As the Olympics begin, Chef and Registered Dietitian Allen Tran’s words come to mind, “nutrition can make a good athlete great or a great athlete good”. I think his view holds some truth for all of us. Allen knows because he is the High-Performance Chef for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association. He is in Sochi preparing meals for our Olympic athletes who are aiming for gold medal performance.
Olympic athletes have amazing nutritional needs, with some like downhill Alpine skiers needing as many calories as football players while others may need far less. Like us, the athletes often base their diets on lean protein, complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, and lots of nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables. In the Olympic Village, foods are available to meet religious needs like Halal and Kosher foods, preferences for vegetarian diets, and offer flavor-filled options like spicy fajitas, Thai or Cajun items.
The Sochi Olympic Games are a great opportunity to sample regional cuisine, like the nearly 70,000 gallons of borscht that will be served or a delicious salad with diced boiled beets, potatoes, diced carrots, peas, kidney beans, pickled cabbage, onions, cucumbers, and more. Want to see what Team USA athletes might be eating? Check out Chef Allen Tran’s Sample Menu.
- Breakfast – Oatmeal, Greek Yogurt with Fresh Berries, Hard Boiled Eggs
- Post-Morning Workout Snack – Almonds, Banana
- Lunch – Veggie and Beef Texas Chili, Cornbread made with Greek Yogurt, Spinach Salad with Avocado
- Post-Afternoon Training Snack – Chocolate Milk, String Cheese, Applesauce
- Dinner – Grilled Jerk Chicken, Roasted Plantains, Vegetable Kabobs (Bell Pepper, Zucchini, Eggplant)
Love the information nice post
Super awesome post. It fully supports my new year resolutions as I will try to take care of my health and the US team menu sounds yummy and delicious 🙂
Some good nutritional information to follow and get fit. Allen Tran’s quote can be extended to mind and thinking as well, “nutrition can make a good mind great or a great mind good”
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Hello Will,
Oatmeal, Greek Yogurt with Fresh Berries, Hard Boiled Eggs is EXACTLY what I eat each morning. I live in Greece, so Greek Yogurt is readily available. I choose the 2% fat.
Thank you for bringing this up. The right nutrition can indeed make a good athlete great.
I agree with Ian. I have been eating Greek Yogurt for a few years now. Besides being low in fat, it is a great source of protein. Probalby more protein than you will find in other yogurts.
I have to try this clean food regime. In a combination with calorie counting, that might just be the answer to weight loss problems.
Isn’t this kind of a wide subject? Every Olympian has a different diet and different regime. Some are mainly eating Carbs and they give good results, but they are athletes after all and can afford to eat junk, because they’ll burn it.
But some prefer to eat more high fat, low carb things. Don’t know what it has to do with end of tenancy cleaning, but I know a thing or two about a good regime and chocolate milk is not a healthy choice.