FULL NAME: Paul Edward Goldschmidt
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6'3", 225 lbs
BORN: September 10, 1987, in Wilmington, DE
POSITION: First baseman
DRAFT: Drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 49th round of the 2006 MLB Draft and the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 8th round of the 2009 MLB Draft
HIGH SCHOOL: The Woodlands High School (The Woodlands, TX)
COLLEGE: Texas State University (San Marcos, TX)
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION: 6x NL All-Star; 3x Gold Glove Award; 4x NL Silver Slugger Award; 2013 NL Hank Aaron Award; 2013 NL home run leader; 2013 NL RBI leader
My motivation for eating well started after I was drafted. I went to rookie ball and started playing seven days a week compared to the four I had been playing in college. I had a good year, but my body went through a big adjustment once I started playing daily. I was tiring easily and knew I needed to build up my endurance. During the off-season I decided to lose weight. I was drafted at 245 pounds and lost twenty pounds. I started to feel a lot better. Once I got to the big leagues, the training staff promoted the benefits of healthy eating. I felt the difference and performed better on the field. Eating better helped prepare me for the long season and prevent injury.
My eating philosophy is simple: Eat well. I’m not perfect about it, but that’s part of the plan. If I’m too strict with myself, there’ll come a time when I get a huge craving for something that’s not healthy and I’ll cave. It’s good if I crave something and then eat it in a small portion. That helps stop the craving from escalating into a much bigger slip-up.
If I’m going to eat sugar, I prefer that it come from fruit, and I try to eat fruit in the morning along with a couple of eggs. I also try to throw something green in there. Spinach is the easiest thing to add to meals.
Some of my favorite vegetables are broccoli, green beans, butternut squash, and Brussels sprouts. For a snack I often have bell peppers or celery with hummus, instead of chips and salsa. I also like avocados and avocado toast for snacks.
In the off-season we make a lot of juices at home. My favorite fresh juice is made with spinach and kale, ice, and some berries. I make a big container of it.
I try to listen to what my body needs after a game or workout. So in the off-season my biggest meal of the day is lunch, since I work out in the morning. During the season it’s probably either breakfast or a meal after the game, depending on when the game ends.
Dinner during the season includes protein—that’s after a game to replenish energy. If it’s a really long and strenuous game, I’ll include carbs like potatoes or rice, but if it’s a shorter game I stay away from them and eat more green vegetables. During the off-season I love to cook—I have a bunch of cookbooks I follow for recipes. My wife and I are fortunate to be able to buy grass-fed beef. We buy a portion of a cow, and the fish we eat is wild-caught. And I buy organic chicken.
When it comes to food shopping, I read the ingredients list on everything I buy. Grocery stores are awesome now with organic food offerings. If you’re comparing two products at the grocery store and one has twelve ingredients and the other two, the one with two ingredients is going to be better for you. I try to stay away from ingredients with weird names. It’s a very simple approach but it’s an easy way to see which product is better for you.
The best way to get started when you want to eat well is to just keep it simple. Eat more vegetables and less bad stuff. Understand what you put in your body, what you drink and eat, how you breathe, the way you sleep. If you spend more time and even money on the food you eat, you’ll spend less time being sick and at the doctor’s office. But you have to put in the work.
“The best way to get started when you want to eat well is to just keep it simple. Eat more vegetables and less bad stuff. Understand what you put in your body, what you drink and eat, how you breathe, the way you sleep.”
with Spinach Pesto
SERVES: 1 // PREP: 10 minutes // COOK: 5 minutes
Avocado toast is still a fan favorite. As Paul Goldschmidt’s go-to snack, it is even better with a layer of tasty spinach pesto and a sprinkling of pumpkin seeds and hemp hearts. Hemp hearts, or shelled hemp seeds, are a quick and effortless protein source.
2 (½-inch-thick) slices of Big League Bread (this page)
2 tablespoons Spinach Pesto (recipe follows)
1 ripe avocado, cut into chunks
2 lemon wedges
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
1 tablespoon hemp hearts
1. Toast the bread. Spread 1 tablespoon Spinach Pesto on each slice. Divide the avocado chunks between the toast slices.
2. Squeeze a lemon wedge over each slice, season with salt and pepper to taste, and top with the pumpkin and hemp hearts.
