Olivia Culpo Swears By Palmini And Miracle Noodles For Low-Carb Dinners

From Women's Health

Newly-minted Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover star Olivia Culpo knows that nourishing her body is a must if she wants to do all of the things, from modeling, to working on her line of fashionable face coverings (called More Than a Mask), to creating her new sunglasses capsule collection with Prive Revaux, to prepping for her next film, Venus As A Boy (which premiers in the fall of 2020).

The always-on influencer switches up her nutrition strategy depending on what's on her plate, though. When she only had five days to prep for her SI cover shoot (which took place in Bali in November 2019), she pulled out all of the stops, hydrating as much as possible, cutting out alcohol and sugar, and hitting her workouts hard.

When she's not cramming in crunch-time prep for shoots, though, Olivia is more relaxed about her routine. "I stick to the 80/20 rule," she tells Women's Health. "During quarantine, it was more 40/60. I just try to keep a balance."

One philosophy she tries to stick to, no matter what that balance looks like: loading up on fiber and protein, a principle she picked up from her friend, New York City-based nutritionist Tanya Zuckerbrot. Typically, she keeps overall carbs low.

Here's how Olivia sneaks loads of fiber and protein into her daily eats.

Breakfast

Olivia says she's a "pretty early morning person" and that her puppy helps her get a jump start on the day. "I used to wake up around seven or eight, but now I have a puppy so I wake up earlier at six," she tells WH.

Once she's up, Olivia kicks off her day with a breakfast of coffee and fiber-filled fruit. "I have hot coffee with almond milk and I like blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries," she says. "They're really perfect for the mornings; so refreshing and full of fiber."

From there, she'll munch on egg whites and avocado with toast.

Lunch

Since her days are busy, Olivia keeps her mid-day meal quick and filling. "For lunch, I'll have some sort of salad," she says. "I love chicken and any veggies with a miso vinaigrette."

When she's not in the mood for a crunchy salad, she fires up the oven. "One trick I use is easy, one-pan meals," she says. "I chop up chicken, put it in a bag, season it, and roll the chicken around in the seasoning. Then, I put it on a pan with broccolini and sweet potatoes and bake it at 350 or 375."

Snacks

To keep her satiated in between meals, Olivia always keeps fiber- and protein-packed snacks on hand. "I'm obsessed with nuts," she says. "I do regular mixed nuts because I like the salt. Raw almonds without salt is just too boring for me."

She also loves a trail mix with M&Ms, raisins, almonds, cashews, and peanuts—especially on shoot days. "I need energy on set, so I like the raisins and the chocolate," she says.

Olivia also loves a sippable snack. "Smoothies are really filling, so if I'm trying to be really clean, I sometimes have them as snacks," she says. "I do a frozen banana, cacao, a little bit of almond butter or PB2, salt, cinnamon, vanilla, and either Vital Proteins Collagen Powder or Garden of Life Vanilla Organic Plant Protein." When whipping out the blender isn't an option, she grabs a pre-made Evolve Protein Shake.

Dinner

When dinnertime rolls around, Olivia usually shoots for a combo of veggies and protein.

One of her fave evening meals: Palmini linguine (which is made of hearts of palm) with chicken, Rao's tomato sauce, and peas or mushroom. "It's really good and mimics pasta," she says. Another on of her go-to's: Miracle Noodles, which are made of fiber from the konjac plant. "They're a low-carb noodle that I love to use with scallops, capers, and a light oil," she says.

When she's not doing (faux) noodles, Olivia also enjoys a simple dish of grilled fish and veggies. Or, she transforms the cult-fave GG Crispbreads into pizza and tacos. "Something that's delicious is ground turkey with taco seasoning on a GG Cracker with a little bit of cheese," she says. "Or, I top a GG cracker with Rao's tomato sauce and cottage cheese or low-fat cheese and put it in the microwave and it tastes like a pizza."

Dessert

Though Olivia typically focuses her nutrition on fiber and protein, she enjoys her favorite treats (particularly ice cream and wine), too.

"I'm more of a white wine or Champagne kinda person," she tells WH. Her favorite varietals are chablis, chardonnay, or pinot grigio.

When it comes to ice cream, Olivia's most beloved is Salt & Straw's mint chocolate chip. "I have Halo Top, which is lower-calorie, too, and it's great," she says. Her favorite flavors are Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Birthday Cake.

Lately, Olivia has also been baking a lot more than usual (I'm talking way beyond banana bread). Her go-to source of inspiration for sweet treats has been Flour by Boston bakery owner and pastry chef Joanne Chang. "My sister and I tried every single recipe in her cookbook and they were so delicious," she tells WH. "The maple scone is absolutely to die for; everybody reading this has to try these scones." Are you sold? 'Cuz I am.

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