Comedian Steve Wrigley, 35, is back from his adopted home in upstate New York toper form his solo show for the upcoming NZ International Comedy Festival. For four days a week Steve is a stay-at home dad with a near-perfect diet: raw oats and protein powder with blueberries and bananas for breakfast; a post-exercise almond milk, protein powder and fruit smoothie; grilled chicken breast, steamed greens and sweet potato for lunch and a cup of lean turkey and bean chilli for afternoon tea. Dinner is similar to lunch and there’s no alcohol. However, it’s a totally different story on the remaining three days a week when he’s a comedian on tour…
Breakfast
At the Koru Lounge. Eggs, sausage, two cheese scones, three cookies and coffees and a cider. I get there early.
Morning tea on the plane
The free cookie, plus two other cookies I smuggled out of the lounge.
On arrival
At the pub. Fish and chips, two or three ciders… and probably another cider.
Afternoon tea
Still at the pub and we’ve had all these ciders, so we need some corn chips and a few more ciders.
Dinner
A burger — they are easily group-ordered and smashed backstage before the show. Plus fries and some ciders.
Supper
Ciders and shots. Oh, and a toasted sandwich at 2am from room service.
Mikki Williden’s nutrition quick fix
I see this diet dichotomy a LOT — letting travel be the excuse for loosening the reins on an otherwise excellent diet. You need to take control.
Spend some time the day before you go away preparing meals and snacks that allow you to eat properly at work — packing a chiller bag with hard-boiled eggs, raw nuts, snaplock bags with protein powder with additional LSA or chia seeds and baked kumara and steamed greens in a couple of lunch sized containers with a knife and fork. That way there’s good food if the only option is a fish and chip shop. Consider buying a Nutrabullet or similar to take to make a protein shake post-show — the slight in convenience of carrying additional luggage will more than be made up for with the increase in energy.
Stick to the eggs at the Koru Lounge and, while bacon is fine a few times a week, we have no idea what is in those sausages, so opt for mushrooms, avocado or spinach to provide a good volume of food — this might make the biscuit on the plane unnecessary.
One coffee (even two) isn’t a big deal. I don’t know of many pubs that wouldn’t do a jacket potato with some steak or fish, so opt for this as opposed to the fish and chips. I am pretty sure you are pulling my leg with regards to your continual cider consumption. Save it for after the show — but not before you rehydrate with a non-alcoholic beverage. We always drink so much more when we’re dehydrated
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Steve Wrigley stars in Steve vs. America playing in the NZ International Comedy Festival in cahoots with Old Mout Cider, April 29 - May 2, Wellington, and May 5 – 9, Auckland.
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Mikki Williden is a registered nutritionist and lecturer at AUT University, where she lectures in public health nutrition and sports nutrition at the School of Sport and Recreation. Read Bite articles from Mikki or visit mikkiwilliden.com for more.
