🥗 Fuel · 4 min read
What to Eat Before a Game
The biggest pre-game mistake isn't eating the wrong thing. It's eating at the wrong time. Food needs time to become energy, so the goal is a real meal about 3 hours before tip-off, then only light top-ups after that.
The 3-hour meal
Build the plate around carbs your player already knows and likes. Game day is never the day to try something new.
- ✓Pasta or rice with grilled chicken
- ✓A turkey sandwich on whole grain bread with fruit
- ✓Burrito bowl: rice, beans, chicken, mild salsa
- ✓Pancakes with eggs for morning games
The 30-to-60-minute top-up
- ✓A banana or applesauce pouch
- ✓Half a granola bar
- ✓A few pretzels and water
Skip these before games
- ✓Anything fried or greasy: it sits in the stomach for hours
- ✓Big portions of dairy right before playing
- ✓Energy drinks, ever: kids don't need caffeine to play
- ✓New foods or restaurant experiments
One more thing: nerves kill appetite. If your player is too anxious to eat a full meal, a smoothie with banana, milk, and peanut butter delivers the same fuel in an easier form.
General information for sports families, not medical or dietary advice. For anything specific to your child, talk to your pediatrician.
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