We all know that a well-balanced diet is important. We have to remember that diet is fuel and young athletes especially need to optimize it not just for performance and recovery but also for growth and development. 

Let’s start with the basics.

A well-balanced diet includes foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean proteins, healthy fats/oils and dairy. Because each food has its own unique properties of vitamins and minerals along with other nutrients like carbohydrates, proteins and fats it is important to have a variety of each. 

To ensure our young athletes are getting a well-balanced diet we recommend using the PLATE method (image below, Harvard 2015). Fill one half of the plate with fruits and vegetables and the other half with whole grains and lean proteins. A well-balanced diet should become standard, so finding different and creative ways to include nutrient dense foods (in both meals and snacks) will create long term habits and allow our young athletes to play their best through all stages of development. 

Here some ideas:

• Include veggies like tomato or cucumber slices in a sandwich
• Include fruit like apple slices or mango chunks as a dessert 
• Include whole grains like oats as part of breakfast
• Include lean protein like lentils as part of a meal 
• Include healthy fats like olive oil to cook veggies in a meal 
• Include dairy like plain yogurt as part of a snack

(Note: if a child has an allergy or food intolerance, consult with a registered dietitian on food alternatives)

Maddison Saalinger, MS, RD, LN 

Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist