(Originally appeared in the Albany, NY Times Union)
Q: What does a 300-pound linebacker eat?
A: Anything he wants to. . .
Used to be, athletes followed that 800-pound-gorilla style of diet. Steak and potatoes, burgers and fries. But National Football League teams are hiring nutritional consultants to broaden the players’ dietary choices not because it’s trendy, but because eating right gives players more energy on the field.
Tying in to that, the folks who make A.1. Steak Sauce have put out a pack of NFL “Masters of the Grill” recipe cards to encourage people to find a healthier range of foods to put on their grills (and under their steak sauce).
“There’s no question that our players are eating healthier,” says Mike Kensil. As director of operations for the New York Jets, Kensil plans the players’ menu. “And these players eat more fish and chicken than I’ve ever seen in my 17 years with the team.”
He says the scrambled eggs are now scrambled egg whites, and fewer team members are eating bacon. When he orders pizza for the team, he calls for plain and veggie, not sausage and pepperoni.
“They’re eating oatmeal. They’re drinking water, or skim milk. They’re asking me for low-fat dressings, low-fat cheese. They’ve basically cut the grease and fat out of their diet.”
“When you cut the fat, you have to flavor foods in a different way,” adds Heidi Skolnik, sports nutrition consultant to the New York Giants. “But you can use steak sauce, Italian dressings, vegetable broths, lemon - there’s lots of options. Low fat doesn’t need to be low taste.”
So, on one of the A.1. recipe cards we have Kent Hull, offensive lineman for the Buffalo Bills, pictured in chef hat and apron in pseudo-backyard setting. On the flip side, we have a recipe for steak ranchero, lean beef and veggies flavored with a zingy blend of steak sauce, lime juice, salsa and olives.
New York Jets linebacker Jeff Lageman has an even healthier recipe on his card: Greek grilled pizza wedges, featuring whole-wheat pita, black olives and feta cheese.
According to Ann Smith of Nabisco Foods, which makes A.1. Sauce, the company’s test kitchen worked with the players to come up with recipes that reflected their likes and dislikes, the kind of foods they would actually eat.
A few players draw on their roots for their recipes. New England Patriot Eugene Chung offers up one for chicken stir-fry, while Philadelphia Eagle Burt Grossman gives his version of the traditional Philly cheese steak sandwich (one of the few non-grilled recipes).
But there are also more exotic selections, like Tampa Bay Buccaneer Hardy Nickerson’s gazpacho steak roll, or Rickey Jackson’s South of the Border Vegetable Kabobs (spiced to delight a New Orleans Saint even after he’s been traded to the ‘49ers).
Of course, football players still have elements of the 800-pound-gorilla syndrome.
“I went through 40 pounds of pasta with marinara sauce at a pre-game dinner recently,” Kensil says. “And six turkeys.”
“Our players eat between 3,000 and 5,000 calories a day,” says the Giants’ Skolnik. “Some even more than that. And they don’t get fat. They can eat eight or 12 pieces of fruit a day, plus meat, plus vegetables. If you worked out that hard every day you could eat that much and not get fat. It’s the body’s lean mass that burns calories even when they’re not doing anything, they’re more metabolically active.”
That’s one element of Skolnik’s NFL work that has relevance to her general-public clients (she also consults for the Plus 1 Fitness Clinics in Manhattan). She says too many dieters focus on cutting calories, when simply adding more exercise to a sedentary life will allow them to eat the same amount and not gain weight.
In her work with the players, Skolnik says she emphasizes choices and variety, rather than cutting back and limiting.
“But if you’re not getting any exercise, it’s very difficult to get all the nutrients you need, eat the right variety of fruits and vegetables and complex carbohydrates, throw in a sweet for dessert, and not gain weight,” she says.
“When someone is trying to cut back to 1,200 calories a day, compare that to 5,000. Think how much more nutrient-dense every selection has to be. If they become more active they could double the amount of calories they’re taking in.”
Even so, Skolnik doesn’t want her players soaking up those extra calories with extra steak and potatoes. She is introducing the team to more grains, rounding out meals with complex carbohydrates and vegetables. And even football players have to budget their fat intake.
“Even though they can eat more, the fat can add up,” she says. “So you don’t eat both the cheeseburger and the fries today; you have the cheeseburger with a baked potato. And the next day you get the fries, but have them with grilled chicken.”
Of course, some players eat better than others. She notes that center Bart Oates, A.1.’s featured Giants player (recently traded to San Francisco), is a conscientious eater who would certainly enjoy the grilled chicken salad on his card.
“This is a man with 15 percent body fat at 300 pounds,” she says. He’s got a lot of lean mass to absorb those calories even when he’s working in his New Jersey Law firm during the off-season, explains Skolnik.
Among the Jets, Kensil singles out defensive lineman Alfred Ogelsby, who dropped from 300 out-of-shape pounds last winter to his current weight of 282 pounds. “Plus he turned about 20 more of those 282 pounds into muscle,” Kensil adds.
Not everyone has joined in the health-fest.
“I’ve got some players who have been here 12, 15 years,” says Kensil. “(Kicker) Nick Lowrey has been here 15 years, (safety) Ronnie Lotz has been here 14 years. You’re not going to change their style. They’re going to keep eating their bacon.”
But Skolnik says that if she can’t get some of her players to switch from sausage to oatmeal in the morning, she can at least get them to change to Canadian bacon, with its lower fat content.
