Nutritious meals and packed lunches for DD16 who dances all day

[Kbear]

I kind of know what she should be eating and what I should be preparing for her to give her energy to get through the day - but can anyone advise specifically on what sort of meals and things a packed lunch could contain? No nuts allowed (but I'll make allowances for some of you)

I assume calories/fat isn't an issue due to high activity levels? Does it need to be healthy in a 'she's a professional athlete in training' sort of way?

What does she like to eat? At 16, she should be doing some of the thinking, shopping and preparing herself.

Home made pizza with lots of veg on
Tuna pasta salad (tuna, pasta, mayo, spring onions, sweetcorn)
Cous cous, cheese and roast veg
Soup and bread if she can take a flask or reheat - lots of veg/beans/grains in the soup.
Occasional pie/pastie/scotch egg with salad/pickles/cheese

Add fruit, cereal bars, home made cake/flapjacks.

Thanks for the reply - the problem we have really is finding healthy, foods that she can eat between classes - there is no proper hour or half hour lunch break at her college, so there is say fifteen minutes between ballet and jazz classes so I am trying to think of energy giving good stuff that she can have packed that is easy to eat (quiche, pizza, cous cous etc not really going to work). I am googling but any suggestions gratefully received, ta

The basis of every lunch at the moment is a wholewheat bagel with various fillings! Flapjack etc

Have a look at Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Handbook. It's available on Amazon and has lots of ideas for meals and how to calculate nutritional requirements for athletes. From what I recall it includes dancers as they train so intensely.

Brilliant, thanks that's really helpful, I'll have a look at that now.

and in case anyone else is interested it's only £4.99 here

A chunk of Spanish omelette, or some little cubes of it.
Carrot sticks, grapes and some cubes of cheese.
Homemade veggie sausage rolls - you can add mushrooms, peppers etc to give them some vitamins!
Yes to flapjack.

Shouldn't the school have lessons on proper nutrition for dancers?

For the 15 minute breaks between classes it might be as well to provide instant energy with chocolate or a bit of Kendal Mint Cake.

Perhaps a big breakfast with all the slow release nutrients she needs through the day and a big evening meal and top up with the instant energy in the day.

Yes they do hold Healthy Performer classes. She's new, she'll get the hang of it but I was just looking for ideas in the meantime. I'm used to packing lunches for school but was looking for specific ideas of high energy stuff.

Thanks for your replies !

I make mini frittata in a muffin tin - v lightly oil the tin, add fillings of choice (ham, cheese, veg etc), whisk up eggs with a splash of milk pour in and cook in the oven.

How about felafel wraps with stuff like pesto or houmous and rocket or savoury scones or muffins?

There's a book by Zerlina somebody called Nutrition for the Young Dancer with recipies.

It should be protein at every meal, complex carbs & lots of fruit & veg/salad. Low fat & sugar (by low fat I mean fried/saturated fats etc not low fat dairy.

Ds finds that carrying a banana really helps keep her energy levels up. She likes cereal bars but I'm not so sure, most seem very high in sugar to me.

Yes to a real good breakfast especially if it can include protein. Egg on toast, beans on toast, porridge. Avoid too much granola, very high in sugar & add fresh fruits to cereals for the fibre rather than the ones with dried fruit in.

You say nuts srnt aloowed- are seeds?

Tuna or chicken sandwiches, wraps & pittas are good stuffed with salad.

Seeds are ok as far as I know - she's been taking sunflower seeds

Appreciate your advice

Nakd bars are good - not sure if they all contain nuts or not though.

yeah we love them but as far as I know they all contain nuts

They're pretty sweet, but the best no nuts off the shelf bars I know for instant energy are 9 bars. There are plenty that don't have nuts in the recipe (inc the one I linked to), but I don't know if it's a nutfree factory, I'm not that allergic. They're pretty much solid seeds, so definitely good in terms of staying full.