SPINACH PESTO
SERVES: 6 // PREP: 5 minutes
4 ounces baby spinach
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon minced garlic
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground pepper
In a food processor, combine all the ingredients except the salt and pepper and pulse until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
SERVES: 2 // PREP: 20 minutes // COOK: 20 minutes
This fresh take on traditional risotto is much easier to whip up. The blended butternut squash creates a creamy texture, and using precooked rice means less time in the kitchen and more time to watch the game.
3 cups peeled, seeded, and diced butternut squash
2½ teaspoons coconut oil, melted
¼ cup chopped yellow onion
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 cups cooked short-grain brown rice (see this page)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Roasted Asparagus (recipe follows)
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Toss 1 cup of the squash with 1 teaspoon of the oil and spread on a sheet pan in a single layer. Roast, stirring once, for about 15 minutes, until golden brown and tender.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, heat the remaining 1½ teaspoons oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining 2 cups butternut squash and 1½ cups water. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until the squash is very tender, about 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
3. Puree the squash mixture in a blender. Scoop the puree back into the saucepan. Fold in the rice, lemon juice, rosemary, and reserved roasted squash and season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer, stirring, for 3 minutes. Divide between 2 bowls and top with the asparagus.
ROASTED ASPARAGUS
SERVES: 2 // PREP: 5 minutes // COOK: 10 minutes
½ pound asparagus, trimmed
1 teaspoon coconut oil, melted
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon grated lemon zest
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Toss the asparagus with the oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread in a single layer on a sheet pan and roast until tender, about 10 minutes, depending on thickness. Sprinkle with the lemon juice and zest.
SERVES: 4 // PREP: 5 minutes
Adding Creole seasonings to chickpea hummus gives it a burst of zesty flavor. This is the ideal snack to accompany your favorite raw veggies.
1½ cups cooked chickpeas (see this page)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon tahini
1 small garlic clove
⅛ teaspoon cayenne
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
¼ teaspoon salt
In a high-powered blender, combine the chickpeas, oil, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, cayenne, oregano, Old Bay, and salt with 1/3 cup water and process until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve with raw veggies, such as carrots, cucumber, celery, and radishes, for dipping.
Spicy Creole Hummus (top); Sweet Potato Hummus, this page (Noah Syndergaard)
with Bitter Greens and Brussels Sprouts
SERVES: 2 // PREP: 30 minutes // COOK: 15 minutes
For steak lovers, this full-flavored meal is insanely delicious. The meat is best cooked medium rare to medium to bring out the deep, rich taste and texture. The lemon and olive oil are more readily absorbed when tossed with the hot vegetables, creating the perfect harmony of flavors. Any remaining juices from the meat can be drizzled over the salad as a warm dressing.
½ teaspoon smoked salt
¼ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
8 ounces grass-fed flat-iron steak (½ to ¾ inch thick)
1½ teaspoons coconut oil
2 cups halved Brussels sprouts
2 cups chopped trimmed dandelion greens
1 cup diced bell pepper
½ teaspoon grated garlic
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
Salt
1. In a small bowl, combine the smoked salt, Old Bay, and pepper. Rub the mixture over both sides of the steak and let rest at room temperature for 10 to 20 minutes.
2. In a medium cast-iron skillet, heat the coconut oil over medium-high heat and begin to sear the steak. Once the meat begins to brown, reduce the heat to medium and continue to sear on both sides until the steak reaches the desired doneness (about 8 minutes total for medium). Let the steak rest for 5 minutes before slicing into two portions.
3. In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring ¾ cup water to a boil. Add the Brussels sprouts, cover, and cook until tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and place the dandelion greens on top of the sprouts. Cover and allow the steam to wilt the greens for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
4. Drain the Brussels sprouts and greens and immediately place in a large bowl. Add the bell pepper, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt to taste. Divide the vegetables between 2 plates and serve with the steak over top.
