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Daily Vitamins

Take 1 Multi-vitamin with minerals (Cheapest Generic version) with 100% RDA. Don't pay more for natural or organic or chewable versions! Drink a glass of water and take it with a meal that has some fat in it (Fat-Soluble vitamins will just pass through your body without some fat!)

Vitamin A comes in 2 forms pre-formed Vitamin A or as a Carotene (Beta or Alpha) Large amounts of pre-formed Vitamin A are TOXIC (over 25,000 IU or 1,000 RE) if taken over a long period of time (One day won't hurt you :-)) Large amounts of Carotene's (Beta & Alpha) are non-toxic. Mega-doses can turn some peoples skin yellow but that is a temporary condition that will stop once you cut back the dosage. If you can afford the more expensive supplement, buy one that has both Beta-carotene (80%), Alpha-carotene (20%) and some xanthophylls and lycopene if possible. If you take the pre-formed vitamin A, then don't take a dose larger then 5,000 IU or 1,000 RE per day. Be sure to COUNT Vitamin A consumed in any food bars, meal replacement drinks and your daily multi-vitamin. Take with Water, Food & some fat.

Under 150 pounds; Take 1 B-Complex 50 with water and food that has some fat in it.

Over 150 pounds; Take 2 B-Complex 50 with water and food that has some fat in it. Take it in 2 separate meals or snacks.

Generic cheap synthetic store-brand Vitamin C is very safe & pure. Do NOT take any other version of Vitamin C. Not worth the extra money and some of them have bad side effects! Take 3 250-milligram pills each day at each meal with a 1 or 2 extra-strength calcium carbonate tablets (See Section on minerals). Vitamin C enhances absorption of calcium for strong bones and the calcium buffers the acid in Vitamin C so it's easier to digest. If you are not currently taking a lot of Vitamin C, work up to this amount of Vitamin C over a couple of weeks to avoid side-effects like stomach upset or the runs.

Vitamin D is toxic in high doses. Don't exceed 1,000 IU per day. Don't forget to count Vitamin D consumed via food bars, meal replacement drinks reduced fat/skim milk products, supplemented soy products and your multi-vitamin. Don't take a supplement! As you get older you can take 2-3 times the RDA 400-600 IU per day.

Take 800 milligrams wet synthetic Vitamin E in a meal that has some fat in it. That's a capsule with a little fat in it (Still take it with a meal that has some more fat!)

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Minerals

Take 1 Multi-vitamin with minerals (Cheapest Generic version) with 100% RDA. Don't pay more for natural or organic or chewable versions! Drink a glass of water and take it with a meal that has some fat in it.

Calcium

Take 6 extra-strength Calcium Carbonate tablets daily. Each extra-strength tablet should have 750 milligrams of Calcium Carbonate that breaks down into 300 milligrams of Calcium and 450 milligrams of Carbon :-) CVS has a very cheap big bottle of 250 extra-strength tablets.

Chew 2 tablets with most meals and make sure you take a Vitamin C with the Calcium tablets.

Calcium Carbonate tablets will be labeled as "antacids" and will probably be in the "First-aid" or stomach medicine section. Don't go for the expensive citracal and other calcium supplements. This is up to 5 times cheaper and just as effective! The Calcium tablets also contain magnesium. Magnesium & Calcium are both needed n your body to build strong bones. Also, Magnesium gives you diarrhea and Calcium makes you constipated so if you mix them together the side effects cancel out J

As noted below under Iron, Don’t take calcium tablets in the same meal as your multi-vitamin plus mineral tablet. It will prevent Iron absorption. For example, Take a multi-vitamin plus minerals with breakfast, then take 2 Calcium tablets with lunch & dinner & then take 2 more Calcium tablets with a snack before you go to bed or during workout.

Spinach can prevent calcium absorption (It contains oxalates!) so don’t eat it every day (occasionally is okay!)

Most soda & diet soda contain massive amounts of phosphoric acid, which can interfere with calcium absorption.

