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Snack

Banana + handful of almonds

45 to 60 minutes before warm-ups. Not 10 minutes before, the almonds need the time.

Servings
1
Total
1 min
Skill
Easy

What you need

Ingredients

Making for

1 serving

  • Bananas1 each
  • Raw almonds0.25 cup

Quantities scale linearly with servings. Round to the nearest practical amount when shopping.

Steps

  1. 1

    Measure the almonds once, then reuse the container

    A quarter cup of almonds is about 20 nuts and roughly 200 calories, which is more than most people picture when they say a handful. Fill one small container to the line once and use that same container every time so the portion stops being a guess.

  2. 2

    Pick the banana by its spots

    A banana with a few brown freckles is the one you want before a session. Riper means more of the starch has turned to sugar, so it digests faster and tastes sweeter. Save the green-tipped ones for tomorrow.

  3. 3

    Split them if the session is soon

    Inside 30 minutes, eat the banana and skip the almonds. Carbohydrate alone leaves the stomach fastest. Keep the almonds for the ride home, where the fat and protein are actually useful.

Coach's notes

  • Cramp claims about bananas are overstated. Exercise cramps track with fatigue, heat, and fluid and sodium losses rather than with potassium, and a banana has nowhere near enough potassium to change that. Eat it because it is fast, portable carbohydrate a kid will actually eat.
  • Raw or dry-roasted, unsalted or lightly salted, all fine. On a hot day a little salt is not a problem.
  • Sun butter or pumpkin seeds swap in one for one at a nut-free field.
  • Bananas bruise into mush in a soccer bag. Send it in a hard container or accept what comes back.