“They may not stop eating steak and potatoes, but they’ll start adding vegetables and fruit,” she says. “If you add two or three pieces at each meal, plus snacks, then suddenly you’re getting 12 pieces a day. People forget that carbohydrates aren’t just pasta and bread - they’re in the fruits and vegetables, too. Eating a balanced diet with enough fruit and vegetables makes a huge impact on their energy level.”
And she adds that steak has gotten a bad rap: “It’s a great food that is rich in iron, zinc, minerals, protein. The trick is finding the leaner cuts, and eating it a couple of times a week instead of a couple of times a day.
“Another thing - instead of ordering a 24-ounce or 16-ounce steak, get a 10- or 12-ounce steak,” she says. “Or even smaller.
“I grew up eating red meat two to three times a day. The difference is learning how to fit things like red meat into a healthy diet, not restricting yourself but expanding the repertoire so you have a greater range of foods to choose from.”
Here are a few recipes:
GRILLED ANTIPASTO (Keith Jackson, Miami Dolphins)
Two-thirds cup A.1. Steak Sauce
One-fourth cup lemon juice
Two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
One tablespoon dried basil leaves
Two cloves garlic, minced
Sixteen medium scallops (about 2/3 pound)
Sixteen medium shrimp, shelled and deviened (about 2/3 pound)
12 mushrooms
Two ounces thinly sliced roast beef or ham
One medium-sized eggplant
One jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained
One red bell pepper, thinly sliced
Lettuce leaves and lemon wedges for garnish
Soak 12 (10-inch) wooden skewers in water for at least 30 minutes.
In medium bowl, combine steak sauce, lemon juice, olive oil, basil and garlic; set aside.
Thread four scallops onto each of four skewers and four shrimp onto each of four skewers; thread six mushrooms onto each of two skewers. Cut eggplant into 16 strips (two inches by one-half inch).
Cut roast beef or ham into three by one-inch strips; wrap these around eggplant strips and secure with wooden toothpicks. Wrap remaining meat around artichoke hearts; thread onto remaining two skewers. Place skewers, eggplant bundles and pepper slices on baking sheet; brush with steak sauce mixture.
Grill over medium heat for seven to 10 minutes or until seafood is opaque and vegetables are tender, turning and basting several times. Remove each item from grill as it is done; place on a large lettuce-lined serving platter. Garnish with lemon wedges.
GREEK GRILLED PIZZA WEDGES (Jeff Lageman, New York Jets)
One-third cup pizza sauce
One-fourth cup A.1. Steak Sauce
Four (six-inch) pita breads
Two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Four ounces sliced roast beef, coarsely chopped
One-half cup chopped tomato
One-third cup sliced pitted ripe black olives
One-half cup (two ounces) crumbled feta cheese (or three-fourths cup mozzarella cheese)
In small bowl, combine sauces; set aside. Brush both sides of pita bread with oil. Spread sauce mix on one side of each pita; top with meat, tomato, olives and cheese.
Grill prepared pitas, topping-side up, over medium heat for four-five minutes or until topping side is hot and pita is crisp. Cut each pita into four wedges to serve.
HEALTHY GRILLED CHICKEN SALAD (Bart Oates, formerly New York Giants, now San Francisco 49rs)
One-half cup A.1. Steak Sauce
One-half cup prepared Italian salad dressing
One teaspoon dried basil leaves
One pound boneless chicken breast
Six cups mixed salad greens
One-fourth pound snow peas, blanched and halved
One cup sliced mushrooms
One medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
Grated parmesan cheese (optional)
In small bowl, combine steak sauce, dressing and basil. Place chicken in glass dish, coat with one-fourth cup marinade. Cover; chill one hour, turning occasionally. Arrange salad greens, snow peas, mushrooms and pepper slices on 6 individual salad plates; set aside.
In small saucepan, over medium heat, heat remaining marinade mixture; keep warm. Remove chicken from cold marinade. Grill over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until done, turning occasionally. Slice chicken into thin strips; arrange over salad greens and drizzle warm marinade dressing over. Serve immediately; sprinkle with parmesan cheese if desired.
GAZPACHO STEAK ROLL (Hardy Nickerson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
One (two-pound) beef flank steak, butterflied
Two-thirds cup A.1. Steak Sauce
One cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (two ounces)
One-half cup chopped tomato
One-third cup chopped zucchini or cucumber
One-fourth cup chopped green pepper
Two tablespoons sliced green onion
Open butterflied steak like a book on smooth surface and flatten slightly. Spread one-third cup steak sauce over surface. Layer remaining ingredients over sauce. Roll up steak from short edge; secure with wooden toothpicks or tie with string.
Grill steak roll over medium heat for 30-40 minutes or until done, turning and (during the last 10 minutes of cooking) brushing often with remaining steak sauce. When done, remove toothpicks/string and cut round slices to serve.
STEAK RANCHERO (Kent Hull, Buffalo Bills)
Two-thirds cup A.1. Steak Sauce
Two-thirds cup salsa
Two tablespoons lime juice
One (one pound) beef top round steak, about 3/4-inch thick
One-third cup sliced ripe olives
Four cups shredded lettuce
One-third cup sour cream
In small bowl, combine steak sauce, salsa and lime juice. Place steak in glass dish; coat both sides with one-half cup of the salsa marinade. Cover; chill one hour, turning occasionally.
In small saucepan over medium heat, heat remaining salsa mixture. Reserve two tablespoons of olives as garnish; stir remaining olives into sauce. Keep warm. Remove steak from marinade. Grill over medium heat for six minutes each side or until done, turning once.
To serve, arrange lettuce on serving platter. Thinly slice steak across grain; arrange over lettuce. Top with warm sauce and sour cream. Garnish with reserved olive slices.
