“What I eat in a day”

If you had the chance to ready my last blog, you learned that I love to cook. Food is and always has been a big part of my life. Growing up, my mom made a home cooked dinner every night for my family. This was our way to spend time together, talk about our day and enjoy one another’s company. It wasn’t until I lived out of my parent’s house that I started cooking on my own.

Food is also important as an athlete. It fuels our bodies. My job is to make sure my body is ready to do its job everyday. By giving my body the energy and nutrients, it needs, it can help me through a tough day at training and prepare me for the next.

In this blog post, I am going to be taking you through what I eat in a typical training day and sharing some of my favourite recipes!

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day (and my favourite to eat)! I am not a morning person and I start training by 9:00 a.m. so I like to start my day with something fast, fueling and filling! Most days of the week, I have overnight oats. They are delicious, nutritious and make my mornings super simple! I prepare them in the evening, so all I have to do is grab and go! There are so many different flavour combinations, so it never gets boring.

The base of these overnight oat recipe is the same:

• 1/3 cup of oats (I use large flakes Quaker Oats)
• 1/3 cup of milk (I use unsweetened vanilla almond milk, or oat milk)
• ½ scoop of protein powder (I use iron vegan sprouted protein)
• Teaspoon of chia seeds
• Teaspoon of flax seeds

After this point, let the creativity begin! Here are my top three favourites to add in:

1. Peanut Butter & Jelly Overnight Oats
   • As much peanut butter as you want! (Peanut butter is my favourite food, so I go overboard here)
   • Teaspoon of your favourite jam/jelly
   • Top with fresh berries, crushed peanuts, and hemp hearts
2. Apple Pecan Pie Overnight Oats
   • Chop your favourite type of apple into bite sized cube
   • Sautee apple in coconut oil, maple syrup and cinnamon (about 10 minutes or until apples are soft). Add mixture to oats.
   • Top with pecans
3. Chocolate Banana Overnight Oats
   • Mash up half a banana into oat mixture
   • Use chocolate protein powder or ½ teaspoon of cocoa powder
   • Top with cacao nibs and hemp hearts

Lunch is after my on-ice training.  My go-to is some form of leftovers from dinner the night before, reinvented into a bowl of some sorts.  I try to hit all of the food groups and include 1-2 items from each category below. The more colourful, the better!

Lunchtime Leftover Bowl

• Grains: rice, quinoa, sweet potato, corn
• Greens: spinach, kale, romaine lettuce
• Other veggies: tomato, beets, cucumber, cauliflower, mushrooms, avocado
• Protein: Black beans, chickpeas, chicken breast, ground beef/turkey
• Sauce: Pico de Gallo, cilantro avocado pesto or a balsamic vinaigrette
  • I don’t have a specific recipe for any of these sauces. I make them to taste so they are a little different every time!

(For example, my most recent bowl consisted of spinach, sweet potato, beets, avocado, chicken breast, feta, corn, Pico de Gallo and a green goddess dressing)

If there are no leftovers, I will usually make a wrap with my favourite ingredient: eggs! They are tasty, versatile, and an excellent source of protein. My wrap would typically include 2 soft eggs, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and avocado. Sometimes if I am feeling fancy, I will make some crispy BACON!

Snacking is a great way to quickly refuel our bodies in between sessions, as well as pre- and post-workout. I have learned a good rule of thumb is to pair a protein with a carbohydrate. Some examples of that would be a piece of fruit with a handful of nuts, veggies with hummus or my personal favourites, granola bars or energy balls! I prefer making them, so I know what ingredients go into them!

Granola Bars:

• Ingredients:
  • 1 ½ cups Quick Oats
  • ½ cups Almond flour/meal
  • 1 cup Nut butter (any kind, I prefer peanut better)
  • 2 tbsp. Coconut oil
  • 1/3 cup Honey or Maple syrup
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • Optional add ins: raisins, chocolate chips, roughly chopped nuts
• Directions:
  • Warm coconut oil, nut butter in the microwave or double boiler
  • In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well
  • Line a baking sheet (8×8 or 9×9) with parchment paper
  • Press mixture into pan (be firm, as this is what holds the bars together)
  • Let cool for at least 2 hours
  • Cut into bars, cover, and store in the fridge/freezer

Energy Balls:

• Ingredients:
  • 4 Tbsp of Almond Meal
  • 1-2 Tbsp of Cashew Butter
  • 1 Scoop of Vanilla Protein
  • 1 Tbsp of Maple Syrup
  • 2 Tbsp of Almond Milk
  • Pinch of Sea Salt
• Directions:
  • Mix together dry ingredients in a bowl
  • Add in wet ingredients until completely combine
  • Refrigerate for 10-15 minutes
  • Roll into balls (wet fingertips to avoid a sticky mess!)

Dinner is my favourite meal of the day to prepare. This is my time to relax in the evening, experiment and have fun in the kitchen.  I usually try to balance my meals to have 50% vegetables, 25% carbohydrates and 25% protein. I am very much a meat and potatoes kind of girl, so quite often I will make a salad, then roast potatoes and veggies, with either a chicken breast, salmon, or steak. In order to shake things up from that, I rely (a lot) on inspiration from social media (like the TikTok pasta trend… 10/10), blogs and recipes I find online. I have included a few of my favourite recipes from other blogs here:

• Pan-Fried Sesame Garlic Tofu
• Vegan Thai Red Curry
• Buffalo Chicken Sweet Potato Casserole

BONUS – Sweet Treats

I have always had a sweet tooth! Finding the balance between fulfilling that sweet craving and staying healthy can sometimes be a challenge.  At the beginning of the first lockdown, I jumped on the banana bread baking bandwagon! I tried a few different recipes but this one is by far my favourite! I follow @erinliveswhole on Instagram and fell in love with her style of cooking, her personality, and her adorable puppy! I cannot take any credit for this recipe, but I wanted to share it (due to popular demand from my last blog post)! It is super easy to follow, uses common household ingredients, tastes delicious and satisfies my sweet tooth as an afternoon snack or an after-dinner treat! You can check it out here:

• Banana Bread Recipe

That was fun! Thank you for reading What I Eat in a Day. I want to emphasize the importance of eating well-balanced, nutritious meals and snacks throughout the day! There is a lot of science behind why we eat the foods that we do, and it is important to properly fuel our bodies for the days that we have planned. (That being said, treats [in moderation] are okay too!) I have worked with many nutritionists over the years, but by no means am I a nutrition expert. I have a passion for food, I love to cook, and I am a bit of a science nerd, so I love experimenting and learning new things! If you try any of these recipes, feel free to share/post on Facebook or Instagram!