Iron

Iron comes in 2 forms; Heme iron (from meat) and Non-Heme iron (vegetarian) Heme iron is absorbed much better then Non-Heme iron. If you are a vegetarian, then it's important to have some vitamin C in each meal to increase absorption of Non-Heme iron as well as other nutrients.

Don't drink Tea with your meal. It interferes with iron absorption. It's great to drink Tea between meals! Good source of fluoride and some chemicals that help prevent cancer (especially skin cancer). Make sure you let the tea brew for at least 5 minutes to get the full health benefits and sorry...Commercially made Iced Tea doesn't have those health benefits!

Try to have one iron-rich meal that doesn’t include a lot of calcium because calcium prevents iron absorption.

Don't supplement Iron unless you doctor has tested you for anemia. Make SURE your doctor knows that you are in very good shape because elite athlete blood is THINNER then average blood. This means the test for anemia can give a WRONG answer and falsely indicate you have low iron. If your doctor knows you are an elite athlete, then doctor will test you a second time after you have consumed an iron supplement for some period of time. If the blood test doesn't change, then you were never anemic (low on iron)

Dancers lose Iron from having their feet pound the floor (Foot-strike hemotosis). Red blood cells are destroyed as they pass through blood vessels on the soles of your feet and get smashed up. This is especially true for female dancers who have smaller feet/body ratios then men.

Dancers also lose iron from urine swishing around inside your bladder. So try not to do fast jumps and movements on a full bladder and urinate frequently!

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Fat

Fat allows your body to absorb fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K

You should keep Fat consumption between 10-30% of your total calorie consumption. (Each gram Fat = 9 Calories)

You need a small amount of Essential Fatty Acids to create hormones and keep your heart healthy. These are called Omega-6 and Omega-3 (more on this later!)

Chocolate (as in Hot Cocoa or Chocolate Syrup) is probably healthy for you. The Saturates fat (Stearic Acid) in Chocolate does not raise cholesterol and Chocolate is a important antioxidant & can affect your brain chemistry in a positive way (Similar chemical stimulus as falling in love gives your brain!) Not everyone agrees with this but probably true. Note; Chocolate which has Trans-Fatty acids is BAD for you so milky ways, chocolate frosting on cakes etc is not recommended!

Bad Fats

Trans-Fatty Acids - Really clogs up your arteries & bad for recovery from workout It's a very saturated fat which can be called lot's of things; Hydrogenated, Partially Hydrogenated, Fractionated, Partially Fractionated, Shortening, Vegetable Shortening, Lard, Butter. Avoid it as much as possible!

Saturated Fat - Listed on nutrition summary labels as Saturated

Poly-unsaturated Fat - Most vegetable oils other then the ones listed under Mono-saturated below.

Good Fats

Omega-3 Fats - Helps control inflammation, enhance recovery, cramps (muscle & menstrual)

Get 1-3 grams per day of EPA & DHA (Strongest Type of Omega-3 Fats, 1 gram = 1,000 Milligrams)

Fish Oil Capsule 1-3 grams capsule once a day

Or 1 small serving (100 grams or about 1/2 cup) of Fatty Fish 4-5 days per week. Fatty Fish - Tuna, Salmon, Herring, Anchovy, Lake Trout, Mackerel, Dogfish, Sablefish, Lake Whitefish, Bluefish. Note; Only eat fish caught in the wild, Farmed fish has very little Omega-3 fat and Smaller fish have less pollutants then Bigger Fish.

Get 10 grams of LNA per day (Weaker form of Omega-3 Fat, 10x weaker then EPA & DHA)

If Vegetarian, 3 tablespoons of Flaxseed Oil or 3 tablespoons of cooked Flaxseed (*) per day . Walnuts & Green Leafy vegetables are also good sources of Omega-3 fat.

If Fish-eater or taking Fish Oil, then 1 tablespoon of Flaxseed Oil or 2 tablespoons of cooked Flaxseed (*) per day

Omega-6 Fats - Promotes inflammation and cancer if your ratio of Omega-6/3 ratio is higher then 4-1. Eating less Omega-6 is good but you MUST have a small amount of Omega-6 to live! 1-1 ratio is best but very difficult to achieve!

