Jamie Meeks has been the Director of Sports Nutrition for the New Orleans Saints since 2015. A Registered Dietitian (RD) and Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD), she works alongside the team’s athletic trainers, strength coaches, and medical staff to develop fueling, hydration, and supplementation strategies designed to support peak performance. Her work ranges from individual nutrition counseling and meal planning to recovery nutrition in the weight room. In a building full of people whose bodies are their livelihood, she’s one of the people making sure the fuel matches the work.
Her path to the Saints ran through Baton Rouge. Meeks earned her bachelor’s degree in Nutritional Sciences/Dietetics from LSU in 2009 and her master’s degree in Kinesiology with a concentration in Exercise Physiology in 2011. She completed her dietetic internship at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. During her undergraduate years, she was captain of the LSU cheerleading squad for three of her four years and was on the sidelines as the Tigers won the 2007 national championship.
After returning to LSU for her master’s degree, Meeks became the first full-time dietitian in LSU Athletics history. She helped build the school’s sports nutrition program from the ground up, including Athletic Fueling Stations, plans for a state-of-the-art athletic dining facility, and an undergraduate sports nutrition internship that gave future dietitians the opportunity to work directly with elite athletes.
In 2015, Meeks returned to her hometown of New Orleans to take the nutrition job with the Saints. More than a decade later, the work she helped pioneer at LSU has grown into a career at the highest level of professional football.
And this past May, her peers recognized that body of work. Meeks received the ASPDA Service Award at the American Sports and Performance Dietitians Association’s 18th Annual Conference, held in New Orleans. The award honors outstanding service and contributions to the sports nutrition profession.
In a city where food carries so much meaning, how does someone responsible for feeding professional athletes think about red beans? So, I asked Jamie Meeks: How Do You Red Bean?
What’s your earliest memory of red beans and rice?
Eating red beans and rice for dinner as a kid, mostly on Mondays, of course! One of the things I remember most is actually the way my dad ate his. He always had slices of Bunny Bread with butter alongside his red beans and a big glass of milk with ice in it. It’s funny how those little details stick with you, but that is immediately what I picture when I think about red beans and rice growing up.
Was red beans and rice a regular thing in your house growing up?
Absolutely. It was a very regular meal in our house. I don’t necessarily associate it with one big special occasion. It’s more about all of those ordinary childhood moments around the dinner table. Looking back, I think that’s actually what makes it special. It was just part of our family and part of growing up in New Orleans.
Do you cook red beans? If so, what has to go in your pot?
Yes! My red beans are probably a little unconventional, but my friends and family always tell me they love them. I start with red beans and the trinity. I add a can of Rotel tomatoes (sounds weird, but it gives it a nice kick), then add in smoked turkey sausage and grilled chicken tenderloins that I chop up and mix in. It may not be the most traditional pot of red beans in New Orleans, but it’s become my version! (And super high in protein haha!)
Who taught you to make it? Is it a family recipe or something you developed later on?
I learned the basics just from watching my mom cook them all those years growing up. But as I got older and started cooking for myself and my own family, I developed my own version. So the foundation definitely comes from home, but I’ve put my own little twist on it over the years.
Red beans and rice means different things to different people: comfort food, community, tradition. What does it mean to you and why?
For me, it means family and staying grounded. It reminds me of being a kid and eating dinner with my family, and now I get to watch my own kids enjoy the same meal. There’s something really special about that full-circle moment.
It also keeps me grounded because red beans and rice isn’t an elaborate or fancy meal. It’s simple, hearty, nourishing food that has been part of New Orleans families for generations. No matter how busy life gets, sitting down to a bowl of red beans and rice feels familiar. It brings me back to my roots.
Is there a person or place you always think about when you smell a pot of red beans simmering?
Definitely my dad. Mostly because I immediately picture the way he ate them! Red beans, Bunny Bread and butter, and that big glass of milk with ice. That combination will always remind me of him.
If you could have a bowl of red beans with anyone, past or present, who would it be and why?
My dad, without question. He loved red beans and rice. He passed away from COVID in 2021, and I miss him dearly. I would love nothing more than to sit at the table with him again and just enjoy a normal Monday dinner together. Sometimes it’s those ordinary moments you end up missing the most.
When you look at a bowl of red beans and rice through your dietitian lens, what do you see? Is it a legitimately great fueling meal, or is there a version you’d tweak for an athlete?
It absolutely can be a great fueling meal for an athlete. You have carbohydrates from the rice and beans to help fuel and replenish muscle glycogen, protein from the beans and whatever meat you include, plus fiber, vitamins, and minerals. It’s actually a really nice example of how traditional comfort food can also be a performance food.
The one consideration would be timing and the individual athlete. Beans are high in fiber, so if an athlete isn’t accustomed to eating a lot of them, I probably wouldn’t introduce a huge bowl right before a game or hard training session. We don’t want to find out during warmups that red beans don’t agree with you! But as part of an athlete’s regular diet, and particularly when there is plenty of digestion time before competition, it can absolutely fit into a performance nutrition plan.
