your body after a long day of dancing. Better to have a plan for those days when grocery shopping is out of the question and you need a quick, nutritious meal.

The solution is to keep your pantry stocked with non-perishable items that you can put together in a pinch to make a tasty, healthy meal. I am going to add freezer items to this list because, like the pantry, freezer items are just there whenever you need them. They don’t go bad and don’t require any care.

So here are some pantry and freezer staples and how you can use them.

  1. Canned tuna packed in olive oil
  2. Canned organic beans
  3. Vinegar (I like red wine, balsamic, and rice wine)
  4. Oils (I like olive oil, toasted sesame seed, and peanut)
  5. Lemon juice (See Shortcuts below)
  6. Whole grains (i.e. cracked freekeh, mixed wild rice, steel cut oats)
  7. Frozen peas
  8. Frozen leafy greens (i.e. spinach or kale)

Preparation Tips

Whole grains take a while to cook, so I like to do them in the morning while I’m getting ready or throw them in to cook while I’m eating dinner – then they’re ready for the next day.

For example, as soon as you get up, put a medium pot of water on the stovetop on high heat. As soon as it’s boiling, toss 1-2 cups of grain it in, lower heat, and set a timer. By the time you’ve showered and gotten dressed, they’ll be ready to drain and stick in a Tupperware for later. Or do the same while preparing your dinner. Once you have grains stored in your fridge or freezer, it takes no time to heat them up and add to the meals below.

Meal ideas

These meal ideas are quick and easy. They are not fancy and not for every night, but they work great as backup. You definitely want a backup plan for dinner so you don’t skip it or eat something useless.

  • Tuna tossed with warm peas: add lemon juice and olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste.
  • Beans and kale/spinach: heat frozen greens; drain; add to drained beans (cooked or not); toss with your choice of dressing. Try peanut oil and tahini or toasted sesame oil and rice wine vinegar.
  • Tuna mixed with capers and kalamata olives, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper; eat over a bed of steamed greens.
  • Beans and grains. This is one of my go-tos. Doesn’t get any faster or simpler than opening a can of beans and tossing with pre-made grains. Jazz it up with grated cheese, if you have any or a nice oil and vinegar combo.

Shortcuts

In an ideal world, we wouldn’t take any shortcuts, but in the real world of evening exhaustion and nutritional need, shortcuts are sometimes necessary. So go ahead and buy the lemon and lime juices in the little plastic containers. (I like the Sicilia brand.) These keep forever in your fridge whereas real lemons and limes rot.

Also, I am a huge fan of ordering some foods online so that I can keep them in stock and not have to schlep them home. I order my tuna online here. For those of you who live far from a good grocery store (or don’t have time to shop), Bob’s Red Mill is a great place to get your grains online. Get a bunch so you never have to worry about running out.

And…get stocked! And then tell me about it. 🙂

 

Food Basics for Dancers & Parents

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A lot of dancers and parents of dancers come to me for help with food and eating. Among the many questions I get are these:

  • What food, exactly, should I be eating?
  • How much of that should I be eating?
  • Are carbs really bad for me?
  • What kind of fat is “good” fat?
  • How many calories is “too many”?
  • What should my BMI be?
  • Can I ever eat dessert if I want to be a dancer?

Today, I want to focus on the “what” of a dancer’s diet. I use diet in the very relaxed meaning of “foods you eat.” For example, I eat a vegetarian diet or my diet is pretty clean. I don’t use it in a restrictive sense like, I’m on a diet.

So, what you should be eating is whole foods: food in its most natural state.

Obvious examples are fruits and vegetables as you find them in the grocery store or farmer’s market: uncut, uncooked, unseasoned, raw, and as they come out of the ground or from the tree or stalk.

The same goes for animal products: you want fresh, organic (when possible) cuts of meat and fish. Try to buy eggs from grass-fed hens, and dairy that is organic or at least hormone-free.

It gets trickier when we look at grains because so many are refined. Aim for rice in its natural state (not white, but wild, basmati, brown, long grain) and oats that are slow-cook or steel-cut. Oats and rice that are “quick cook” or microwaveable have been refined; whole grains take a while to cook. (But they’re worth it nutritionally as well as taste-wise!)

Now, once you go about cooking the above food, you will, of course, season and alter it to fit your needs and tastes. But in your kitchen,  your whole foods won’t be subjected to any refining processes that will harm them (or you).

Each meal should have (roughly)

  • 50-60% complex carbohydrates: vegetables, leafy greens, whole grains, fruits, etc. Complex carbohydrates are carbs in their natural state.
  • 25-30% protein: beans, legumes, fish, meat, eggs, cottage cheese, etc.
  • 15-25% healthy fats: from foods like avocado, salmon, sardines, nuts and seeds, and olive oil, walnut oil, avocado oil.

Carbs: Simple & Complex

The carbs that people try to eliminate are simple carbs. Simple carbs are carbs that have been refined or altered. Anything with a sugar base – like soda and candy – as well as anything with a flour base – like cakes, breads, croissants, muffins, bagels, crackers- contain simple carbs.

Simple carbs are processed much faster in the body and generally deliver less nutrition than complex carbs. Simply stated, they are “empty calories”- calories that don’t provide your body with the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients your dancing body craves.

Your Plate

Use the above percentages as a guide when looking at your plate: you should have all three of these macronutrients at every meal, and roughly in these quantities. I recommend getting that much into your routine first. Then, after you’ve got it down, start mixing up your choices so that over the course of a week, you have a nice variety of foods. (i.e. Don’t always make chicken your protein or brown rice your grain – vary it.)

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Questions about your particular diet or way of eating? Think you’d like to learn more about how dancers should be eating? Please set up a Discovery Session with me to talk about where we can start!

Tomato and Green Bean Salad

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This simple salad is a delicious summer treat, when tomatoes and green beans are fresh and aplenty. Also, when it comes to salads, many of us are stuck on lettuce, which, despite all of its wonderful qualities, can get boring after awhile.

It’s also light and travels well, which is good for in between rehearsals and classes.

In this recipe, quickly blanched green beans take the place of lettuce, and are paired with sweet red tomatoes (cherry, grape, beefsteak or heirloom all work).

Recipe

  • To blanch the beans, drop them into a pot with two inches of boiling water. Leave them until they just turn bright green. Remove from water and drain. Beans should be cooked but still snappy and bright.
  • Chop tomatoes. Use a variety that you like.
  • Toss green beans with finely chopped shallot, fresh basil, olive oil, and lemon juice to taste. (Note: lemon juice will discolor the green beans when stored, so only use as much as you are going to eat. Or, substitute vinegar for the lemon juice.)
  • Grind black pepper over the top and salt to taste.

This salad is even better the second day when it’s had a chance to marinate.

Variations

Once you’ve got this recipe down, you can try some variations on the produce just to make it more interesting. Farmers have been cultivating older varieties of both tomatoes and string beans of late, so you can now find them in interesting colors that can really enliven the look of your meal. Give them a try!

  • Cherry, yellow, orange, or heirloom tomatoes
  • Yellow or purple string beans
  • Shaved parmigiano cheese, small mozzarella balls, or crumbled feta cheese

And of course, it’s good for you! Tomatoes (a fruit) and green beans (a vegetable) are whole foods- unaltered and natural- full of vitamins and minerals your body needs.

Devour with joy!