Are you the parent of a female teen athlete? It’s quite natural that you would be keen on feeding your daughter healthy, nutritious foods. However, studies reveal a startling finding. According to the data published on Rutgers University’s website, 42% of female athletes suffer from insufficient vitamin D levels. It is more alarming when it comes to calcium, as 90% of them fall short of the required levels. However, there is absolutely no need to be concerned.
7 Recipes For Female Teen Athletes
In the below section, we take you through the top 7 recipes for female teen athletes. It is the perfect combination of balanced meals that include protein, carbs, color, and healthy fats. For all seven days in a week, we have come up with a different menu for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.
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Day 1
For breakfast, prepare scrambled eggs with spinach, whole-grain toast, and mixed berries. Cook grilled chicken breast, and quinoa salad with cucumber, feta almonds, and
bell peppers for lunch. For dinner, it can be baked salmon with lemon-dill sauce, steamed broccoli, and brown rice. When it comes to snacks, you can provide a trail mix with nuts, seeds, low-fat Greek yogurt, dried fruits, hummus, and veggies.
Day 2
Let the breakfast start with Greek yogurt with honey, whole-grain granola, and sliced bananas. For lunch, prepare a turkey and avocado whole-grain wrap and carrot sticks with hummus. Sliced apples can be served as a side.
The dinner menu consists of beef stir-fry with mixed vegetables and brown rice. For snacks, you can serve Greek yogurt with berries, carrots with hummus, cottage cheese, and peaches.
Day 3
For breakfast, prepare a peanut butter and banana smoothie with oats and whole-grain toast. When it comes to lunch, include lentil soup, whole-grain rolls, and sliced pineapple. For dinner, serve grilled shrimp skewers and quinoa salad (cherry tomatoes, black beans, and corn can be included in the salad). For snacks, serve apple slices with almond butter, whole grain crackers and cheese sticks, hardboiled eggs, and grapes.
Day 4
Start the day with a breakfast menu of burritos with scrambled eggs, salsa, black beans, avocado, cheese, and a side of mixed berries. For lunch, include grilled chicken skewers, wild rice, and sliced bell peppers with hummus.
When it comes to the dinner menu, serve shrimp and orzo salad with tomato, feta cheese, and arugula. You can also include snacks such as fig bars and string cheese, trail mix, and bananas with nut butter.
Day 5
For breakfast, prepare whole-grain pancakes with fresh berries and low-fat milk. The meal for lunch would be marinated tempeh with mixed greens, feta, pepita chickpeas, vinaigrette dressing, and whole-grain pita wedges.
Serve grilled chicken thighs with barbecue glaze, sweet potato wedges, and sautéed green beans for dinner. Include pretzels with hummus, a hardboiled egg, sliced apples, applesauce, and string cheese for snacks.
Day 6
Serve oatmeal with sliced bananas, high-protein milk, chopped nuts, and orange juice for breakfast. For lunch, prepare a veggie wrap with hummus, bell peppers, avocado, cucumbers, and spinach in a whole-grain tortilla and sliced mango.
Baked cod with a citrus-herb marinade and quinoa pilaf with a mixed leafy green salad can be served for dinner. As snacks, you can include roasted chickpeas, string cheese, cottage cheese, pineapple, and whole-grain crackers.
Day 7
For breakfast, prepare scrambled tofu with diced tomatoes, spinach, and whole-grain toast. Include dishes such as chickpea and vegetable curry, brown rice, and pineapple chunks for lunch. For the dinner menu, include beef and broccoli stir-fry and steamed jasmine rice. Also, serve snacks such as trail mix (nuts, seeds, dried fruits) or a banana.
Read More: How Many Calories Should A Teenager Eat A Day? Teenager’s Nutritional Needs Explored!
Conclusion
I hope you are all excited to try out the seven recipes for female teen athletes. As discussed earlier, the 7-day menu is designed keeping in mind the nutritional requirements of young athletes. Fruits, vegetables, and grains are rich sources of carbs and meat; nuts and eggs provide the necessary protein; and leafy green vegetables contribute to the necessary iron.
Last but not least, experts recommend female teen athletes stay away from anabolic steroids as they can lead to serious side effects such as mental health problems, including depression and mood swings, and facial hair growth.