Panthers dietitian makes sure Cam Newton has shrimp and grits for breakfast

Jul 22, 2016

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Training camp can’t be all that bad for the Carolina Panthers when their day starts with a breakfast menu that includes shrimp and grits and salmon cakes.

They can thank quarterback Cam Newton for that.

And Jennifer Brunelli.

Brunelli is entering her third year as the team dietitian — a position the organization didn’t have before her. Her mission has been to revamp and individualize menus to help each player reach maximum performance, while also fitting the players’ tastes.

Newton was her biggest challenge. Since the beginning of 2013, the NFL MVP has been a pescatarian, a diet that includes fish and other seafood but not the meat of other animals.

So Brunelli began devising, with the help of Newton and the Panthers chefs, a menu that included a variety of ways to put fish on the training table during the season and in training camp.

“He’s great about being variable,’’ Brunelli said of Newton. “One of the things I introduced was doing shrimp and grits for breakfast just to mix it up. We actually made these little salmon cakes for breakfast, so like a play on a crab cake.

“Salmon is very, very high on omega-3 fatty acids, really good when it comes to impact. He really enjoys salmon and shrimp. They tend to be go-tos for him.’’

Other players are jumping on the fish bandwagon after Brunelli explained the benefits of cold-water fatty fish.

Team dietitian Jennifer Brunelli tailors players’ menus with the aim of maximizing athletic performance. David Newton/ESPN.com

“We are an insane team in the sense that I walked in with the expectation of coming up with some of these little hurdles that we have to get over,’’ Brunelli said during a recent Gatorade-sponsored event on the importance of hydration. “…These guys are so open to information on what’s going to be better [for them]. … They’re really looking at the right thing to do. They don’t tend to go after weird things.”

At least nobody has a diet like that of New England Patriots quarterback Tom …

continue reading in source espn.go.com