What Team USA Is Eating at the Olympics and Paralympics

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The night before a track meet,

I usually have a plate of pasta

and a glass and a half of wine or two, depends on the mood.

Salmon, some pasta,

and usually some veggies like broccoli or something.

I do pasta the night before. I don't like it on game day.

What I eat for dinner the night before a big game

or a big competition, to be honest, it varies.

We compete all across the world.

And we usually don't have access

to like the same thing every time.

My plate kind of consists of the same thing.

It's usually like a third veggies, a third carbs,

and a third protein so that we can compete

at the best of our abilities the next day.

Eating a steak, I'm a steak boy, steak me down.

I usually eat pasta for dinner.

I'm a very much a tomato sauce kind of girl or a carbonara.

But pasta is always my go-to before a show.

We don't always get to choose exactly what we want to eat

because when you play international matches,

a lot of times you're eating at a hotel

or possibly in an Olympic village.

But, ideally, I like to have some good carbs in there,

like a pasta.

And then normally I'll do something

a little bit more simple like a chicken.

So like white meat, although I love fish.

I am a big veggie girl, so I'll supply a good amount

of veggies on the side as well.

So I'm feeling ready and fueled for game day.

Yeah, and I'll eat basically the same thing.

I typically have some steak, some red meat,

and some fruit.

That's just about the meal

that I have almost every single day, every single meal.

I eat pretty much whatever the venue hotel has for me.

I definitely try to get in like,

you know, classic, a carb, a vegetable, a protein.

Actually I don't really get that many vegetables,

I like to carb up.

Definitely pasta, bread, a roll with some butter.

But I kind of, whatever's available to me,

I don't have anything that I have to eat.

To be completely honest,

I don't have a set routine for dinner before races.

Typically I'm in a foreign country

so I'll go to a restaurant that seems like a safe choice.

I am a big believer in the carb loading before racing,

but definitely can't go too hard

'cause you don't wanna be sick the next day.

Usually for supper, eat a lot of chicken and broccoli.

I found that eating portion sizes

before an event actually is not so good for me

because then I end up getting

shaky halfway through the round.

So usually on during practice days

and all that kind of stuff, I stay to my routine.

But if I know I'm competing the next day,

I wanna eat a lot of carbs.

I just like load up on carbs.

That varies depending on where we're at.

So if we are at a big tournament that has like a calf,

usually some kind of meat,

'cause I'm a meat girl.

A veggie to just keep my body happy.

Because when you travel your body's not always happy

and you feel kinda just like full, and bloated,

and just not nice, so.

I like to have like a lot of pasta

and some kind of protein.

Usually probably chicken,

but I keep it pretty basic the night before.

And then the day of, we always try to have breakfast

for our pre-game. Yeah.

So I always have like five pancakes.

I kind of feel like I switch it up a lot.

I do try to make sure we get our carbohydrates in.

I love to have pad thai, but that's not always an option

when we're on tour.

I try to carb load it a lot, get some good proteins,

I'll get a pasta or a burger or steak.

Something that's comforting, not too heavy,

but it's gonna gimme some good energy.

Cucumber and MOD salad

with balsamic vinegarette, always slaps.

And then, yeah, I need some protein and carbs.

Any type of pasta.

I just like rigatoni with just some ground beef

and then you know, you can put pesto or red sauce.

No dessert the night before.

But definitely after victory, yeah, some dessert for sure.

Honestly, nothing heavy, just simple carbs.

I'm also really used to having at home

and I don't like to switch things up,

especially before a big race.

And it also depends on what there is there to eat.

But something familiar that I know I like

that my stomach likes.

And just, it's not like going to be waking up

with surprises in the morning 'cause it's a new thing.

Well we're out, you know, in the world.

So a lot of times it varies what is actually served,

but I really try to make sure it's a good portion of carbs.

You know, some sports, it's good to have like a pasta night

or you know, something heavy.

But I think lighter on the lighter side,

a lot of protein and veggies, mostly just to next day,

I think the lighter you feel, the easier it feels.

It can vary because

I don't like having the same exact thing all the time.

And sometimes nerves can get the best of you,

so what you're used to eating

isn't necessarily what you want.

My favorite go-to though is some pasta

with a bunch of veggies and maybe a little bit of pesto

or some sort of sauce and tofu.

I do like to have usually kind of a pasta dish,

just to make sure I have enough energy,

especially if it's like a morning game.

And I don't wanna eat too much before the game starts.

So I like to try to have

like some type of pasta dish beforehand.

I usually keep it pretty simple.

It's probably some variation of chicken and rice.

Usually we're traveling to international competitions,

so I try to not explore too much with the local cuisine

until after I compete.

My favorite thing is to have my parents

make me spaghetti and meatballs in their kitchen

at their Airbnb.

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