USA Volleyball’s Kelsey Robinson in espnW
What athletes eat: Team USA volleyball player Kelsey Robinson’s full-power breakfast bowl
By Natalie Gingerich Mackenzie
Outside hitter Kelsey Robinson is used to living out of a suitcase. This spring the 2014 world champion and 2016 Olympic bronze medalist was in five countries in five weeks competing with the women’s national team in the Nations League.
But continent hopping and jet lag don’t slow down the self-declared foodie and travel addict, who keeps a food and travel blog, called Nom & Play.
Robinson shared her go-to power breakfast, which she adapts to suit her current locale. “When I’m in California I use fresh avocado or maybe some leftover salsa from tacos we’ve had the previous night,” she says. “If I’m living and playing in Istanbul, I’ll use tomatoes, cucumbers and a lot of herbs. It’s fun to keep this recipe dependent on the local ingredients you have.”
Day and time: This is my go-to breakfast when I have any morning free from training.
Place: Toyota, Japan, for the FIVB Volleyball Nations League
What I’m eating: Egg breakfast bowl
Why I’m eating it: What I love most is that this provides me with sustainable energy throughout the day. It has the big four that I try to incorporate into every meal: protein, fat, fiber and greens!
While I typically like to make a big portion for mornings off, you can totally make it before a morning practice or weights session and it’ll power you through.
Whose recipe: This was the first dish my fiancé ever cooked for me, and needless to say I fell in love with him right then and there. Obviously I had to steal the recipe and tweak it to make it my own (and a little better).
The recipe:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
2 to 3 eggs
3 to 4 slices bacon
Diced onions
Your choice of greens (or leftover salad)
1/2 avocado
Turmeric
Salt
Pepper
1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
Tapatio
Optional add-ins:
Black beans
Sweet potatoes (diced or shredded and cooked, or leftover)
Steamed beets
Prosciutto
Boil quinoa to cook (I usually do this the night before and store it in the fridge, but you can also do it in the morning). Chop or grate and cook sweet potatoes if using.
Melt coconut oil in a pan over medium heat. Add bacon, and cook until crispy. Remove from pan and cook onions in leftover bacon fat. Add greens to saute briefly, then crack eggs into pan and cook. Season with salt and pepper.
When eggs are almost cooked, add the quinoa so it can heat up if you made it the night before.
Combine quinoa and eggs in a bowl, topping with bacon, turmeric, tapatio, avocado and your choice of other ingredients. I like to add sweet potato hash browns, beets or even leftover salad.
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