Close your eyes and imagine you’re balancing your stance at the tippy top of an alpine. When you look down, all you see is land blanketed by snow, and the twists and turns through flag-markers you’re about to dodge, hopefully unscathed, before reaching the finish line below. Win or lose, you know you’re going to feel hungry AF. At least, this is what I assume athletes are thinking in between competitions because, think about it, what Olympic athletes eat for snacks has to hold them over through races and award ceremonies. That’s a lot to handle in a matter of hours, and I don’t know about these guys, but I would definitely need some sustenance to keep up with it all.
Personally, I am a bonafide snacker. It's like I'm never not hungry. Seriously, ask anyone in my family, and they can attest to my grazing habits. And it's not like I'm doing quadruple backflips in the air 20 times a day either. All I do is sit on my butt and write for a living. Maybe it's the mental focus that triggers my constant hunger, but I can only imagine how much more intense the cravings would be if I had to work out several hours a day every day.
As for Olympic athletes, though, they're living that routine day in and day out. Training season is harsh, and competition is crack-down time, so not only are these athletes in dire need of nutrition, but they also need options that are readily available and quick to consume because, after all, time is of the essence, and the 2018 Winter Olympics are closing in. Here are a few snack ideas straight from the Olympic athletes themselves that they say fuel their fire and keep them fighting for gold.
In a statement sent to Elite Daily, Olympian luger Erin Hamlin explains that luge is a “gravity sport,” meaning she isn’t assigned restrictions when it comes to her eating habits. Still, she points out, just because the sport requires muscle mass and weight, that doesn’t mean she’s grazing on chocolate-frosted donuts on the sidelines (though, she does make sure to treat herself to some ice cream once in a while).
She primarily uses three main meals a day to bulk up, but she loves to snack on things like raw fruits and veggies, or a smoothie to keep her energy levels high during a busy day. She loves dipping apple slices in peanut butter (who doesn’t?), cheese and crackers for protein, and ants on a log, aka celery sticks topped with raisins.
Anderson’s gearing up to defend her gold medalist title at the Olympic Winter Games this year, so her focus on food is pretty standard. Her goal is to eat as healthy as possible by consuming “pure, organic, whole foods.”
In a statement sent to Elite Daily, Anderson reveals her favorite snacks are good-for-you fruits, grab-and-go foods, and shakes from brands like Navitas Naturals and Dragon Herbs. “Giving yourself the right ingredients is for your body, what positive affirmations are to the mind," she says. "More than anything, beauty is about what goes in your body — make sure you are eating healthy, nutritious food and drinking a lot of water.”
I had to laugh when I read up on West’s favorite go-to snack during training/competition season, because while his teammate Erin Hamlin’s thinking in terms of light snacking, this male luge competitor goes straight for a slice of carbs doused in healthy fats.
Are you ready for this? West reveals in a statement to Elite Daily that his go-to is a piece of bread slathered with “way more peanut butter on it than you’d think you need,” and a “light drizzle of chocolate syrup” to complete the open-faced sandwich. Yuuum.
Considering how many turns, jumps, and spins figure skaters do in all of, what, a three-minute time frame, I’m not surprised Chen keeps his snacking options pretty light.
Things like yogurt, fresh fruit, Kellog’s snack items, and CorePower protein shakes keep this championship bronze medalist thriving during a training session which, according to a statement sent to Elite Daily, the athlete attributes to the menus created by none other than his mom (aww!).
Diggins is not only a superstar on the slopes; according to a statement sent to Elite Daily, the athlete is also a self-proclaimed foodie, so it comes as no surprise that a few of her favorite snacks aren’t exactly on-the-go items.
Among her favorites, Diggins enjoys refueling with avocado toast, sharp cheddar cheese sprinkled with salt, and Greek yogurt topped with dry cereal and fresh fruit. When she does need something she can quickly grab at practice, though, she’ll prepare things like homemade granola bars or banana muffins she can stash in her bag.
Off the ice, Wagner is another self-proclaimed foodie. Though she unfortunately didn’t qualify to compete in the 2018 Winter Olympics, she continues to be such an inspiring role model for young women, and an incredibly talented athlete — both of which are roles that require delicious, nutritious foods to keep her on her game, don’t you think?
In a statement sent to Elite Daily, Wagner says she tends to eat “very clean, and balance out protein and carbs” to fuel her energy levels. As for the figure skater’s fallback snack options, they’re pretty simple: apples, or cucumber slices dipped in hummus.
Aja Evans is a straight-up boss — and I’m not just referring to her bobsledding chops. No, darlings, I’m talking about this Olympic athlete’s cooking skills. Even though her snack of choice is no-bake, it’s still pretty genius and, honestly, who has time to whip these kind of goods together in the middle of Olympic competition prep? Clearly, she does.
Evans not only wins medals, she makes her own protein bites. In a statement sent to Elite Daily, the bobsledding champ shares her signature recipe so you can make these delectably nutritious treats yourself: “I use oats, peanut butter, a little honey, protein powder, dark chocolate chips, crushed almonds, and sometimes dried cranberries, and mix it all together and roll into into bite-sized balls.” Sounds easy enough, right?
Can I just say that, judging by his food choices, Rippon is one of the most laid-back athletes I’ve ever come across? In a statement sent to Elite Daily, the figure skater shamelessly admits to being a “self-proclaimed cooking disaster,” which is probably why he gravitates toward basic meals to curb his cravings.
He’s also like every single one of us just looking for a snack to chill us TF out mid-afternoon when you’re minutes away from a slump. What, then, is his saving grace? “A good coffee,” he tells us. Amen to that.