Don't worry about getting enough Omega-6 if you are eating flaxseed (oil or seeds) or fish/fish oil

If you cook or add oil to your food, Use Canola Oil or Walnut Oil, Most other oils and nuts are rich in Omega-6 and have little Omega-3. Olive Oil is good for you BUT it does not have significant amounts of Omega-3 or Omega-6 so you must eat other types of fat in addition to Olive Oil.

Mono-saturated Fats – Olive Oil, High Oleic Sunflower , High Oleic Safflower Oil. Note; Must be Marked as “High Oleic”! Not a significant source of Omega-3 or Omega-6 fat but helpful for heart health, blood pressure etc.

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Carbohydrates & Energy!

o Your body converts food into glycogen (fancy name for a type of sugar). Glycogen fuels your muscles & internal organs.

§ Average 150-pound male has about 1,800 calories of glycogen stored in his muscle & liver. During a hard workout, this is your primary fuel source.

§ If your glycogen level drops too low, you will feel nauseous, dizzy, almost like being seasick! This is because your body is reserving the last bit of glycogen to run your brain & heart and diverting it away from your muscles. Endurance Athletes call this “hitting the wall” or “bonking”. I’m not sure what it’s called in the Ballet World!

§ Your fat stores (and even the leanest ballerina has several pounds of fat) have a lot of calories (3,500 calories per pound) but it is not possible to convert fat into glycogen at a rapid rate!

§ Some Protein is converted into glycogen during a hard workout by both endurance and strength athletes. See my section on protein for the extra amounts of protein needed by dancers!

§ Carbohydrates convert into glycogen quickly, produce fewer waste products and use less water then protein or fat conversion. That’s why a sports drink is recommended during workouts greater then one hour. Drinking sports drink can NOT fully replace the glycogen fuel loss from a hard workout which is why you need to eat a high-carbohydrate diet and eat a nutritious recovery meal IMMEDIATELY following your workout (See section on “Before, During and After Dancing” for the details)

§ Quick burning foods have a HIGH Glycemic Index. These foods are good to consume during and after a workout to keep your glycogen stores high! Typically, These foods are processed foods which little or no fiber and tend to be sweet. “Pure” Protein burns fast as well.

§ Slow burning foods have a LOW Glycemic Index. These foods are good to consume before and after a workout because they will help keep you going longer between meals & snacks. Typically, These foods are unprocessed foods that have a lot of fiber, whole fruits & vegetables and fat.

§ GI (Glycemic Index) of some common Foods,

§ High - Glucose 100, Gatorade 100, Potato baked 85, Corn Flakes 84, Rice Cakes 82, Jelly Beans 80, Shredded wheat 69, White Bread 69

§ Moderate – Bran muffin 60, Bran Chex 58, Orange juice 57, Brown Rice 55, Sweet potato 54, Apple juice 41

§ Low – Apple 36, Pear 36, Skim Milk 32, Lentils 29, Barley 25

§ http://www.glycemicindex.com/

§ Searchable listing of GI index for many different types of foods!

o Do not use a Carbohydrate loading diet. You get the same supply of sugar in your muscles from eating a normal high-carb diet and (very important! see section on timing of meals) eating the right mix of foods immediately after working out and during the workout.

o It’s okay to add some simple carbohydrates to your diet if you are an athlete if you are eating enough vegetables and getting some complex carbs in your diet (beans & whole grains). It’s too hard to digest a bean smoothie during a workout so a sugar drink like Gatorade is helpful and also you might not be able to consume enough calories if your food is too bulky.

o A good meal contains a mix of fast & slow burning foods. For example, A breakfast with oatmeal, soy milk, white bread toast and orange juice has a range of fuels (fast, medium and slow) which keep your energy up right after the meal (fast stuff; protein in soy milk, white bread), energy for a hour or so following the meal (medium stuff orange juice) and longer lasting energy (fat in soy milk, oatmeal) until your next meal/snack.

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Fruits and Vegetables - Five a Day or More!

This section is mostly cribbed from ADA Complete Food and Nutrition Guide pp 96-97

Fruits & Vegetables help heal & prevent damage from hard exercise, lower your chances of getting cancer and your risk of heart disease and many other cool things!

