Quick And Easy Bites To Power Up Your Workouts

In her new cookbook, Cook to Thrive, Olympic swimmer (and Pilates devotee) Natalie Coughlin opens up about a secondary passion: cooking. Over the course of her celebrated career as a three-time gold medalist (not to mention nine other silver and bronze wins), she’s learned a thing or two about prepping food for optimal performance. These quick and easy bites will power up your workouts— and your taste buds, too.

Breakfast Fried Rice

(Serves 2–3)

Eating meals during athletic competition, especially when traveling, can be a challenge. Fortunately, my breakfast of choice was almost always available. Whether I was at the Olympics, World Championships or Pan American Games, I could reliably find rice, eggs and soy sauce.

Leftover rice mixed with lots of garlic, veggies and eggs is a common Filipino breakfast called sinangag. Rather than fry the eggs in a separate pan, I like to cook them directly in little craters that I make in the rice mixture. My version uses collard greens, which I love because they become silky during cooking while providing you with all sorts of nutrients and minerals.

1 BUNCH COLLARD GREENS

1 TABLESPOON PLUS 1½ TEASPOONS GRAPESEED OIL OR OTHER HIGH-HEAT NEUTRAL OIL

8 GARLIC CLOVES, MINCED

2 TABLESPOONS SOY SAUCE OR TAMARI, PLUS MORE FOR SERVING

3 CUPS LEFTOVER COOKED RICE (BROWN, WHITE OR A COMBINATION)

6 LARGE EGGS

3 SCALLIONS, GREEN PARTS ONLY, THINLY SLICED

1. Set an oven rack 6–8 inches from the heating element and preheat the broiler.

2. Cut out and discard the ribs of the collard greens. Stack the collard leaves on top of one another, and starting on a long side, roll them up into a burrito-like shape. Thinly slice the rolled greens crosswise into ribbons, then coarsely chop the ribbons so that they are not too long.

3. Heat a large oven-safe skillet, such as cast iron, over medium-high. When the skillet is hot, add 1 tablespoon grape seed oil and the garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic is a light golden color and very fragrant, about 1 minute. Don't let it burn. Add the collard greens, 1 tablespoon soy sauce and ¼ cup water. Cook, stirring, until the greens are wilted and the liquid has evaporated, about 8 minutes.