COLORADO SPRINGS -- While Michael Phelps swam laps and the U.S. women's volleyball team lifted weights at the U.S. Olympic Training Center this week, Jacque Hamilton also was preparing for the Beijing Games.
In the kitchen.
Hamilton is executive chef at the training center, with a file of 1,500 recipes and a demanding directive for the 2008 Summer Olympics: Prepare more food than ever before.
For the 2004 Summer Games in Athens, Hamilton and her staff served only lunch and boxed meals. In Beijing, they will be serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The change is not a response to ongoing concerns about food safety in China, U.S. Olympic Committee officials say.
"We have a high degree of confidence that the food in the Olympic Village will be safe and will adequately provide our athletes with what they need," says Steve Roush, USOC chief of sport performance.
Nevertheless, the plan to serve three meals a day at the USA's training center in Beijing will give athletes an alternative amid unprecedented scrutiny of the Olympic food supply.
It also will give them a taste of home.
"It's not the time to change your entire diet when you're going into major competition," Hamilton says. "We'll try to give them food they're familiar with."
For the last two years, the USOC also has been trying to give athletes at its training centers food that's better for them.
The "Performance Nutrition" program, which will be introduced at a news conference today in Colorado Springs, required Hamilton to rework many of her recipes. Rather than changing the menu, she switched to healthier ingredients and cooking methods.
In addition, with help from sponsor Tyson Foods, the USOC this year will be giving all U.S. national team members a travel nutrition kit for healthier eating on the road. The kit comes with a hot pot, measuring cup, spoons and recipes for preparing packaged foods.
"They're creatures of habit," USOC dietitian Adam Korzun says of athletes. "When something works and they're in a competition phase, they want to stick with that. ... This is a way they can pack for performance."
It also might save athletes from having to gamble on poorly translated menus. (Korzun's favorite: "Heart Type Veal Intestine Complex Acid Broccoli." )
"I've heard stories," Roush says, "about athletes that have literally gone three or four weeks on PowerBars and soda."
Phelps has a different strategy.
"McDonald's is everywhere," he says. "So I'll have some of that if I need it."
In Beijing, where he could win a record eight gold medals, it's unlikely he'll need it. A group of dietitians from around the world met with the Olympic Village food supplier to offer advice on menu items. And if Phelps doesn't find what he wants at the Village, Hamilton will be cooking nearly around the clock.
Says Terri Moreman, associate director of food and nutrition services for the USOC, "We're just an extension of Mom."
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