Written by Amal Ismael, Super Wasfa is the first book of its kind in Egypt and the Arab region. It primarily focuses on nutrition and healthy cooking styles designed for young athletes.

Healthy nutrition plays an important role in athletic performance. It helps in boosting young athletes’ energy on the field as well as sustaining their good health and wellness in general.

The practical guidebook is quite informative for all mothers to understand the basics of feeding their children properly as well as facilitating the preparation of easy and healthy meals in a short span of time.

The book states that it is written to be suitable for all kinds of sports, covering all nutritional basics for young athletes (kids, children, and teenagers).

It explains to mothers, in a simple scientific way, how to select the right ingredients and specifies the recommended daily calories intake for different meal divisions.

In the book’s introduction, Ismael narrates her story about foray into the realm of healthy diets.

She then divides the book into five chapters, with the first one being about dissecting a healthy, balanced meal that the body needs to maintain one’s good health and ensure better performance in trainings.

In brief, it classifies carbohydrates and identifies the different types of proteins, good sources of fats, water, vitamins, and minerals, providing examples along the way.

The second chapter deals with sports nutrition for athletes. It explains the concept of the timing of the meal and how important it is before training, stating that two or three hours before practice is the perfect time for a snack.

It then provides some examples for pre-training snacks such as golden potato fingers, granola cookies, chocolate granola, and ice cream with bananas.

Also, it stresses that nutrition during and after training is necessary, and that athletes should drink enough water throughout the day and not only focus on drinking water during exercise.

She gives different examples for healthy energy drinks, and suitable food items to consume during and after exercising.

Moreover, she explains the estimated calories needed per day and how the rates can vary depending on several factors, including age, sex, height, weight, and the physical level of young athletes.

The third chapter contains 81 healthy, tasty recipes divided into sections, such as pre, mid, and post training snacks; energy drinks; salads; appetizers; side dishes and soups; main dishes; savoury baked items, sandwich fillings; and desserts, in addition to nutrition facts and calorie tables for each recipe.

All the ingredients she discusses are easily found in any household kitchen.

Chapter four, compiles interviews with Egyptian role model champions in different sports, in which they talk about their own experience with healthy nutrition and give some advice for mothers.

Finally, the last chapter focuses on different practical solutions for obesity and over and under weight children.

About the author:

Amal Ismael is quite an accomplished individual, as she is pharmacist, a certified sports nutritionist, and a food blogger. Her passion for cooking began as a young child.

She has a diploma in biotechnology and master’s degree in Pharmacy. She then acquired a certificate to become a sports nutrition specialist from the International Sports Science Association in the US.

She is also currently pursuing a diploma in sports nutrition from the International Olympic Committee that is headquartered in Switzerland. 

Ismael shared with Ahram Online one of her favorite recipes for eating like an athletic champion:

Banana pancake with chocolate sauce:

Yield: six pancakes

Ingredients:

¾ cup of oat flour

½ cup of full cream milk

One big banana (100 gm)

One egg

¼ cup of dates (30 gm)

¼ cup of vanilla extract

Chocolate sauce:

2 tbsp of bee honey

2 tbsp of coconut oil

2 tbsp of raw cacao powder

¼ cup of milk

Method:

Heat a pan over medium heat. Place all the ingredients into the food processor and blend them well until smooth. Apply pancake mix into pan in equal small-sized circles. Cook pancakes until their edges hold together and tiny bubbles appear on the top. Then, flip them over and cook on the other side.

In a bowl, add bee honey, coconut oil, raw cocoa, and milk together. Use an electric mixer or whisk to mix all.

Estimated nutrition facts for pancake (without sauce):

For a serving size of 1 pancake:

Energy: 113 calories

Total carbohydrates: 16.9 gm

Protein: 3.8 gm

Fat: 3.3g

Sodium: 19.8 mg

Potassium: 178.2 mg

Calcium: 41.1 mg

Estimated nutrition facts for one tablespoon of chocolate sauce:

Energy: 73 calories

Total carbohydrates: 6.3 gm

Protein: 0.6 gm

Fat: 5 gm

Sodium: 20.6 mg

Potassium: 38.5 mg

Calcium:11.9 mg