CasaThe TableThe Little TablePracticeThe StoryThe Next ThingLet's TalkSign in
Meal prep after practice

The Practice Table


Chef's food for teens when the whistle blows. One squad, one drop, a plate that actually refills them.

Not the household meal prep, and not the little ones' table


The Little Table stays birthdays, classes, and food for younger children. From Scratch stays the household. This is the team: soccer, track, basketball, whatever they practice after class. School, sport, and food in one order. One adult on the team asks. Vanessa cooks. It lands at one address — the school, or the house that gathers the group.

Seven plates in the book, not seven packages. The package is how many teens and how many practice days. The week rotates the menu so Wednesday is not Monday again.

Seven plates


Jump Bowl

720 kcal · 42g P · 82g C

Grilled chicken, coconut rice, black beans, and pineapple. The refill plate.

Recovery pasta

760 kcal · 38g P · 90g C

Turkey ragu, penne, and a short salad. Carbohydrate for the next day.

Coast plate

680 kcal · 36g P · 78g C

Baked fish, sweet potato, and mango slaw. Lighter, just as serious.

Iron Bowl

740 kcal · 40g P · 70g C

Lean beef, rice, peppers, and avocado. For strength days.

Garden Power

700 kcal · 28g P · 88g C

Chickpeas, quinoa, roasted vegetables, and tahini. Vegetarian. The shake covers the protein.

Early Whistle

650 kcal · 32g P · 72g C

Egg, potato, fruit, and whole-grain bread. For morning practice.

Sideline

620 kcal · 36g P · 74g C

Banana-cacao shake plus a turkey wrap. When dinner is at home and only the refill is missing.

Starting portions for a 14- to 18-year-old after training: about 30–40 g of protein and carbohydrate to refill. Garden Power is short on protein on purpose; the shake completes it. Not a prescription and not a diagnosis.

10, 15, or 20


One delivery per practice day. 3 is Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. 4 is Monday through Thursday. 5 is the school week. The price drops as the squad and the days grow, because the kitchen and the stop stay the same.

AthletesDeliveriesPlates / weekPer plateWeek
10330$22$660
10440$21$840
10550$20$1,000
15345$20$900
15460$19$1,140
15575$18$1,350
20360$18$1,080
20480$17$1,360
205100$16$1,600

The recovery shake adds $6 per plate. Four weeks in a row is the school month, not a yearly contract. Vanessa can change these rates. The rest of the house — chef, events, younger children — stays by private consultation.

Calculate the week


$1,140 per week60 plates · $19/plate · $4,560 / 4 weeks

A kitchen, not a BI board


The macros on these plates are starting estimates. In the studio, the kitchen already checks USDA FoodData Central and barcodes through Open Food Facts. With that, Vanessa adjusts a plate, builds the group's shopping list, and honors the allergies on the file. Tableau is not required, and neither is a new dashboard: the order lands on the desk as a pending week.

Online grocery — Instacart, Kroger, Walmart — needs a merchant contract. Today the assistant calculates the list in grams so Vanessa can shop. When a merchant account exists, it plugs in there. A connection that does not exist is not pretended.