Eat at least one vitamin A-rich choice daily i.e. carrots

Eat at least one vitamin C-rich choice daily. This is important even if you are taking vitamin C tablets because of all the other good stuff in citrus fruits. This will also help you absorb & use more vitamin C!

Eat at least one high fiber choice daily

Eat cruciferous veggies several times a week (Cabbage, Bok Choy, collards, and turnips). Very strong anti-cancer effect and can help pump up your immune system!

Beans count as a vegetable

Try to eat the rainbow (many different colors from white to purple!) . Eat a WIDE variety of fruits and veggies.

Don't eat spinach every day (Interferes with calcium absorption)

Try to get 5 servings of fruits and veggies every day. More is Better!

Fruit Smoothies rock! (Add some tofu or beans or milk to it for a protein kick!)

Misc Supplements

Glucosamine can help reduce pain and help heal damaged bones/muscle. It takes 1-3 months to start working but does have a serious effect. Similar pain relief as an ibuprofen tablet but without the side effects. 500-milligram tablets 2 or 3 times a day with meals.

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Protein

· BOTH Endurance athletes and Strength Athletes need extra Protein. Endurance activities over an hour cause your body to burn both sugar and protein. Strength activities (like fast dance moves, jumps and lifts) require some extra protein to keep your muscles strong!

· Multiply your weight in pounds by 0.9 to get the grams of protein you should be eating.

· If you are a vegetarian, try taking a soy protein drink or powdered Skim Milk or Adding Wheat germ to a glass of milk/soy milk. I like to mix 2 tablespoons of wheat germ/3 tablespoons of soy protein powder to enhance the quality of the soy protein!

· Make sure you are taking a complete protein with each meal and one or two snacks. Complete Proteins = Meat/Milk, Soy foods; Incomplete Proteins = Veggie sources like grains, beans & nuts. Mix a grain with a bean protein source or add some soy or milk to get a complete protein. Nuts will complete protein in grain products.

· Follow the recipes and advice in Nancy Clark's book and the recipe section I have included in this presentation.

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Books & Web Sites

Web Sites

USDA database; Lists nutrients in thousands of foods!

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp

Vegan Recipes & Information

http://www.veganoutreach.org/

FDA information about Dietary Supplements

http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/wh-fraud.html

American Dietetic Association

http://www.eatright.org/

Searchable listing of GI index for many different types of foods

http://www.glycemicindex.com/

BMI Calculator – Only use for Classical Ballerinas. BMI should be 19 or higher AND double-check this number with Artistic Director Dr. Moss!

http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/calc-bmi.htm

Books

Nancy Clark's Sport Nutrition Guidebook 2nd Edition by Nancy Clark

Buy this Book! Buy this Book! Buy this Book! She works with lots of pro athletes and her information is clear and up-to-date! Especially good chapters on eating before, during and after exercise.

The American Dietetic Association's Complete Food & Nutrition Guide by Roberta Larson Duyff, MS,RD,CFCS

A bit conservative and not always accurate when it comes to athletes but a useful book with ideas on how to eat more fruits/veggies, use spices better etc.

The Complete Book of Food Counts by Corinne T. Netzer

Not always convenient to go online to FDA nutrient database. Fast and convenient!

Omega Diet by Artemis P. Simopoulos M.D

Dr. Simopoulos is a former director of NIH and has done extensive research for NATO etc..She is foremost expert on Omega-3/6 fat!

Eat More, Weigh Less by Dean Ornish

Great low-fat recipes and tips.

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Before, During and After Dancing

This section is mostly cribbed from Nancy Clark's book It rocks!

Before Dancing

Drink 2 cups of water 1-2 hours before workout

Rule of Thumb; 3-4 hours heavy meal digestion, 2-3 for small meals, 1 hour for liquid meals/snacks. Food taken less then 1 hour before exercise don't enhance your endurance but do help you feel less hungry during the workout. (FYI, My personal digestive track is much faster then this, I need 2 hours for large meals, 1 hour or less for small meals & snacks. See what works for you!)

