The ultimate matchday meals

Ensure you’re properly fuelled for the big kick-off with the ideal breakfast, lunch and dinner

Porridge with apricots and honey

The slow release carbs in the porridge and apricots will ensure you cover every blade of grass on the pitch. Serve with a glass of apple juice; rich in antioxidants and fast release sugars, it will give you a short, sharp burst of energy early in the morning. This breakfast is particularly useful if you have a lunchtime kick-off.

Beetroot, chicken and potato salad

As your pre-match meal, it’s probably the most important meal of the week. And it won’t let you down: with energy boosting carbohydrates from the potatoes, you’ll be running well into injury-time while the nitric oxide in the beetroot will help feed oxygen into your muscles, helping stave off cramp in the latter stages of a match.

Chilli con carne

What better way to recover (and reward yourself) after the first match of the season than with a hearty bowl of chilli. Bursting with spices such as cumin, cayenne pepper and cinnamon, chilli will crank up your metabolic rate while kidney beans and low-fat mince will fill your aching muscles with the protein you need to recover from your earlier efforts on the pitch. A fitting end to a good day.

Also see:
Post-match pomegranate anyone?
Power-packed football sarnies
Treats to cheat yourself fit
Get the babies on board
Spice up the water
Bite-sized get up and go
Eat for energy and intensity
Eat for the off-season