In my sport of whitewater slalom canoeing, I require a steady input of high energy fuel to support my daily strength and endurance training. This is a critical element in my athletic program to achieve peak performance, especially as I aim for the podium at the Pan Am Games in Toronto.
In my daily journal I document my training performance, sleeping patterns, nutrition intake, stress levels and overall feelings. Several years ago I noticed a trend of feeling sick and tired when I consumed dairy, eggs and most meats. I often felt hungry, exhausted and unsure of what to eat. This prompted me to search out alternative diet choices.
Daily journaling has helped me discover what I put into my body affects how I feel and perform. When I learned that changing my diet energized me, I began to create a catalogue of plant-based recipes and turned that into Canoeist Kitchen, a cookbook filled with plant-based recipes to help raise funds for my training expenses. It is important that my culinary creations look great and taste yummy so my teammates will enjoy the meals as well. I hope you enjoy my creations.