During Dancing

Take 0.5 grams of carbohydrates per pound for each hour you workout. Drink 8 ounces (1 cup) of fluid for every 15-20 minutes during long (over 1 hour) workouts.

Don't forget to get a liquid meal with some protein and fat in it if you are doing a multi-hour workout with a break in the middle!

After Dancing

Eat within 15 minutes of stopping the workout. It makes a BIG difference in how much glycogen (sugar) your muscles can store as opposed to waiting 2 hours. Make sure you have some protein and fat in the recovery meal.

Weigh yourself after a Sample workout (Don't need to do this every time) to double-check you are eating/drinking enough. If you have lost weight then you should have consumed 2 cups of fluid for each pound lost.

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A breath mint isn’t food!

· Female Food Stuff

o From “Nutrition and the incidence of stress fractures in ballet dancers” by Nina T. Frusztajer etc.. Am J Clin Nutr 1990;51:779-83

	Classical Ballerina With Stress Fractures (Broken Bones!)	Classical Ballerinas WITH NO Stress Fractures
Age	20.5	20.5
Height Feet & Inches	5”4.8’	5”4.3’
Weight Pounds	108	112
Height Centimeters	164.7	163.4
Weight Kilograms	49.23	50.9
Wt/Ht^2(kg/cm^2)	0.0018(+/-0.00017)	0.0019(+/-0.00013)
Calories per day	1414	1700
Fat grams per day	31	53

§ As this study shows, Ballerinas who NEVER EVER got broken bones fractures are heavier and eat more then the ballerinas who break bones! One of the big differences is that the strong girls ate another 22 grams of fat per day (extra 198 calories or 2/3rds of the total calorie difference)

§ So how much should you weigh?

· The key number is Wt/Ht². This is called BMI or Body Mass Index and there are BMI calculators on the web. Make sure you check your math with the Artistic Director (Dr. Moss!) as it can be a bit tricky. Here is a link to the Center for Disease Control BMI calculator.

o http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/calc-bmi.htm

o Your BMI number should be 19 or higher to keep your bones safe. Again, These CALCULATIONS ONLY APPLY TO Classical Ballerinas and not to men or women who much taller or shorter or have a different body type characteristics such as thicker wrists or stronger upper body musculature.

o 19 = 0.0019 * 10,000. I am just using some math to convert the information in study into standard BMI units!

· You should NOT rely on that number 100%. Check with a registered dietician to come up with a final weight that’s healthy for you!

· Get a FULL Body DEXA scan. This involves a very WEAK x-ray. Don’t worry, One Full-Body DEXA scan uses 1/2000 or less of the radiation involved in a chest x-ray. In other words, you would have to get 2,000 Full-Body DEXA scans to have the same radiation exposure as in 1 chest x-ray! This is the ONLY accurate way to get a bone-density test done on a female dancer. Do not get a Partial DEXA or a bone scan done with other methods (small electrical current run through your body or near-infrared spectrometer do NOT work!)

o From article “STRESS FRACTURES IN BALLET DANCERS[“
Departments of [A]Orthopaedic Surgery and [C]Biostatistics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington By NANCY J. KADEL,[A][B] MD, CAROL C. TEITZ,[A] MD, AND RICHARD A. KRONMAL,[C] PhD

§ Female Dancers who are amenorrheic (No Period) for over 6 months are 93 times more likely to get a stress fracture then a female who has a normal period! Since about ½ of all ballerinas get broken bones each year, You are likely to miss practice and PAID performances if you are too light! And of course, this is just an early sign of osteoporosis. The long-term result is chronic pain, crippled limbs and early death.

§ Birth control pills or any type of female hormone can chemically “hide” your menstrual cycle problems. You still need to be at certain weight to keep your bones strong!

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A breath mint isn’t food!

Male Weight

Consult with your doctor/nutritionist to come up with a good weight for yourself.

This cheap plastic caliper is accurate and did I mention it’s cheap?