What’s your “performance version” of red beans and rice? If you had to build a bowl for a Saints player the day before a game, what changes?
I really wouldn’t change the heart of the meal. That’s important to me because performance nutrition doesn’t have to mean taking familiar foods away from athletes.
I would use turkey sausage or another leaner sausage instead of a higher-fat smoked sausage, and I’d add a good serving of lean protein, such as grilled chicken, either mixed into the beans or on the side. Then I’d make sure there is plenty of rice for carbohydrates and round out the meal with vegetables or a salad.
The biggest thing is knowing the individual player. The day before a game isn’t the time to experiment with foods their stomach isn’t used to. If they regularly eat red beans and tolerate them well, they can absolutely be part of that pregame fueling plan.
Do red beans and rice ever show up at the Saints training facility?
Absolutely. Every Monday! Red beans and rice are a regular part of Mondays at the facility, and the players love them. I think it’s one of those little ways that New Orleans culture naturally becomes part of the team, even for players who didn’t grow up here.
Are there players or staff who’ve become converts to New Orleans food, especially the red beans, since arriving?
Definitely. I don’t know that I could single out one particular person because the majority of the guys eat them on Mondays. We have players and staff from all over the country, so it’s fun watching people come into the building and get introduced to New Orleans traditions through food. Before long, Monday red beans just become part of their routine too.
Game days in New Orleans have their own food culture. Any food rituals you’ve noticed among players or staff on game day?
It really depends on kickoff time. For a noon game, omelets, pancakes, and filets are some of the most popular choices. With a later kickoff, pasta, rice, chicken, salmon, and filets get hit pretty hard.
Then you have the locker room staples: PB&Js, bananas, applesauce, pretzels, beef jerky, and Rice Krispie Treats. And, of course, there is a huge emphasis on hydration, so there is plenty of water and electrolyte drinks available.
One thing people may not realize is how individualized game-day fueling can be. Some players want a full meal, while others prefer smaller, familiar foods throughout the day. Our job is to make sure they have options that provide the carbohydrates, protein, fluids and electrolytes they need while also being foods they know sit well in their stomach.
Where’s your favorite place anywhere in New Orleans?
I love the downtown and French Quarter area. I have a small obsession with the history of New Orleans, so I could walk those streets forever. I love understanding what happened in a particular building, why a street looks the way it does, or how the French, Spanish, African, Caribbean, and other influences shaped our city.
When you know the history behind what you’re looking at, you realize you’re not just walking past old buildings. You’re walking through hundreds of years of stories. I find that fascinating.
What’s your favorite comfort meal?
Steak and mashed potatoes, hands down. And then mint chocolate chip ice cream afterward. That’s my perfect comfort meal!
What’s something you’re working on or excited about that fans might not know about?
Honestly, I’m working on dominating while somehow balancing this phase of life and motherhood. My husband, Chris, and I have three kids, and life has gotten SO busy between our careers, school, sports, activities, and everything else that comes with raising a family.
On top of that, Chris and I have started a company, which I’m really excited about. We’re building it to make the administrative side of sports nutrition more efficient for team dietitians at the collegiate, professional, and Olympic levels, giving them more time to focus on their athletes.
So between my career, building a company, Chris’s career, and raising three kids, there is a lot going on! But I also realize this is such a special season of life. It’s busy, sometimes chaotic, and definitely exhausting at times, but it’s all worth it. I’m trying to embrace the craziness and enjoy this phase while we’re in it because I know one day I’ll miss it.
Anything else you’d want people to know about what red beans and rice means to New Orleans?
New Orleans people take so much pride in our history and traditions, and I think Monday red beans and rice are a perfect example of that. On the surface, it’s such a simple thing: you eat red beans on Monday… cool. But it’s a tradition that’s been passed through families and generations, and people still genuinely care about keeping it alive.
That’s what I love about New Orleans. Our traditions aren’t just things we talk about from the past. We still live them. It’s in our food, our music, our neighborhoods, our families, and the way we gather together.
Red beans and rice might be a simple meal, but there’s nothing insignificant about it. It’s part of home. And I think that love for our food, our culture, our people, and our traditions is a huge part of what makes New Orleans such a special place.
To stay up-to-date with Jamie Meeks, please follow her online:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamie_meeks/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pro_fitmeeks/
- Nutrition Locker: https://www.instagram.com/nutrition.locker/
Eric Olsson is the food blogger of RedBeansAndEric.com. He publishes new recipes and interviews weekly. He has developed recipes and written articles for the famous Camellia brand in New Orleans, Louisiana. He has been mentioned in Louisiana Cookin‘ magazine and has had recipes featured in Taste of Home magazine – with his Creole Turkey recipe being runner up in their annual Thanksgiving recipe contest. He lives outside of Detroit, Michigan, with his wife and four children.
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