YUM!
The majority of my days are
spent on the road. Traveling can pose special challenges for those who
prioritize nutrition. Exhaustion (from traveling, training, work) can cause me,
and many others, to eat on autopilot. My wonderful nutritionist, Susie Parker
Simmons (USOC Sr. Sport Dietician), helps me understand my habits, strengths
and weaknesses in eating, and reminds me to apply mindfulness to my diet so
that I can successfully prioritize nutrition and take on the challenges of
cooking while on the road.
It is easy to retreat to going out to
a restaurant or to cooking meals that are uncomplicated (what I refer to as
“brown” – think bread, pasta, potatoes, heavier meats) while on the road. The last thing I typically want to do at the end of a
long training day is cook up a meal. Yet, I also find that cooking on the road
is an opportunity to experiment with new recipes. Given I am already short on
supplies, ingredients, and on a budget, the whole process of shopping and
cooking becomes a course of trial and error.
The process of
experimentation starts at the market. Foreign markets offer different
ingredients that are not necessarily popular within America. American
supermarkets are also on steroids. Markets in the U.S. offer multiple choices
for each product, whereas markets in small ski towns are often more limited. And
even finding the most simple ingredients can be difficult when they are listed
in foreign languages.
I set my intention going into the
Zermatt training camp that I would make my meals and nutrition a priority.
Having a clear intention of feeling good when I was done eating guided my
choices. I aimed to make my meals
colorful, delicious, and nutritious.
The choice in doing such contributed to my enjoyment of the trip and
effectiveness in training. And, with a clear set intention, food choices weren’t
difficult, meals were easily planned in advance, and I was able to reuse
healthy ingredients in different meals and in different ways throughout the
camp.
I am not much of a recipe
follower. I experiment in combining ingredients and keep a watchful eye so
things do not get overcooked. Knowing this, if you’re looking for easy meal
ideas with flexible ingredients while you’re traveling, check out the meals
(and recipe overview) that I cooked up while at my Zermatt training camp.
.....
Salmon
Salad
On oiled baking sheet, top salmon with olive oil, lemon, local honey, and lightly with jam. Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes. Place salmon on colorful salad. I used spinach, walnuts, avocado, tomato, peaches, and figs. Mix together olive oil, lemon, and honey for a dressing.
Chicken
Salad Sandwich and Baked Carrots
Skip the mayo! Cook and cut chicken into small pieces. Thinly dice red pepper, tomato, avocado, and red onion. Toss together and dress with lemon and olive oil. The avocado spreads to make this creamy like chicken salad. Served best on top of fresh baked bread from the bakery down the street and with arugula and spinach and salt and pepper.
Pork Loin over Autumn Quinoa
Rub pork with orange-ginger tea (literally, I cut open tea bags
and used it as a rub) and bake. Combine cooked quinoa with cranberries, almonds,
a mix of veggies, olive oil, cinnamon, and salt and pepper. Boil red wine,
cinnamon, and jam to make sauce.
Spicy
Shrimp and Avocado Salad with Miso Dressing
Cook shrimp with oil and red pepper flakes on stove. Chop mixed
greens (I did kale and spinach), mango, cucumber, and avocado. Top with shrimp
and almond slices. Pair with night-off glass of vino ;)
Non-Breaded
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Roll cheese in a slice of ham and place in halved chicken
breast. Bake for about 20 minutes, top with more cheese, and bake for another 5
minutes. Serve with veggie-loaded side salad.
Thai
Chicken Wraps
Heat a grill pan over high heat. Toss chicken with soy, chili
powder, and oil and cook through. Steam edamame.
Whisk peanut butter (I used almond butter because it is what I
had), soy sauce, vinegar, oil, and chili powder together. Warm wraps in oven.
Pile chicken, veggies, edamame, lettuces,
and tomatoes (I like tomatoes with everything, but this may not be for
everyone) in wraps and drizzle liberally with spicy “peanut” sauce and Thai
chili sauce before wrapping. Served with roasted sweet potatoes and carrots
(see Chicken Salad Sandwich and Steam descriptions).