1-800-866-2727/ Accumeasure

http://www.accumeasurefitness.com/

You can buy this at Paragon Sports

http://www.paragonsports.com/paragon/

867 Broadway at 18th St New York NY 10003

You should be able to pinch 7 millimeters or more 2 inches to the right of your belly button.

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Recipes, Cooking and Shopping Tips

· Eating Beans & WHOLE grain products together

o Provides a very low calorie source of protein

o Seriously CHEAP! 10-20 cents per serving!

o Convenient if you cook in bulk and freeze

o Of the 10 minerals listed in my nutrition count book, Beans or Grains or both are listed as good source for 9 minerals. (Iodine is the missing nutrient which you get from iodized salt or your multi-vitamin plus minerals if you are vegetarian)

o My numbers are WAY different then what you will see in a cookbook! Why?

§ I cook with less water because I use pressure cooker and I cook for a longer period of time.

§ I “overcook” beans & grains

· This makes beans & grains easier to digest (less gas!)

· Destroys some of the “B” vitamins but that’s okay because you are taking a “B” vitamin supplement and you get some “B” vitamins from vegetables cooked normally.

· I don’t pre-soak beans/grains overnight (less work for me)

· Simple & Easy; I don’t have to look up the chart for cooking time and worry if it is done it. My method works on almost all beans most of the time! It’s a pain to let pressure out of cooker (3 minutes at least) then bring it back up to pressure!

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Recipes, Cooking and Shopping Tips

Beans

For a ¼ cup dry of beans (except for soybeans)

¼ cup dry = 1 cup cooked

70-90 calories

Almost no fat (1-2 grams max)

8-12 grams of protein

3 or 4 grams of Soluble Fiber (Type that reduces your cholesterol)

Counts as a vegetable in your Five-A-Day fruit/vegetable target.

Costs about 10 cents per serving ($1.00 per pound at my Indian supermarket for Kidney Beans & Red lentils, 2.5 cups of beans per pound, so that works out to 10 cents per serving!)

You can add beans to get some fullness & “fat-esque/cream” texture & flavor to dishes i.e. Add ½ cup cooked beans to pasta sauce (puree in a blender) to get a creamier pasta sauce! Can also be used a stuffing or as part of a meat/chicken/fish stew!

To cook beans

Buy a large pressure cooker (8 quart or 8 Liter size) in Bed, Bath & Beyond

Follow the manufacturers instructions

Put 7 cups of beans, 14 cups of water, 1 tablespoon of canola or olive oil (Don’t add anything salty or acidic to mix, Prevents beans from cooking), Close lid according to manufacturers instructions, bring to full pressure, lower the heat a bit, let cook under pressure for 45 minutes to 1 hour, Cool off quickly by placing pot into a sink of cold water and hitting the release valve on top. Follow manufacturer instructions on how to do this! Let the beans cool off for 15 minutes in the cold water

Beans are done when you can crush the bean between your tongue and the roof of your mount (run bean under cold water before you put it into your mouth J)

This will make 14-16 cups of beans. Put one cup of beans into a cheap plastic sandwich bag and freeze it!

It’s a lot of work BUT it is cheap and you only need to do this once every couple of weeks.

To Cook Soybeans,

Only do 5 cups at a time because Soybeans foam up.

Cook for a full hour instead of 45 minutes

Serving size is ½ cup of cooked beans (15 grams of a COMPLETE protein and 9 grams of fat, 200 calories)

RED lentils (only RED or Orange) can cook in 20 minutes in microwave on high. Mix ¼ cup dry with 1 cup of water to cook or you can cook on stovetop by bringing mixture to a boil, then simmering for 20 minutes.

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Recipes, Cooking and Shopping Tips

Grains

Toasted Wheat Germ; 108 calories per ¼ cup, 8 grams of protein, 3 grams of fat. Yum! Add to everything for a protein boost!

Cook & Freeze it just as I suggested for beans.

