This June, half a million futebol fans and 32 national teams will descend on Brazil for the . Among that crowd will be Danielle Lafata, the performance dietitian for the U.S. men’s national team. For the past two and a half years, Lafata, who has a master’s degree in nutrition and food science from Michigan’s , has been preparing meals for the 23-member team, carting a cooler full of recovery shakes to training camps and traveling to every international game.
When the Americans head to São Paulo, they’ll be feasting on homegrown staples from a menu painstakingly crafted by Lafata for peak performance: chicken fingers with sweet potatoes, flank steak with roasted vegetables, and buffalo burgers, among other entrées. One of the more popular pregame rituals is a classic breakfast with a simple nutritional upgrade: eggs Benedict with quinoa. “Instead of carbo-loading,” Lafata says, “what our athletes really need is a balance of complex carbohydrates, lean protein, and good fat.” Her quinoa-laden version of eggs Benedict checks all those boxes—with half the fat of the hollandaise-drenched original. Most important, it adds variety to the usually oatmeal-heavy morning fare. “The players love how it changes up the monotony of breakfast,” says Lafata.
Eggs and Quinoa Benedict
Ingredients:
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 cup chopped and roasted asparagus
- 2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and cubed
- 6 eggs
- 3/4 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 dash hot sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
- Salt and pepper
Directions:
- Bring the quinoa and the stock to a boil in a large pot. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until water is absorbed. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and add the asparagus and the tomatoes. Set aside.
- Crack three of the eggs and separate the whites into a bowl and the yolks into the top of a double boiler.
- For the hollandaise sauce, add the yogurt, mustard, and hot sauce and a pinch of salt and pepper to the double boiler. Whisk to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Stir until thickened, about two minutes.
- Crack the remaining three eggs into the bowl with the whites. Heat a sauté pan to medium-high, add eggs, and scramble until set.
- Transfer eggs to the bowl with the quinoa. Add the cumin, salt, and pepper, and stir.
- Add one cup hollandaise sauce to the mix and stir until combined.
- Top each serving with a dollop of hollandaise.