Making waves internationally as a stand out role model for women, dual international, Southern Stars all-rounder Ellyse Perry is widely considered one of Australia’s greatest current athletes. Ellyse holds the rare (and incredible) achievement of representing Australia in both cricket and football. She made her international debut in both sports at the age of only 16 years old and at 17 Ellyse became the youngest Australian ever – male or female – to take part in senior international cricket.
Not only is Ellyse an inspirational, dedicated and talented athlete, but she is also an ambassador for the Cancer Council’s The March Charge, encouraging Australians to run, ride or swim all the kilometres they can to combat the one third of cancer that can be prevented by a healthy lifestyle.
We caught up with the healthy living advocate to get an insight into her everyday lifestyle and she divulged her daily food menu. Read on for the low down.
Ellyse Perry’s day on a plate
6:00AM: Bircher Muesli with chopped banana and a handful of blueberries. One piccolo coffee.
Muesli and fruit provide me with natural carbs for energy in preparation for my morning training session and I love the taste of a piccolo in the morning. It gives me a nice caffeine hit.
9:30AM: A protein bar and handful of mixed nuts; usually a combination of almonds, brazil nuts, walnuts and pistachios.
Protein is important for me to have post training to help my body recover. The nuts are a natural source of protein and fats, plus taste great too. This snack is also super easy; I can store it in the car and can have it straight after training. No preparation required.
12:30PM: Sandwich on dark rye bread with 1/4 avocado, 1/4 tomato, handful of spinach, half a handful of shredded carrot and a couple of slices of beetroot with two grilled chicken fillets in lemon and herb marinate.
I find this is a nice mixture of vegetables, carbs and lean protein. Plus, it’s quick and easy to make.
4:00PM: Chobani Greek Yoghurt and an apple.
Greek yoghurt is low in sugar and there are plenty of different flavours to mix it up!
7:00PM: Grilled salmon with steamed asparagus, mashed sweet potato with a slice of lemon drizzled over the salmon.
Salmon is a fantastic source of lean protein and has essential fatty acids. Lemon provides a nice little dressing, asparagus is a quality source of fibre and sweet potato is a nice complex carb and tastes great with the salmon. Lots of the time we train at nights and can get home late, so it is important to plan ingredients for food a few days in advance.
8:30pm: Acai berry ice cream.
A delicious post dinner dessert – ice-cream is probably my favourite dessert – and acai berries are a superb antioxidant and contain numerous amino acids.
About Cancer Council’s The March Charge
Ellyse is on board as an ambassador for Cancer Council’s The March Charge; encouraging Australian women to get more active throughout March and combat the one third of cancers that can be prevented through a healthy lifestyle.
“I believe there has to be strong collective effort from everyone to help obliterate cancer and keeping active is a great way to start. The March Charge is about pushing yourself, gaining momentum and personal sacrifice. These are all achievable things to do for the month of March and as a result we will be one step closer to helping eliminate the disease,” said Ellyse.