For a 1/3 cup of dry grains

1/3 cup dry = 1 cup cooked

100-120 calories

Very little fat (2-4 grams)

5-10 grams of protein

3 or 4 grams of Insoluble Fiber (Type that makes you regular & hydrated)

10-20 cents per serving

Whole Rye or Wheat Berries (0.59 cents per pound )

Very tasty & crunchy. Extra-cheap 8 cents per serving

Needs to be pressure cooked a long time; 1 hour

6 cups of berries plus 16 cups of water in pressure cooker

Grains that cook in 20 minutes, ¼ cup dry grain plus 2 cups of water results in 1 cup cooked grain.

White Rice; No fiber and a not a lot of protein per serving (3 grams). Try jasmine or basmati rice because they have very nice smells!

Kasha (Very high quality protein); Tastes a bit like grape-nuts & barely.

Rolled Oats; Use ½ cup instead of ¼ cup of grain per serving.

Quinoa; 20 minutes,. Rinse Quinoa in cold water before you cook it. It contains a natural insecticide that isn’t toxic but does taste bitter unless washed off! Very high quality protein!

Millet; Very nice taste! Something like buttered popcorn without the fat J

Instant Grains

Shredded wheat

Wheat Germ is a great choice. It’s cheap when bought in bulk ($1 per pound, 10 cents per ¼ cup serving which gives you 8 grams of protein!) and increases absorption of soy protein.

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Recipes, Cooking and Shopping Tips

Places to Shop (New York City)

Pacific Supermarket , 75-01 Broadway, Jackson Heights, NY 718-507-1451

Cheap stainless steal thermos and food containers (20 bucks for 1 liter (4.2 cups) food jar)

Soybeans, Rice and Hot sauces etc.

China Town

Soybeans & Hot Sauces

Patel Brothers

Very cheap & good quality beans. Kidney Beans & Lentils are 3 bucks for 4-pound bags.

Good Indian spice mixes for beans

Patel Brothers
3727 74th St
Flushing, NY
Ph:(718) 898 3445

Integral Yoga Health Food Store

Good place for grains; Especially Wheat Germ ($1 per pound), Wheat and Rye Berries (60 cents a pound)

Generic Soy Protein powder. $6 per pound…about 50 cents per serving (20 grams protein/90 calories)

Food on the go

Buy a 0.5-liter stainless steel thermos for storing protein & meal replacement drinks. (See Pacific Supermarket or Bed, Bath and Beyond). Thermos should have a narrow mouth (Keeps things cold better)

Buy a 1-liter stainless steel food jar to hold a meal of say beans & grains or beans & some meat hot. The bean/grain meal will only cost 40 cents plus you can eat it immediately after working out which means your body refuels a LOT better (see section on before/during/after dancing timing!). 1-liter food jar should have a wide mouth (Don’t get the version designed to pour coffee; it’s bigger and won’t hold the heat as well!)

Get a good insulated food bag for holding sandwiches, fruit etc.

Dried Fruit! Fresh Fruit! Transportable and convenient.

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Recipes, Cooking and Shopping Tips

Meal Replacement & Protein Drinks

There are a lot of ways to make these type of drinks. General pattern is

Protein part of drink

Beans & Grains like kidney beans & wheat germ or beans & rye berries

Or some non-fat dry skim milk. Powdered (Dry) skim milk is a little sweeter and adds some fat-like body to your drink!

Or Soymilk or Soy Protein powder. If you use soy, then I try to add a little wheat germ (1 or 2 tablespoons per cup is a good ratio!) because it can increase the amount of soy protein your body absorbs!

Sugar & Flavor Part

Ripe fruit like bananas or strawberries etc

Chocolate Syrup

Sugar

Fat part

1 tablespoon of Canola oil or full-fat soybeans

Don’t forget the fat! Helps your body to absorb nutrients and keeps you from feeling hungry for a longer period of time!

Whir! Whir! Whir! Part

Whir in a blender or processor and add water as needed!

Chocolate Shake

1 ½ cups nonfat dry milk, 1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder, 5 tablespoons superfine sugar, 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder, 1 quart ice cubes, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Dump into a food processor and whir! Whir! Whir! 5-6 times WITHOUT the ice cubes. Add the ice one cube at a time in 5-second intervals. Makes 4 servings, 123 calories, 12 grams protein, and 1 gram of fat.