Fuel Your Panda Game: Nutrition Tips

With Panda this Saturday, you’ve surely begun planning for the big day! While it’s important pick out an Instagram-worthy red and black outfit, ensuring you’re properly fueled to keep the party going is also an essential thing. Luckily, I’m here to help you check that off the to-do list! When we think about planning when it comes to drinking or partying, we often think about eating throughout the day and staying hydrated. While those are both great tips, you may be surprised to learn that the foods you choose, and the timing of your meals is just as important.

When it comes to the night before, aim to eat rich proteins such as lean chicken as protein-rich foods help to keep you full and prevent crashes later by stabilizing your blood pressure to prevent shakiness. With your chicken, consider pairing a complex carbohydrate like sweet potatoes as these break down more slowly than simpler carbs (think bread or pasta) to help your body breakdown the alcohol you’ll be consuming. Finish this meal off with some asparagus, the amino acids found in asparagus have been found to help your body metabolize alcohol and remove the toxins more quickly from your system which helps to buffer some of the damaging side effects of alcohol use.

While pancakes and pre- are a classic way to start the morning, consider switching up your pancake recipe this year! Try ours below, it has some simple tweaks that will do more for you than your average pancake!

Banana Oat Blender Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 2 ¼ cups rolled oats
• 1 cup milk (dairy, vanilla, cashew, coconut – your choice!)
• 2 large, ripe bananas
• 1 tbsp honey or pure maple
• 1 large egg
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• Butter (for cooking the pancakes)

Place all the ingredients in the blender (excluding the butter) and blend on high until the oats have broken down, a couple of minutes should do! Heat a large pan over medium heat and melt a teaspoon or so of butter. Once the butter has melted and the pan is hot, scoop ¼ cup of batter on to the pan. Cook 2-3 minutes per side or until golden. Want to spice it up? Top with fruit, nut butters and/or chocolate chips!

Not only are these pancakes delicious but they’re packed with extra fibre and nutrients to help your body handle a day of partying. Using oats in place of classic fibre helps to keep you full longer as oats are more fibre-rich and protein-packed (and as a plus, they promote less bloating!). Including eggs in your batter helps to increase your cysteine levels, a special amino acid found in eggs that help to breakdown the toxins within alcohol. Banana pancakes are the best kind of pancakes (or at least we think so!) and come with the plus of introducing a little extra potassium to your diet. Potassium levels deplete with urination and as alcohol makes you have to use the washroom more, you’re more likely to experience potassium deficiency as well as its nasty side effects of muscle cramps and spasms!

Foods to Avoid

With my recommendations of what you should eat before the game, there are also a couple of food-items I highly recommend avoiding! Any spicy foods, excessive caffeine or carbonation are worth saving for another day – when paired with alcohol they induce gastrointestinal issues including heartburn, belching and indigestion which is no fun! Salty foods can cause fluid retention which makes you swell and can cause uncomfortable bloating. Lastly, avoid any heavily processed, refined or bleached foods such as chips, cookies and fast food. While these options can seem appealing while drinking, they are high in artificial sugars which digest very quickly in the body making them poor fuel but also cause dramatic fluctuations in blood sugars increasing nausea and some of the not-so-nice side effects of alcohol use. My tip? Meal prep! When you’re making your dinner the night before, double your portions so you just need to reheat when you get home – it’s both easy and healthy!

Not planning on drinking for Panda? Don’t let that keep you from enjoying the benefits of my meal recommendations! Even if you’re not consuming alcohol, it’s important to fuel yourself as regardless it’s a busy, exciting, and hopefully hot day!

And lastly, remember to hydrate! Water will be available for purchase at the event and keep yourself hydrated in the days leading up to give you the leg up!

Note from the Editor: For more party safe tips, be sure to check out our latest Pro Tip.