US Olympic Training Center, Chula Vista, CA

Over the past two days, I have eaten my meals at the US Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA. Chula Vista is south of San Diego on the US-Mexico border. This is a fabulous training center and the food is of very high quality.

With Olympic athletes eating in the cafeteria regularly, the nutritional composition of each meal is very important. The meals are served "cafeteria-style." Above each item, the OTC staff has provided nutritional information including calories, fat, protein, etc. so each athlete can make an education decision on what to eat. Being in California, the food is always very fresh. There are a variety of salad choices and two-three options for the main entree.

An interesting decision that was recently made by the OTC cooks was to take away trays. Trays encourage over-eating and wasting food. Without trays, individuals carefully choose their selections and generally eat what is on their plate.

Last night, my dinner included a grilled chicken salad, one flat iron steak, steamed cauliflower, steamed peppers and roasted baby red potatoes. The peppers were extremely crispy and full of flavor. It is what I expected from the Southwest. The cauliflower was also very good. My favorite part of the meal, however, was the soft serve ice cream. Every time I'm at the OTC (in Chula Vista or Colorado Springs), I eat enough soft serve ice cream to satisfy me for months.

I'm always very impressed with how knowledgeable the cook staffs are at the OTC's. There's a variety of literature offering basic advice to managing your weight and other healthy alternatives to help athletes reach their full potential. Not only are the cooks aware of their athletes, they are also very environmentally conscious. For example, the plastic spoons are made out of potatoes, among other other "go-green" ideas.