I have a confession to make. When I was out in Napanee last week at the Under-18 National girls hockey championships, I ate way too much. More than I have eaten in a long time. And more junk food than I have had in years.  Come to think of it – the last time I ate like that was probably the last time that I was playing in a tournament like that, as opposed to coaching in it. So how do you avoid being a "junk food junkie" when you are on the road?

I can honestly say that I eat extremely well 90% of the time. I do allow myself the occasional indulgence every once in a while. I absolutely love dark chocolate and have to have my one coffee from my favorite coffee shop every day. Other than that, I am almost perfect. But I wasn’t this past week. The problem is that when you are on the road at a tournament, your routine gets completely thrown off. I usually eat the same thing for breakfast at the same time every day and have a fridge stocked with healthy food at home. The first 3 days I was at the tournament, I managed to behave myself. I brought a bunch of healthy energy bars, a big bag of almonds and half a dozen apples with me, just in case there weren’t any healthy options for me to eat. But by the end of day 3, all of my "good" stuff was gone and I resorted to sitting down to the big meals with the rest of the team. And that’s when everything went downhill. At every team meal, we had a full spread: – cereal, muffins, fruit and yogurt for breakfast – sandwiches, soup, fruit and salads for lunch – hearty home-cooked meals for dinner – with 3 or 4 different dessert options every night. …Not to mention every snack you can possibly imagine (healthy and not-so healthy) at our finger tips 24/7. It’s hard to resist the temptation to eat more than you need to when everyone else around you is piling food on their plates. And it’s even harder to resist when that food is FREE. If you are playing tons of hockey, and doing off-ice training, and you happen to be 16 years old with a super-fast teenage metabolism, having a few cookies for dessert after a big game isn’t going to hurt you. But since all I had been doing was warming-up and cooling-down with the girls, without playing the game in the middle, I really had no business keeping up with them in the eating department. The worst part of it all was how crappy I felt after eating so much food and so much junk. I felt 10 times more tired and more crabby compared to when I eat healthy at home. And the last thing you want to feel at your next big girls hockey tournament is tired and crabby. You need to be enthusiastic and energetic to be ready for the big game – and what you eat plays a huge part in how you will feel and perform out on the ice. The key is to always have healthy options with you on the road (like I did when I started out the week – just don’t run out halfway through the trip). Bring fruit to have before a game so that you aren’t stuck trying to scrounge up something healthy from the rink snackbar. Have a carton of chocolate milk ready once you get off the ice so that you can recover fast and not be starving by the time you get out of the rink. Bring a box of your favorite (and healthiest) morning cereal with you on the trip, or a bag of whole-wheat bagels with peanut butter, so that you aren’t stuck with nothing to eat before your morning game. What healthy options can you bring with you on the road so that you can avoid being a "junk-food junkie"? Share your ideas below.