What's "Healthy Eating"?

We eat for lots of different reasons including taste, smell and appearance. Eating makes us feel good, satisfying hunger and emotion, and food provides a great venue for socializing, especially with the great food at Fresh Tracks Caf??? But what does your body really need?

In addition to the building blocks to construct and repair muscle, food and drink also provide the energy you??l need for a day pounding the slopes at Whitewater. But for best performance making sure that you get the right kind of energy at the right time can make a real difference to how well you keep it together.

Research shows that keeping your blood sugar stable can decrease reaction time by as much as ? of a second, speeding up your reflexes and helping you respond more accurately to an unexpected event (like skiing in tight trees, in poor visibility, or driving on snowy roads).

So what will keep you going the best during a day on the hill?

Eat Breakfast: Try for 2/3 carb and 1/3 protein, with fat content kept to less than 30% for stable blood sugar ( = sharp reactions and fast reflexes), and enough energy to carve, pound and hike till lunch time.

Some good choices are:??1 cup of low fat, no-sugar added Greek yogurt or ? cup of 1% cottage cheese or low-fat milk, mixed with 1 cup fresh or frozen chopped fruit of your choice, and sprinkled with ? cup of low-sugar cereal or cooked oatmeal. Add an extra ? cup of dry skim milk powder for more protein.??1-2 eggs + 1 egg white cooked with ? tsp olive or coconut oil on 2 slices dry whole grain toast plus ? cup (or 1 piece) of fresh or frozen fruit. Scramble the eggs with onions, garlic, peppers and a healthy dash of your favorite spices, and wrap in a whole-wheat tortilla instead of the toast to make a portable breakfast. Add ? cup low fat cottage cheese to the scrambled eggs for a bit of cheesy flavor and a lot more protein!??2 pancakes topped with Greek yogurt and fresh fruit. Make the pancakes with Chia, ground flax, whole-wheat flour and extra egg whites or skim milk powder for more protein. You can cook ??em up ahead of time and just pop them in the toaster to warm.

Check out the next tip for suggestions on cafeteria menu choices to keep you going strong all afternoon.