Canadian skiers are largely funded by the Bank of Mom and Dad. If you aren’t a ski racer or parent of one, you may wonder why it is that parents allow their children to spend hundreds of hours gliding on skis at their expense. Seems silly, almost as crazy as those racing suits they wear. Well XC Ottawa athletes asked their mothers to share their thoughts on having a ski racer in the family. Maybe the advice of these experienced Ski Moms will encourage parents to enroll their kids in a Jackrabbit or Junior racing program.
As the mother of two athletes this is something that one hears very often: what's for dinner? The amount of food that an athlete can consume is incredible and expensive!
I should have realized that something was amiss when at the age of 6 months Tom weighed a very large 30 pounds while his sister who is 16 months older weighed a very light and carefree 17 pounds. From this early beginning, introduction to Nakkertok Ski Club and the three very good male friends of Tom's, eating was something to be taken seriously. Tom has three very good male buddies and when growing up each house had a special purpose; one house was good for watching TV, another for playing hockey and, you guessed it, our house was favoured for eating. Once a blueberry pie, intended for a family dessert was used as the grand prize in a game of badminton much to the horror of the rest of the blueberry starved family.
Getting ready for ski trips was an event. It usually involved making 1 kilo of rolled oats into granola and granola bars. Two batches of granola bars (about 50 bars) were made and from reports were often shared with the rest of the ski team, coaches included. Homemade granola was the staple for breakfast for many years. A race could not be won if granola were not on hand. Banana bread was also an added feature, often an extra loaf taken from the freezer where it had been stored for just this purpose. For Edward and Eamon, two yoghurt containers of homemade chilli made a meal for one night on the ski circuit with Eamon bringing his Mom's homemade spaghetti sauce for the next night. These two gourmets even had ambitious plans to bring an electric wok for cooking a stir-fry meal.
Even now when the pressure for Mom to produce a meal is much less, there is still the last minute request to have guests for dinner or a dish for a potluck. Cooking is more of an adventure when there are athletes sharing it with you.
GRANOLA BARS
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