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What UNC feeds its football players in the Bill Belichick era

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Not all college football players are excited to eat their vegetables. But Bill Belichick’s staff at North Carolina has found ways to make sure their players are.

Through a precise food science that requires chopping vegetables into “micro” pieces, or even sneaking extra grains and vitamins into the batter used to fry chicken, the staff is taking every liberty to gain a competitive advantage in the lunch room. UNC’s nutrition, hydration and training strategy has become more critical than ever as the team looks to make a second-year jump, as each player has a specific strategy curated to them and their biology.

The strategy even includes a contingency plan, when the team is on the road, sometimes in locations where access to anything but fast food is limited. Public records show the team spent $129,644.38 at vendors that classify as fast food or fast casual during the 2025 season, but head nutritionist Amber Rinestine-Ressa claimed there was a scientific method behind those transactions.

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UNC football head chef Josh Grimes was the New England Patriots executive chef under Belichick from 2018-24. When they came to UNC last year, they recalibrated the nutrition strategy, an NFL-style approach, and Belichick says it is aligned with the fundamental purposes of Tom Brady’s approach to nutrition.

“In New England, we had a lot of components and certainly some of Tom’s things were important,” Belichick told Fox News Digital.

“In the NFL we trained a lot of players who were significantly older than our players are here, and so some of the things that Tom did have more application than players who are older. But still fundamentally, good nutrition, good hydrations, pliability in the muscle tissues and so forth are are fundamentally good things that Tom worked with and that we embrace as well.”

For UNC and its players, the strategy may also have NFL Draft implications.

“When you look at an NFL performance. Everything’s important and everything that leads to your performance is important. So preparation training nutrition hydration, technique, fundamentals, it all adds up,” Belichick said of whether he previously looked at a college player’s diet and nutrition program when scouting them for the NFL.

Director of nutrition Amber Rhinestine-Ressa and Grimes aim to make food that players actually want to eat in order to keep them eating in the team cafeteria, and not out. To do that, they prioritize flavor, and work in the nutrition from there.

“If they’re not going to change for me, I have to change my approach for each one of them,” Rhinestine-Ressa said.

“We don’t live in a perfect world, and to create buy-in, I have to have a little leniency… 80% of our diet, we are eating great food for us.”

Of the remaining 20%: “Would we rather eat brown rice or a piece of bread? Well, brown rice might have more fiber, but how does our whole day look? Okay then, maybe we could eat this piece of bread.”

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She admitted that some players have harder times eating their vegetables than others.

“Some of these kids come in and they see a whole green bean, and not a canned green bean, and they’re not receptive to it,” she said. “A lot of guys come in here and they have a very small box.”

Once they work what kind of food the players want to eat, then come the “sneak” plays to make it as healthy as possible.

“Anywhere we can manipulate an ingredient to where it tastes good, but they don’t know, we do,” Grimes said.

The kitchen micro-dices vegetables into barely-noticeable pieces, and mixes that into several dishes, along with quinoa, to bolster the vitamin value.

The nutrition team even has a way of manipulating batter for deep-frying things like chicken, Grimes said through a combination of whole wheat flower and Avocado oil.

“We kind of use the fried stuff as more strategic, kind of morale. Like, we try to keep them happy,” the chef said.

Grimes said he gave the players a suggestion box when building the menu, and the number one-selected suggested dish that came back was Oxtail. Thus, Oxtail has become a recurring favorite in the team cafe, and a critical play by the staff.

Famed Kansas City Chiefs former head dietitian Leslie Bonci employed similar strategies when curating food to keep the Chiefs healthy through the start of the Patrick Mahomes era and their first two Super Bowls in the last decade.

“Hide the health. Start with familiar and then amplify the nutrition for the intuition in the kitchen,” Bonci told Fox News Digital in response to UNC’s strategies.

The university credit card statements for Rinestine-Ressa, during the 2025 season and training camp (Jul. 1 to Dec. 4), were been obtained by Fox News Digital via a public records request. 

Of the $129,644.38 that was spent on fast food or fast casual, the team spent the most money at was Al’s Burger Shack, at $15,803.

“Al’s Burgers, they use 90-10 meat with me,” Rinestine-Ressa said, adding they often purchased the burger place for post-game meals last season, for up to 260 people. “So I can influence what they use because we’re buying it in such quantity.”

Chick Fil-A was second at $13,092.03.

