The Olympic skier on how she eats when she’s training—and the foods she goes crazy for when she’s not.
Age 30
Hometown Burnsville, MN
World Cup wins
67
Which makes her
The winningest woman in World Cup history
Halloween candy of choice
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
Dream dinner party guest
Roger Federer
Last thing you ate?
I just had a banana with almond butter.
Did you have breakfast today?
Yeah, I had my usual: Scrambled eggs with avocado, cilantro, salsa, mushrooms, and onions.
What is your diet like when you’re training?
I’m training probably nine months out of the year. I eat foods that I like, but they’re more portioned, and the carb-to-protein-to-fat ratio is calculated in each meal. Now I’m eating like 50-50 protein-to-carbs at breakfast. Lunch is maybe 60-40, and dinner is usually no carbs. I eat a lot of fat in my diet—avocado, almond butter, olive oil, even bacon.
Are there foods you miss?
Cereal, frozen yogurt, ice cream, French toast. Pretty much everything.
Favorite cereal?
Fruity Pebbles.
Do you drink the milk at the end?
One-hundred percent. That’s the best part!
How do you eat when you’re not training?
I have whatever I want.
You mentioned French toast. Do you have a favorite recipe?
When I was growing up, my dad would make the best French toast every Sunday before church. It was his thing. He did about 80 percent of the cooking in the house. He’d use sourdough bread and a lot of eggs, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt. The key is to dry the bread out first and then soak it in the batter.
When you’re training, is there someone cooking for you?
Most of the time I do it myself. Sometimes if I have a really heavy workout week and I’m too tired there’s a caterer in town that helps me with pre-made meals.
Are you a good cook?
I’m good at the meals I know how to make, but I’m not very good at exploring and finding new recipes. I’m really good at making salmon, and I’m good on the grill. Oh, and I make a mean banana bread.
Carbo loading?
I’ll have banana bread on a cheat day, but I don’t use any butter. My secret is to use applesauce instead.
Are cheat days a thing?
Yes. You’ll drive yourself insane if you only eat what you’re supposed to eat every single day for the whole summer, so after a heavy workout I’ll splurge sometimes. Usually it’s on frozen yogurt, but banana bread is always a nice comfort food.
Favorite frozen yogurt?
I like chocolate-vanilla swirl, cake batter, or red velvet—and I always have Reese’s Pieces and some M&M’s on top.
Finish this sentence: I cannot control myself around ______.
Frozen yogurt, or those dark chocolate açai berries. Oh my god, those things are so addicting I could eat a whole bag.
Go-to non alcoholic drink?
Ginger ale.
A mixologist is making a drink called The Lindsey Vonn—what’s in it?
Champagne and Red Bull. I think that’s called a Chambull but I like Prosecco, too.
Worst thing you’ve ever eaten?
I really don’t like reindeer. I feel cruel eating it and it’s just not very good.
Best thing?
Kaiserschmarrn. It’s a typical Austrian, sometimes German, dish—it’s like a thick pancake, but they put a little bit of beer in the batter, and it has raisins. They cut it up and fry it in butter. It’s like chopped-up pancakes, only ten times better. If I win a lot of races, that’s my reward.
Any pet peeves about dining out?
Small portions. As an athlete, it’s frustrating because it’s not enough, and I end up spending $100 on a meal, and then I’m starving in 20 minutes.
If you had to be reincarnated as one food, what would it be?
Probably a nice swirl frozen yogurt.
Why?
If I was reincarnated, I would want to make someone else happy just like frozen yogurt makes me.
Who will you allow to eat off your plate?
Anyone.
Who’s on your dream dinner party guest list?
Probably Roger Federer, my sisters, my best friend Vanessa, and my friend Lindsay.
Of all the people in the world? You’ve probably met a lot of famous people.
I would prefer to have dinner with people I know and I love and would have an enjoyable time.
What would you serve them?
Steak, mashed sweet potatoes, and ice cream for dessert. And red wine. Maybe a little spinach, goat cheese, and strawberry salad to start.
Ice cream flavor?
Probably Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia.
This is our entertaining issue. Any tips?
Make sure there’s plenty of food. When you’re having people over, the worst thing is to run out of food. You don’t want any hungry guests.
Is that what happens to you when you get hungry? You get angry?
Yes. Grumpy and not sociable at all.
Favorite Halloween candy?
I love Halloween and I love candy, but it’s best that I just turn the lights off and lock my door, because if I’m giving candy out, it’s 100-percent that I’m going to take candy for myself. And the worst part—I mean the best/worst part—about Halloween, is that every time you go to an office or the bank, everyone has a bowl of candy and it’s really really hard to say no.
What candy do you find the most tempting?
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. They also have the Justin’s peanut butter cups, which I can have in my diet, but no one spends that much money on a peanut butter cup.
Last question: Your relationship with food is ______?
Healthy. I think it’s just good for everyone to find a balance of being healthy but also enjoying food. Everything in moderation. You shouldn’t take away completely the things you really enjoy eating.