Glycogen is one of them, stored in muscles and liver is a source of energy. The amount of muscle glycogen in children is relatively small, but this increases with age. That’s why the food education when it comes to post-training meals should start with the youngest players. Snacks eaten after the activity help quicker regeneration, replenish the losses of glycogen, lower the level of circulating stress hormones, act anti-inflammatory and therefore help to prepare faster for the next meeting/training. The post-training snack should be eaten up to 30-90 minutes after the activity. It should be a source of easily-released carbohydrates in order to replenish the losses of glycogen.

Post-training snacks which you can take:

• Homemade jelly with yoghurt: frozen fruit, water, agar, honey, natural yoghurt
• Fruit mousses with yoghurt: banana, kiwi, honey, natural yoghurt
• Student mix: dates, cranberries, raisins, walnuts, hazelnuts
• Fruit smoothies based on millet/oatmeal: cooked millet/oatmeal, milk, banana
• Fruit smoothies: natural yoghurt/kephir/buttermilk with a portion of fruit (banana, kiwi, strawberries, peaches)
• Chia pudding: chia seeds, coconut milk/cow milk, honey, vanilla spread, raspberries,
• Millet pudding: millet, milk, raspberries
• Sandwich with cottage cheese/ham/salmon spread, portion of veggies (cucumber, pepper)
• Brown rice cakes with peanut butter
• Homemade cereal cookies
• Cottage cheese with dates/figs

Homemade granola

Ingredients: rolled oats,  (1, ½ glass), walnuts (1/3 glass), pumpkin seeds (1/3 glass) sesame seeds (1/4 glass ), dried cranberry (1/3 glass), dried apricots (1/2 glass), honey (65g),  cinammon (1/4 tsp )

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees. Walnuts, rolled oats, pumpkin and sesame seeds put into a bowl, add honey and mix gently. Move to a baking tray lined with baking paper, spread them out evenly, sprinkle with cinnamon. Toast for 25 minutes, stirring from time to time until all the ingredients get golden colour. Take out of the oven, when they cool off, crumble, add dried fruit and mix well. Serve with natural yoghurt, cow/plant milk.

Banana pancakes

Ingredients: rye flour (1 glass), soda (tsp), sea salt (1/2), banana (1 item), cinammon (1 tsp), baywater (1 glass), milk (1 glass), egg (1 item), honey (1 tbsp),

Preparation:

Combine all the dry products in a medium-size bowl. In a separate dish, mash the banana with fork, add milk, water, egg and honey. Mix all the ingredients. Combine wet and dry  ingredients until smooth. The batter should be liquid. If it’s too dense, add milk. Prepare it on a fat-free frying pan.

Sweet sandwich

Ingredients: wholewheat bread, camembert cheese, dried plums, mango, cress

Preparation:

Slice cheese and dried plums, put it over the sandwich. Add few slices of mango and cress. Cover with another slice of bread.

Post-training snack should be supplemented by a balanced meal eaten at home. It should consist of full-value proteins, carbohydrates with a medium and low glycaemic index and small amount of fats. When preparing yourself for a club match, at least two days prior to the match, eat appropriate amount of carbohydrates for dinner in order to store bigger resources of energy (muscle glycogen). The meals should be based on light pasta with tomato sauce and some full-value proteins.

PSS Dietary Consultant, Erwina Szymczyk