A new way to display the Black and Gold?
Some years ago the then-editor for Behind the Steel Curtain asked me to write a sponsored post on game day food using the sponsor’s product (at least some of it.) If I recall correctly it was an expensive form of alcohol—brandy or some such. I was the only female writer at the time and said editor was slightly abashed at asking me. I didn’t mind, but I do occasionally feel women’s brains are underutilized in sports journalism.
However, I’m actually interested in food, and I like to cook, so I feel no shame in throwing in an occasional food-related post. Today’s post is not, however, a recipe compendium but some suggested foods you might wish to include in today’s consumption—at least if, like me, you are very nervous about tonight’s game.
Mind you, I get nervous about every game. This one is particularly bad, though, because of all the reasons (and more) I enumerated in the opponent preview. In addition, we have to wait all day to watch it. Fortunately I am now in Colorado Springs, so the game actually begins at 6:30. But it’s still going to be a very long day.
The first information I found as I searched was a list of foods to avoid when you are dealing with stress and anxiety. You all are not going to like this list, as I’m guessing it contains pretty much every component of your regular game-day routine. But I’m not here to make you happy but to make you better. Here they are:
- Alcholic beverages
- High-glycemic carbohydrates (stuff made with white sugar, white flour, and so on…)
- Fried foods
If you haven’t stopped reading already, here are some foods that will help:
- Blueberries, bananas, apples, other berries
- Almonds, Cashews, Walnuts, and Brazil nuts
- Avocados
- Grass-fed beef, turkey, chicken
- Garlic
- High-fiber carbs—whole grains, beans, etc.
- Dark Chocolate
- Seaweed (you can get some seriously delicious crunchy nori snacks at Costco, for example)
- Chamomile tea, green tea
This isn’t so bad after all. You could make a big bowl of guacamole with garlic, cilantro, and some chopped tomatoes and serve it with hippie chips—some sort of whole-grain tortilla chips. (I like the Food Should Taste Good brand with flax seeds and so on.) Bean dip would be good, too, either instead of or along with the guac.
Some sort of protein dish—maybe flank steak barbecued and cut against the grain—would be a delicious way to get some serotonin. A big fruit salad featuring lots of berries would be very good, and colorful, and you could finish with no-bake cookies made with whole flaked oats, nuts, chopped dark chocolate, almond butter (rather than peanut butter), and just enough honey to make them lush.
In fact, this all sounds so good that if you will excuse me, I’m heading for the kitchen. Oh, and Go Steelers!