My Dance nutrition.....

As a ballet teacher, dancer and someone who does alot of running and swimming, it's really important that I get decent nutrition into my body. And nutrition interests me greatly, so I wanted to share with you a typical daily menu for me! You'll be pleased to know, it's not all saintly!

In the morning I usually start off the day with an early morning gym or swimming session, so when I get back I get a protein packed breakfast in. Usually 2 eggs whisked into an omelet with ham and low fat cheese (my favourite is Cathedral City Lighter - still tastes like cheese even though its low-fat). This breakfast contains not only protein, but vitamins A, B, D, E and many more from the eggs, essential fatty acids, calcium from the cheese and more B vitamins and minerals from the ham.

Now about 10:30am I get a bit peckish, and I usually try to be good and have some dried cranberries and nuts - cashews, almonds and brazil Nuts. These are all full of essential fatty acids (the good fats!), vitamins and fibre which are all good for healthy hearts, bones, nails, skin and hair. The dried cranberries are full of vitamin C and natural sugars. 

Recently I've had a spree of making my own home made soups - minestrone, Parsnip, Butternut squash, Tomato and pepper, vegetable etc. They're great for filling you up and are packed with yet more vitamins! If it's home made, you know exactly what has gone in there are you know there's no nasty preservatives. But if you haven't got time to make your own soup -try the Skinny Soup Company for some tasty flavours. I then tend to have some rye bread to go with this as a good source of complex carbs to keep hunger at bay for a few more hours. 

Now...like every other woman I have to confess that come about 4pm, there's that lull in the day where I need a little pick me up. I try to be good and have a yoghurt or a low-sugar cereal bar most of the time. But fairly often a KitKat sneaks into my handbag and I'll have my little indulgence then!

My dinners usually consist of chicken and vegetables in various forms - stir fry, marinated chicken with veg, sweet and sour chicken etc, or lean mince in the form of chilli or Spaghetti bolognaise (always with whole-grain pasta for those complex carbs). It's important dinner contains protein and carbohydrates to keep you full and your body topped up with good things for the repairing it will be doing over night after all that teaching and dancing!

All in all, I try to have a good balance with plenty of protein, calcium, essential fats and complex carbs. Then of course, there's the odd treat in the form of some chocolate, or a bag of sweets because no one can be good all of the time!