It's nearly turkey time! But first, make way for the last-minute grocery-store shuffle. If you haven't completed your shopping yet, you'll want to me sure these Thanksgiving staples are on your list. Not only are they tasty, but they're great for dancers!
Brussels sprouts: Whether they're cooked in a cast-iron pan or shaved and tossed into a salad, it seems like Brussels sprouts are the latest buzz-worthy vegetable. Just one-half cup provides 81 percent of your daily vitamin C and more than your daily dose of vitamin K. (Got a nasty blister from pointework? Vitamin K helps with clotting.) Plus, Brussels sprouts are a good source of dietary fiber.
Sweet potatoes: This vegetable is a vitamin A superstar. One medium sweet potato has more than four times the amount you need daily. Vitamin A helps make and maintain healthy skin, bones and soft tissue and promotes good eyesight. Basically, your dancing body couldn't do its job without it!
Cranberries: With all the savory foods on the Thanksgiving spread, you'll be grateful for this tart-tasting berry to balance things out. Cranberries may prevent urinary tract infections, and they offer several other health benefits. They're a good source of vitamin C, are packed with antioxidants that may lower your risk of certain cancers and have been linked with better oral health.
Dig in!
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Although New York City Ballet dancer Emilie Gerrity is eating her breakfast alone, she's proactive about making healthy choices. Could her fluffy roommate be holding her accountable? Photo by Jim Lafferty for Pointe.
It's 9 pm, and you're just getting home from rehearsal. Exhausted, you grab a meal from the freezer. You know it's not the healthiest choice, but hey, it's quick. In just three minutes, dinner will be served.
It's an easy trap to fall into, especially if you live alone. That's the focus of a recent paper published in the journal Nutrition Reviews. Researchers in Australia analyzed 41 existing studies to examine any links between one's nutrition and living solo. The findings pointed to more than one negative correlation: Those who live by themselves tend to eat a less diverse selection of foods overall, and they had a lower consumption of certain types of foods, such as fruits, vegetables and fish.
What's behind the dented diets? Researchers pinpointed several reasons. When you eat by yourself, you may be more likely to prepare something simple (therefore passing up key nutrients you need as a dancer) and you're also less likely to consider portion control. The rising cost of groceries, especially in urban dance hubs, often prompts shoppers to opt for cheaper, less nutrient-dense foods over expensive, but healthier, items like fish and fresh produce.
Even if you don't live alone, you may still fall prey to this trap when eating by yourself. So what's a dancer to do? For starters, check out "The Cost of Fuel," which outlines practical shopping tips for dancers on a budget—everything from where to shop to what to buy, and how to save and when to splurge. If you do have roommates or live with family, try to make shared mealtime a priority as often as you can. In this case, a little peer pressure can't hurt, since you're more likely to make healthier choices when others are around. If you're on your own, invite a friend over to try out some new recipes. Bon appetite!
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Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company member Shayla-Vie Jenkins gets creative in the kitchen with veggies. Photo by Kyle Froman for Dance Magazine.
Eating a balanced diet is key to getting the nutrients you need to fuel your dancing body. But here's something you may not have considered: Is there enough healthy food to go around? The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that we eat 2.5 to 3 cups of vegetables daily, but according to research released by the group last week, there's only 1.7 cups per person available.
And as of 2013, nearly half of what's available is potatoes and tomatoes, and lettuce takes third place. Man—and when I say "man" I mean "dancer"—cannot subsist on potatoes, tomatoes and lettuce alone. Aside from scouting your regular grocery's produce section, what can you do to make sure you're getting the variety you need?
- Head to your local farmers' market and stock up. Depending on where you live, many seasonal markets are open into October and November. Buy large amounts of produce, eat what you need and freeze the rest. Blanching—boiling and then submerging vegetables in an ice water bath—before freezing them will help lock in the freshness and nutrients for later. I promise you, it only takes a few minutes. And farmers' markets typically offer the most in-season veggies!
- Gather a group of friends and go pumpkin picking. Yes, it's nostalgic (I shamelessly go every year), but pumpkins are packed with goodness, like vitamin A, which helps with eye health; a high ratio of fiber to calories per cup, to keep you feeling full; and more potassium in one cup than a banana.
- Grow your own veggies. City dwellers, you don't need to have a green thumb or a backyard to dabble in gardening. Windowsill and fire-escape plots count, too, and are particularly good for beans, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers and scallions.
- And if the kid inside of you still hates broccoli or isn't keen on certain veggies, kick things up a notch and add spices to create more flavor. Experiment with roasting, grilling and steaming for slight differences in taste, too.
