It’s 7 o’clock in the morning, you are on your way to a tournament game, and you haven’t eaten anything yet. You’ve got 2 options – eat nothing or go through the drive-thru. Even though most drive-thrus are nutritional wastelands, you are still much better off grabbing something than eating nothing at all. So what’s the best choice you can make that will give you the energy you need to perform your best?

Pre-game hockey nutrition isn’t really that complicated.

You need complex carbohydrates – which you are getting from the whole grain bagel in this case – in order to keep your energy levels high throughout the game.

Getting in some fat and protein – either from peanut butter or some lean turkey breast slices – will help you feel full and recover more quickly once your game is done.

Getting your pre-game meal at the drive-thru isn’t something you should be doing everyday, but there are going to be times that it is your only option.

Ideally, I always tried to eat the exact meal before every game: a bowl of oatmeal, a banana and a couple of hard-boiled eggs. Not only is it a balanced meal from a nutritional perspective, but I really enjoyed it (in fact, I would even eat this breakfast in the late afternoon before a night game).

But when you are away at a tournament or running late, this type of home-cooked meal just isn’t realistic.

What do you eat for your pre-game meal? Do you try to eat the same thing every time like me or do you just have whatever you feel like on that day? Does it give you the energy you need to play your best on the ice or are you fading off in the third period?

Share what you are eating as your pre-game meal in the comment box below and I will let you know whether you are on track. Keep in mind that I am not a nutritionist – but I will be more than happy to ask the Total Female Hockey nutritionist experts, Cathy and Rita, to help me out with this one.

Post your pre-game meals below!