Delightfully Fueled 2024: Delicious & Nutritional Meals to Fuel Your Workouts!

Fueling peak performance requires more than just hard work—it demands the right nutrition tailored to an individual’s goals and lifestyle. Enter Sarah Alsing, MS, RD, a dynamic Sports and Media Dietitian and the creative force behind Delightfully Fueled. With a passion for simplifying healthy eating, Sarah helps athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and busy professionals fuel their bodies in a way that’s as delicious as it is effective. Through her blog, Sarah shares easy-to-follow meal prep strategies, mouthwatering recipes, and evidence-based tips to support optimal performance, whether on the field, in the gym, or on the go. Her unique approach combines her expertise as a registered dietitian with a deep understanding of the demands of an active lifestyle, making her a trusted ally for anyone looking to perform their best while enjoying every bite. In this Delivery Rank’s interview, Sarah talks about her journey as a dietitian, the inspiration behind Delightfully Fueled, and her favorite strategies for turning meal prep into a fun, nourishing ritual.

You focus on making meal prep both delicious and nutritious. What’s your secret to creating meals that are both enjoyable and effective for fueling athletic performance?

I love watching cooking shows and looking at cookbooks for inspiration for meal prep recipes. I also think of my favorite meals from restaurants. Then, I think about how I can adjust them to be healthier and include the nutrients I need to fuel workouts. I ensure meals have a protein source, a carb source, color from vegetables, and flavor. Fiber is important for digestive health and helps you feel full longer, so I try to use high fiber carb sources or I’ll add extra vegetables to meals.

What we eat should provide the nutrients our bodies need, as well as be enjoyable. I incorporate flavors that I love into my recipes so I’m excited to eat them. Meal prep doesn’t have to be plain, boring chicken and rice. Spices and sauces are the key to making craveable meals.

As someone with a Master’s in Clinical Nutrition, you’ve worked with various populations. What are some key differences in how you approach sports nutrition compared to general nutrition advice?

Sports nutrition and general nutrition start with the same basics to improve overall health. Eating protein, fiber, and healthy fats along with a variety of fruits and vegetables for micronutrients, gives your body the nutrients it needs.

Sports nutrition is focused on fueling for optimal performance. That means eating foods that provide your body with adequate energy for it to perform at its best. Under-fueling can lead to injury. Timing of eating becomes important in performance, whereas general nutrition advice is more lenient and takes a step back to look at your usual eating patterns over the day or week.

To provide energy for workouts, you need to prioritize carbs. Carbs are the quick acting fuel your body prefers and allows you to move at higher intensity. Depending on the length and type of workout, you may need to also fuel during exercise. Afterwards, you need to eat more carbs along with protein to help with muscle recovery. Hydration is also essential. What you eat plays an important role in your body recovering from exercise and being able to go again the next day. For general nutrition, eating foods that are less nutritious usually do not have immediate consequences. For performance, what you eat can affect how you feel for your next workout. 

Balancing work, exercise, and healthy eating can be challenging for many. How do you recommend prioritizing meal prep without sacrificing taste or nutrition, especially for busy athletes?

Taking time to plan my meals for the following week and then using one day to meal prep is a time saver that allows me to fit in work and exercise with healthy eating. After a long day at work, the last thing I want to do is stare at my open refrigerator trying to decide what to make for dinner. Having meals prepped that provide protein and other nutrients that I need is a stress relief.

For those who don’t want to eat the same thing each day, you can add in a second meal prep day mid-week or prep a few proteins, a few carb sources, and a few vegetables that you can mix and match to create different meals to enjoy. Use different sauces and spices to change up the flavors.

CrossFit and running are both demanding activities. How does your diet and meal prep strategy change depending on the type of exercise you’re doing on a given day?

My meal prep strategy stays the same for my meals and I keep healthy snack options available for when I work out more and need extra nutrients. Some of my favorite snacks are Greek yogurt with nuts and fruit, cottage cheese mixed with buffalo sauce to dip with bell peppers and chips, and dates filled with peanut butter.

Since I am currently training for a marathon and still doing CrossFit, my workouts can be long some days. For longer workouts, I make sure I eat enough carbs beforehand to fuel my workout. I also drink plenty of water and electrolytes to prevent cramps and dehydration, which have major negative impacts on performance. Meal prepping ensures I have a healthy breakfast waiting for me after my workout to start the recovery process.

With your expertise in clinical nutrition, how do you address the individual needs of athletes with specific conditions (e.g., autoimmune diseases, gut health issues) when creating meal plans or recipes?

Along with taking into consideration an athlete’s likes and dislikes of foods, I utilize my clinical nutrition expertise to also adjust meal plans based on an athlete’s individual health conditions. When I first meet with athlete’s, we discuss their food preferences and their health concerns. We will talk about which foods and nutrients they need more of and which they need to eat less. The goal is to create a meal plan that fits the needs of the athlete, includes meals they can realistically make, and meals they will enjoy eating. 

To read more about Delightfully Fueled, please visit https://delightfullyfueled.com/