The Scoop met with freshman Drury softball player, Dakota Hale, to show us how to make her favorite carb-load dinner she’d share with her teammates since it “sits in your stomach long enough so you don’t wake up hungry.”
As an athlete, it’s important to stay energized throughout practice, games, traveling, school, and often irregular hours of sleep. Diet is obviously a crucial factor for giving your body the nutrients it needs to stay active and endure long periods of physical exertion. “A carb-load is something you do the night before a game, or usually 8-10 hours before a game,” Dakota said, “It kind of gives your body that energy it needs to stay awake and doesn’t weigh you down.”
Step 1: Gather utensils and ingredients
Items needed:
- Large stove pot (for noodles)
- Smaller stove pot (for sauce)
- Tongs
- Spoon
Ingredients needed:
- Whole milk
- Parmesan cheese
- Mozzarella cheese
- Minced garlic
- Salt
- Flour
- Butter
- Noodles!
Step 2: Cook the noodles
In the large pot, place the raw noodles, and fill with just enough water to submerge them. Turn the stove on high and bring water to a boil. Stir noodles occasionally to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pan. “In order to tell whenever they’re done, I just taste one to make sure it’s tender,” she says.
Step 3: Begin combining ingredients for sauce
While the noodles are cooking, begin making the sauce. In the small pot, over medium heat, combine the first seven ingredients. “I don’t use specific measurements when I make the sauce. I typically add to taste,” she revealed, “But, For about every cup of milk, I would add a cup and a half of cheese, and a tablespoon of flour.”
Step 4: Continue stirring and adding ingredients as necessary
Now’s the time to slap on your chef hat and start multitasking. Once the noodles are done, reduce heat to low so the water ceases to boil. Add butter to the noodles if preferred. Continue stirring the sauce. “The consistency must be thick and creamy when finished.”
Step 5: Pour sauce over noodles
Step 6: Stir and enjoy
A little bit about the chef
“I started softball my freshman year of high school in Nixa, Missouri. Then I started travel ball summers from there. So, I played about four years of softball, and then Drury gave me a scholarship and I continued my career there.”
