A healthy approach to eating during recovery involves an abundance and a variety of foods that offer the body tools to support tissue repair, muscle building, energy replenishment, and immunity. In addition to nutrition, it’s important that dancers focus on mindset—and the ability to stay motivated and confident—during injury recovery.

Just as nutrition is important to a dancer’s fuel plan, eating patterns that support a dancer’s relationship with food can have an incredible impact on performance potential onstage and in the studio. Yet research suggests that dancers are three times more likely to struggle with an eating disorder than the general population. This often involves inflexibility around foods that diet culture deems to be “bad” or “unhealthy,” like processed foods or desserts.

In 2020, Anne Souder made a New Year’s resolution to create less food waste—and it stuck. The Martha Graham Dance Company soloist continues to work toward this goal by finding creative ways to repurpose leftover ingredients.

While the intent behind “What I Eat in a Day” posts is often harmless, the reality is that they can lay the groundwork for a dancer’s struggle with food. Dancers are already more vulnerable to harmful food and body beliefs that risk disordered eating—adding another source for comparison can leave dancers feeling doubtful.

“My partner and I love, love, love sweet potato pie,” says TyNia René Brandon, who uses she/they pronouns. Although the soul food classic is closely associated with holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, for Brandon, who plays Dolores and is a member of the ensemble in Broadway’s Some Like It Hot, it’s timeless.

At its most basic level, a hunger cue is your body’s way of communicating a need for energy replenishment. In other words, it’s time for a meal or snack. For dancers, however, hunger cues can be less straightforward, especially when restrictive eating and/or busy schedules can cause these cues to diminish or go unnoticed.

Lindsey Jones has always loved cooking, and although pesto was in her regular rotation before starting herb school, she now has a deeper understanding of the greens—and raw garlic—involved. “I like using a variety of herbs because you get that huge diversity of nutrients and vitamins,” she says.

The concept of prepping meals in advance can be daunting for busy dancers. Add the unspoken pressures of picture-perfect meals from social feeds and you’ve got a recipe for meal-prep avoidance. But meal prep can be a vital tool for balanced nutrition—even for dancers navigating the busiest of schedules.