“Chick Fil-A is only ever done when we’re about to get on a plane, because it’s heavy, they’re about to go on a plane, they’re about to sleep, and we have no activity for the rest of that day. So I don’t really care that much.”

Jersey Mike’s was third at $12,613.51 and Mission BBQ was fourth at $12,598.52. Other big spends on the statements were made at popular national chains like Zaxby’s, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Dave’s Hot Chicken, CAVA and Panera Bread.

Still, there were zero transactions for American fast food staples McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King, KFC, or Taco Bell. That is where Rinestine-Ressa draws the line.

“Hell no, those are hard no’s, because I can’t manipulate those, I can manipulate every other place,” she said.

As UNC looks to improve on its 4-8 record from 2025, it will lean on the creativity and discipline of its chefs and nutritionists to make sure the players are fueled to do their jobs.

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Las Vegas foodie earns Guinness World Record after eating at 28 top restaurants in 24-hour sprint

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April 18, 2026

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A Las Vegas wine connoisseur achieved a jaw-dropping dining feat in New York City by visiting 28 of the world’s top-rated, award-winning restaurants in just 24 hours.

Joshua Fyksen, a sommelier at Peter Luger Steak House at Caesars Palace, earned a Guinness World Record for visiting the most Michelin-starred restaurants in a single day after completing the ambitious food tour across the Big Apple last May.

“I’ve always loved great food and fine dining,” he told Fox News Digital.

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Guinness World Records announced the feat last month. Fyksen set the record with 22 restaurants in 2023 and later lost the title to a duo who completed it in Hong Kong in 2024.

Fyksen set out to do it again last year — mapping out dozens of restaurants across New York City.

Fyksen initially planned to visit up to 30 restaurants.

But some last-minute setbacks — including one restaurant closure just the day before and Le Bernardin being closed for lunch — reduced his final total to 28.

“I left my credit card at Le Pavillon, the sixth stop,” he added. “It added more than half an hour that was tough to make up.”

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Decked out in a suit with a body camera and a GPS tracker, he began the marathon at 3 p.m. at Oxomoco in Brooklyn.

He started off with a tuna tostada, and finished with a single oyster at his final stop, Gramercy Tavern — completing the record just minutes before the 24-hour mark.

Also among his stops were Tuome, Le Pavillon, Café Boulud, Eleven Madison Park and Casa Mono.

Per Guinness World Record rules, Fyksen had to finish every dish he was served. 

He tried to order the smallest, fastest food at each stop, but that was not always possible — such as at Semma, a Southern Indian restaurant in Greenwich Village.

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“The dish that was recommended from the server ended up being a potato-filled sosa that was huge. It was bigger than my head and the plate it was served on … It was the largest dish of the record and at 8 minutes 20 seconds, it was the dish that took the longest to eat.”

Despite the pace, Fyksen said the experience wasn’t rushed.

“I savored it. I enjoyed all of it. I wouldn’t do this if I wasn’t able to enjoy it,” he said in an interview on the “Kennedy Saves the World” podcast.

The 24-hour culinary sprint came with a price tag of $1,451.34, including nearly $1,000 spent on food and hundreds of dollars more on transportation, according to Guinness World Records.

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Some of the standout dishes included a scallop dumpling with English peas and foie gras at Tuome; a Jonah crab dish paired with apple, grapefruit and wasabi at Le Pavillon; and the tortellini pomodoro at Torrisi, Fyksen said.

One of the biggest challenges for him was securing reservations at some of the most sought-after hot spots.

Fyksen said he relied on calendar alerts to book reservations the moment they became available and even contacted certain restaurants directly to request accommodations.

Michelin-starred restaurants are judged anonymously and reevaluated each year, adding to the prestige and pressure of earning and maintaining a star.

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But for Fyksen, the passion goes beyond breaking a record, he told Fox News Digital.

“I plan most of my vacations around restaurants,” he said. 

Long before the record, he and his wife, Angela, tried tasting menus and visited Manhattan’s Le Bernardin, Per Se and Eleven Madison Park all in the same day.

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“One of my favorite dining memories was, in the middle of our honeymoon a few years back, I surprised my wife with a one-day trip to Copenhagen just to eat at Noma the morning after a perfect dinner at Restaurant le Meurice by Alain Ducasse in Paris,” Fyksen recalled.

His wife helped document his latest Big Apple feat. One restaurant she wanted to visit most was The Corner Store, a buzzy, celebrity-frequented hot spot — notably not Michelin-starred or part of her husband’s carefully planned route.

