In addition to being a Peloton instructor, you just started an Instagram cooking series called Ooo, Mami! with your fiancé, musician Sophia Urista. What made you want to do a cooking show? “One of the most popular questions I get is, what do you eat? Ooo, Mami! is a fun and creative way to answer this question and spend some time in the kitchen with Sophia. Food is such an important part of our lives and relationship. We put a lot of love and time into making food that is both tasty and nourishing to the body.”
Did you grow up cooking? “I did not grow up spending a lot of time in the kitchen. My mother was a bodybuilder, so I ended up eating your typical grilled chicken, broccoli and brown rice menu. And no, I did not enjoy it. I believe food can be both delicious and healthy, and Sophia and I are excited to share what we have created.”
What’s the best music to cook to? “If we’re cooking in the morning, we listen to Chopin and then it just evolves from there. Sometimes we end up with Billy Ocean or Phil Collins and inevitably, if I’m the DJ, we get to deep house.”
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Gas or electric stove? “Gas.”
Since the pandemic began last year, have you found yourself cooking more or less? “We’ve definitely been in the kitchen more and honestly, now have a hard time eating out because our standards for how food should taste and make you feel are much higher.”
What are your favorite cooking shows? “We can’t get enough of The Great British Bake Off, even though we don’t bake that often, and Sophia loves Iron Chef and Chopped.”
What’s your favorite late-night guilty pleasure? “I don’t have a guilty relationship with food. I have some food intolerances, such as dairy, gluten, eggs and sugar, so I always avoid those foods and don’t feel bad about it. The consequence of eating them is way worse than staying away, so I can feel confident and safe in any food choices I make. I also try not to eat late at night. I would rather my body focus on recovery while I’m sleeping than spend that energy trying to digest.”
How do you fuel the day before a full schedule of rides? “I think about food as recovery. If I have eaten to recover the night before, I feel great the next day. I will make sure that I’ve had some fat and protein before I work out, but I don’t carb load before a day of cardio. I make sure to have protein, fat, lots of leafy green veggies and complex carbs before and after workouts. “
What is your pre-ride meal? “The only thing I constantly eat every day is avocado toast on gluten-free bread, and I drink celery juice on an empty stomach.”
What is your post-ride meal? “I tend to eat one of two things after a workout: a big-ass salad with some kind of protein, like bison, fish or chicken, or coconut rice, broccoli rabe, kimchi and one of those proteins.”
Interview has been condensed and edited.