Spring
Roll Buffet
Place out a bunch of ingredients so each roll can be different.
Some staple ingredients are shrimp, Asian cabbage mix, other lettuces, mango,
tomato, avocado, cucumber, nuts (I used almond meal and walnuts that we already
had), peanut sauce (again, I used almond butter, see Thai Chicken Wraps), soy
sauce, and Thai chili sauce. Soften rice wraps in water and fill with your
choice of ingredients. Super fun!
Taco
Night
I served this buffet style too. I seasoned chicken, steak, and
fish in Mexican seasonings and cooked separately. Warm up tortillas. Serve with
staple ingredients such as beans, rice, greens, tomatoes, avocado, lime, mango,
and onions.
Beet,
Goat Cheese, and Prosciutto Salad, with Garlic Goat Cheese Flat Bread
Cook and chop beets. Mix fresh greens (I mixed arugula, spinach,
and spring mix) with beets, onions, halved cherry tomatoes, goat cheese, and
prosciutto. Dress with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper.
We had so many leftover wraps to use, so I baked goat cheese and
garlic in wraps like a quesadilla. Topped with a little olive oil, and it made
a fancy side flatbread.
Almond
and Coconut Encrusted White Fish Sticks
Cut white fish into sticks and coat in olive oil. Mix almond
meal and coconut flakes in a bowl. Roll each fish stick in flakes until fully
coated. Line on oiled baking sheet. Bake at 400F for 10 to 15 minutes or until
the sticks are nicely browned. Mix together squeezed lemon juice, honey, olive
oil, and dijon mustard for dipping sauce (can also serve with ketchup). Serve
with a cucumber, avocado, tomato, and basil side salad.
Caprese
Stuffed Chicken
Cut chicken breasts in half and coat with olive oil and salt and
pepper. Stuff the chicken with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, and pesto.
Bake for about 20 minutes, top with more pesto and cheese, and bake for another
5 minutes. Serve with fresh side salad and warm loaf of bread from the bakery.
Stuffed
Acorn Squash
Baked at 350F for 30 minutes (or until squash is soft) with
butter and cinnamon. Then, stuff the squash with cooked quinoa mixed with veggies,
cranberries, walnuts, honey, olive oil, and salt and pepper.
Curry
Chicken Wraps
Cut chicken into small pieces and cook on stove in coconut milk,
curry powder, and chili powder. Finely chop sweet potatoes and carrots and
lightly coat with olive oil. Heat pan on stove and add in sweet potatoes and
carrots—cook until softened. Steam rice on stove. Combine curry powder and
chili powder into plain Greek yogurt for sauce (add more flavor to liking). Mix
cooked chicken with curry yogurt sauce, finely chopped nuts (cashews are
recommended, but I used walnuts and almonds since I had them already), finely chopped
ginger, raisins or halved grapes, cilantro, onions, and salt and pepper. Place
curry chicken salad, rice, sweet potato and carrot mix, and Asian slaw mix into
wraps. Add Thai chili sauce to liking.
Steak
and Roasted Sweet Potatoes (not pictured)
Coat steaks in olive oil and salt and pepper (or marinate or add
rub prior to cooking). Heat pan on stove. Add ½ teaspoon of butter per steak to
pan and immediately follow by adding steak to pan on top of the butter. For a
medium rare steak (steak about 1” thick), I seared the steaks for about 3
minutes on each side.
Preheat oven to 425F. Cut up sweet potatoes and coat them in
olive oil, salt and pepper, and Italian seasonings. Spread out sweet potatoes
on baking sheets and place in oven while also turning the oven down to 375F.
Bake for 25 minutes or until sweet potatoes are soft on the inside and crisp on
the outside. A short, closely watched broil after they’ve softened helps crisp
the outsides of the potatoes. Serve with mixed vegetable side salad.
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