So when the challenge was complete, instead of detoxing or napping — the couple headed to SoHo.

“With that restaurant being one of the hardest reservations in the city, I had to have someone hold a spot in line so that we could walk in for dinner at 5 p.m. And we did, and had a great time,” he said.

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While the accomplishment may sound like a dream for some foodies, Fyksen suggested it’s not something he plans to repeat.

“I don’t think I want to do it again,” he said.

But he does want to hold the record for a while, he admitted.

“I know eventually someone will beat it,” Fyksen said. 

“I just hope I made it a little harder for them.”

He added, “I know they’ll have fun. And I hope they’ll take some time to enjoy it and appreciate the great chefs and restaurants that work so hard to achieve the Michelin Stars. I know I did.”

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Bill Maher calls Eric Swalwell a ‘f—ing creep,’ says he ‘never liked’ the disgraced Democrat

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April 18, 2026

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Comedian Bill Maher blasted former Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., as a “f—ing creep” in a “Real Time” takedown on Friday, pointing to previous encounters with the disgraced Democrat that raised red flags.

“I’ve got to say, we had him on a couple of times. Ask my staff, I never liked him…” Maher said.

“I’ve always thought this guy was a f—ing creep. I never liked him and, yet, so many Democrats stood by him, and now that we’re finding out that it was such an open secret.”

Maher highlighted a slew of other “open secrets” involving figures in the past who faced similar allegations, including former film producer Harvey Weinstein, former comedian Bill Cosby, former U.S. Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, and former President Bill Clinton.

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“I hear this so many times … it was an open secret…” he said, adding later, “What is going on here, where it takes so long for the open secret to [come out]?”

He proceeded to call out Republicans for appearing to claim moral superiority on the issue despite misconduct accusations having been made against lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

In the process, Maher cited E. Jean Carroll, who made accusations against President Donald Trump.

CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATS ADMIT THEY HEARD RUMORS ABOUT SWALWELL’S ALLEGED SEXUAL MISCONDUCT

Maher’s comments come as Swalwell battles a number of sexual misconduct and harassment allegations from five different women who recently came forward to recount their experiences.

Following the allegations, Swalwell suspended his campaign for California governor and resigned from his position in Congress.

While he has denied the allegations of misconduct, he has admitted to making mistakes in the past.

ANGER SWELLS AS SWALWELL’S ‘OPEN SECRET’ WITH WOMEN WENT UNREPORTED FOR YEARS

“I am deeply sorry to my family, staff, and constituents for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past,” Swalwell said in a statement announcing his resignation.

“I will fight the serious, false allegations made against me. However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make.”

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating the multiple allegations against Swalwell, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to Fox News Digital.

District attorneys for both Los Angeles and New York have also launched their own respective investigations.

Legal representation for Swalwell did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Fox News’ Brittany Miller and Adam Pack contributed to this report.

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Pope Leo says remarks about world being ‘ravaged by a ​handful of tyrants’ were not aimed at Trump: report

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April 18, 2026

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Pope Leo XIV said Saturday that remarks he made this week in which he said the “world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants” were not directed at President Donald Trump, a report said. 

The pope, speaking onboard a flight to Angola during his 10-day Africa tour, said reporting about his comments “has not been ‌accurate in all its aspects” and his speech “was ⁠prepared two weeks ago, well before the president ever commented on myself and on the message of peace that I am promoting,” according to Reuters.

The news outlet cited the pope as saying his comments were not aimed at Trump.

“As it happens, it was looked at as if I was trying to debate the president, which is not in ​my interest at all,” the pope reportedly said.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment. 

Trump last Sunday accused Pope Leo XIV of being “terrible” on foreign policy as the pontiff has criticized the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

“He talks about ‘fear’ of the Trump Administration, but doesn’t mention the FEAR that the Catholic Church, and all other Christian Organizations, had during COVID when they were arresting priests, ministers, and everybody else, for holding Church Services, even when going outside, and being ten and even twenty feet apart,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. 

“I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,” he continued. 

POPE LEO SLAMS THOSE WHO ‘MANIPULATE RELIGION’ FOR MILITARY OR POLITICAL GAIN, TRUMP RESPONDS

During a speech in Cameroon on Thursday, the pope said, “We must make a decisive change of course — a true conversion — that will lead us in the opposite direction, onto a sustainable path rich in human fraternity.” 

“The world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants, yet it is held together by a multitude of supportive brothers and sisters!” he added.

“Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic or political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth,” the pope also said. 

Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report. 

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