Olympic Breakdancer Sunny Choi Shares Her Favorite Protein-Packed Dinners

“Eating well is all about balance.”

Reviewed by Dietitian Emily Lachtrupp, M.S., RDReviewed by Dietitian Emily Lachtrupp, M.S., RD

Every four years, the Summer Olympics comes around to showcase the greatest athletes in the selected sports. And this year, one more event is being added to the roster: breaking.

Breaking—better known as breakdancing—requires coordination, strength, agility and rhythm, so we’re surprised it took this long to be featured in the lineup. So when we were given the opportunity to chat with one of Team USA’s first b-girls, it was an immediate yes.

Sunny Choi will be heading to Paris this summer to compete for the first-ever breaking gold. We talked with her about how she focuses on protein and her recovery process, plus more about her partnership with The Incredible Egg. Read on for the full Q&A.

Related: Olympic Gymnast Jordan Chiles Has 8 Practices a Week—Here's How She Stays Energized

EatingWell: How do you prioritize protein in your eating pattern?

Choi: I'm constantly prioritizing protein because it's really the only macro that I track personally for my training. One of the important ways that I think about protein is making sure I'm including it with each meal. I like to front-load my protein intake earlier in the day, so that then at dinner I have more flexibility. When I do have the time, I try to maximize protein synthesis throughout the day. The dietitian that works with the U.S. Olympic Committee recommends having about four hours in between your meals because that's when you hit a dip for your protein. I try to time it and get about 15 to 20 grams of protein at a minimum every four hours. This doesn't always happen, but that’s my goal and how I think about eating protein throughout the day.

EatingWell: Current favorite dinners for busy days?

Choi: I’m going to give you three dishes, and it’s ironic because all of them have eggs. One that I recently discovered is tater tots with cashew queso and vegan chorizo on top and then I'll put some pico de gallo, guacamole and two fried eggs on top of it. The second is a quick pizza. I’ll keep a chickpea pizza crust in the freezer and top that with whatever kind of protein I’m feeling and then include frozen kale, pizza sauce, vegan cheese, and then I’ll throw an egg on it and put it in the air fryer, which makes it get a little bit crispy. The last one I’ve been doing a lot is a quick pineapple fried rice dish. I’ve been getting this fresh pre-made pineapple salsa from the store, and I throw white rice in with the salsa with an egg and soy sauce and maybe some cashews. Typically, I'll include shrimp in it. This is super quick because the sauce is already made. These three meals are easy and comforting for me and have a good amount of protein.

EatingWell: What are some things you do for recovery after workout or practice?

Choi: Ideally, I would be stretching for recovery outside of my practice session, but I can’t do that all the time. So, in between, I have compression boots that I sometimes use on active recovery walks, like a brisk walk outside, or recovery workouts, which is a lighter workout that focuses on the duality of movement rather than lifting heavy or anything like that. Sometimes those walks will be with the dog, sometimes not. I do hot vinyasa for recovery, but that’s also for mental and physical recovery, if it’s not too rigorous. Also, sleeping and eating are both recovery modalities, so sleep is one of those for me, although I’m not very good at it, but I’m working on it. There’s also foam rolling and massage guns that I like to mix in for recovery and I also include weekly massages to keep my body in shape.

Related: Katie Ledecky Just Told Us What She Eats in a Day While Training for the Paris Olympics

EatingWell: Why partner with The Incredible Egg?

Choi: I love food. I love eggs. Their campaign “Meant to be Broken” speaks to me—not only about my journey to the Olympics, but really about my entire journey through life because there's a lot of expectations that people have of us. My whole life I've been trying to figure out how to break out of that mold. Some of it's been breaking out of my shell being shy and timid, and also breaking out of the shell in terms of trying to get over being a perfectionist and letting go of control, and breaking the expectations of society and my heritage, and culture. To meet those expectations, I did everything that life expected me to do. I went to an Ivy League school, I was working in a corporate job, climbing the corporate ladder so that I can make enough money to have a house and have a family. And outwardly it seemed very successful, but I was never happy. It was about breaking out of that and learning how to put myself first and pursue my passions. I'm currently chasing after my childhood dreams. At the end of the day, the “Meant to be Broken" campaign feels like such a perfect representation for my story.

I am also obsessed with eggs in real life. I could eat them for just about any meal and they are my go-to protein as I power up for training. It’s a fun partnership and a really great fit. I'm not even kidding when I say I have, like, an egg pillow. I have plates that are shaped like eggs with a little yellow yolk in the middle. I really do like them a lot.

Check out Choi’s 5-ingredient Custard Freeze recipe!

EatingWell: How do you like your eggs?

Choi: I think it depends on the dish that it's accompanying rather than just the egg itself. If I'm just eating them on their own, I often fry them in sesame oil because it reminds me of the way that my mom cooks eggs for me. It's really nostalgic and comforting. But I can't say that's my favorite because it really depends on what I'm eating it with. It really depends on my mood. I feel like there’s no right way or best way. Sometimes they’re going to be poached or I scramble my eggs because I like to mix it up, or I'll make them sunny side up if I want them to be on the top of something.

EatingWell: Do you have a morning routine that you stick by? If so, walk us through it.

Choi: I used to have a morning routine when I worked in corporate America, but to be honest, right now my mornings are unpredictable as recently I've been staying more at home. When I was traveling all over the world I was waking up in different places. I wondered if a morning routine would have grounded me, but I never got around to it. I don’t really have a morning routine, but one of the things I do like to do is walk my dog, and I try to leave my phone behind. I don't have time for it every day because my schedule is so crazy.

EatingWell: What does “eating well” mean to you?

Choi: I think eating well is all about balance, so it's about balancing food and things that you want versus the things that you need so that you're feeling satiated, but also satisfied with the variety that you're eating. It's about not being super strict about anything and allowing yourself to have a Custard Freeze at night, or whatever it is that you're craving here and there. It's about balance in terms of color, nutrition and nutrients. It's about making sure that you feel good and the way that you eat is sustainable. That's what eating well means to me. It is sustainable.

Related: Olympic Runner Sha’Carri Richardson Eats This High-Protein Breakfast Every Race Day

Editor’s Note: This interview was edited for clarity and length.

Read the original article on Eating Well.