Australian chef Dan Churchill says he follows the “Color Diet, because colorful food is packed with nutrients and hits our flavor receptors. More color = more nutrients = more flavor.”
You can see the evidence on Instagram, where he posts shots of his Crispy Colorful Breakfast Potatoes, rainbow acai bowls, and avocado toast for days.
And now you can taste it in person, too, at his new restaurant Charley St in New York City. At the Nolita fast casual spot, Churchill (who is also the official Under Armour chef and cooked for Lindsey Vonn during the Olympics, NBD) is cooking up bright, fresh dishes filled with nutrient-dense foods.
Think overnight oats with a salted caramel twist, avo toast with walnut miso and pickled tomato, and a quinoa bowl with tahini, butternut squash spread, roasted Brussels sprouts, sweet potato hash, cauliflower, and walnuts. He’s also on a sustainability mission to support local farm partners.
Whether you’re clearing your calendar to head there for breakfast tomorrow or are hundreds of miles away, here’s how you can bring a little bit of his bright, healthy Aussie flair to your own diet daily.
How Does Dan Churchill Live a Nutritious Life?
What’s your go-to breakfast? Breakfast #1 of the day is my creamless creamy scrambled eggs with avocado and/or some sort of colorful side dish, and the second is PB&J oatmeal.
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Your go-to workday lunch? The Tahini Time bowl at Charley St. This has been my go-to dish for years so I had to put it on the menu there.
Your go-to workday dinner? Crispy skin salmon with apple and olive oil roasted Brussels sprouts and crispy sweet potato chips.
What’s the one food you always have in your fridge? Lemons.
The snack you always have with you when traveling? Mixed nuts or my Coffee Bliss Protein Balls.
What do you eat before and after a workout? Before a workout: three-egg scramble and my Athletic Greens. Post-workout is a protein shake and then my PB&J oatmeal.
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Other than water, what do you sip regularly? Green tea.
How often do you exercise, and what’s your workout of choice? Workout of choice is Crossfit-related exercise or a run, and I work out nearly every day of the week, sometimes twice a day, with one rest day during the week.
How do you stay active outside the gym? In my everyday life as a chef I’m constantly on my feet, walking around the city, biking on CitiBike, going for jogs, and I always take the stairs even when there are other options or I’m carrying heavy bags.
What’s your go-to tool for managing stress? My daily meditation, and cooking, as well as working out.
How do you pamper yourself when you need it? I buy really expensive ingredients and hang out in my kitchen, or I go out to dinner with mates and treat ourselves.
Do you have a favorite health gadget? SpeedRope, because I can take it everywhere when I travel for work and get my reps in. It is the perfect combination of cardio, skill, and coordination.
How do you express and spread love? I express and spread love through my food; it is a genuine message for how I want people to come together.
What does it mean to you to “live consciously”? I’m conscious about the things in the world we don’t necessarily give support and awareness to, such as access to drinking water. I am conscious of the role we play in society for affecting our planet and of the responsibility I have as a chef to promote my country and the good things we can do. I’m also conscious about how essential it is to have a harmonic life, and to always keep in touch with family back home in Australia. At the end of the day, I fully believe that the key to your consciousness is your own health.
Lightning Round
Meditation or massage? Meditation every day, massage once every so often.
A hot shower or a soothing bath? Hot shower.
Almond butter or peanut butter? Peanut butter.
Coffee or tea? Coffee.
A long run outside or a dark spin class? Long run.
(Photos: Dan Churchill)
