Scott Clarke/ESPN Images(NEW YORK) — Four-time Olympic gold medalist and Basketball Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie was one of the most recognizable figures in the sport across two decades. Since her playing days, she has enjoyed a successful modeling career, earned an MBA, and is an author. She has also continued her involvement in sports, working as a commentator.
Leslie spoke exclusively with ABC News, talking about another one of her passions: eating healthy. She cooks for herself and her kids, and discussed the ways she fuels her family on a daily basis.
She offered some tips for parents on how they too can get build a healthy diet for their kids and maintain that same lifestyle for themselves:
1. “It’s all about balance”
Leslie says it is “all about balance,” and mostly, that applies to how parents balance their time. Leslie starts her days at 5:30 in the morning, packing lunches and putting together bagged snacks, such as cucumbers or carrots, to fuel her and her kids throughout the day.
On the days she is not prepared, she says she “doesn’t make the best choices” when it comes to food.
Leslie also encourages eating protein-filled packaged snacks, such as packaged meat strips from Lorissa’s Kitchen.
2. Put your kids in a position to make the healthy choice
Leslie does not only prepare nutritious meals for her children, but teaches them how to make healthy choices for themselves, showing them how to read the labels on food when they go to the grocery store.
Her advice: “If you choose something that’s packaged, look on the back and figure it out: how much sugar is actually inside of that.”
3. You can have the occasional sweet treat…. sometimes
If her daughter and son are invited to a birthday party or family function, Leslie has no problem letting them have a piece of cake or a cookie. She has young kids, and knows on occasion, or maybe on a few occasions, they desire a sweet treat or two.
However, Leslie says as a parent, she is responsible for “managing the sugar intake that our children are getting and also the nutrients.”
She will not provide her children with juices, sodas, or foods with added sugar, and suggests hydrating kids with water, milk, or coconut water.
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