THE MEAL: In 2002, Davis, who has more than a dozen notable ascents around the world to her credit, decided she was going vegan. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 trying to make a political statement,鈥 says the 39-year-old, who splits her time between Yosemite and Moab, Utah. 鈥淚 spent a year trying all these different diets鈥擜tkins, the Zone鈥攗ntil I found the one that gave me the best performance improvements. The vegan diet just made me feel healthiest.鈥 Ten years later, Davis, whose daily training regimen includes yoga, three hours of wall climbing, and trail running, has never felt better, and lately she鈥檚 become as recognized for her BASE jumping and wingsuiting as for her climbing. After a long day, her preferred meal is a tofu ginger stir-fry鈥攑erfect for impromptu variations and using up ingredients she has lying around. It鈥檚 also a dish that was on Davis鈥 training table when, in 2003, she became the second woman to free-climb El Cap in a single day.
WHY IT WORKS: Korzun says that a vegan diet can be a performance boost for athletes鈥攑rovided they鈥檙e careful about getting a balance of nutrients. 鈥淪teph does just that with this meal,鈥 he says. 鈥淧rotein from tofu for muscle growth is key. And it鈥檚 also a decent source of calcium, which helps keep her bones healthy.鈥 Davis also draws carbohydrates from rice and sweet potatoes.
SECRET INGREDIENT: Ginger suppresses the production of cytokines, compounds found naturally in the body that cause inflammation.
TOFU GINGER STIR-FRY
1. Boil two cups of water, then add a cup of quinoa or brown rice and reduce to a simmer. Cook 20 minutes.
2. Finely chop one clove of garlic, one serrano pepper, and one tablespoon of ginger root.
3. Cut up two cups of broccoli, one head of cauliflower, one red bell pepper, and one sweet potato.
4. Pour two tablespoons of grape-seed oil in a wok or large pan. Saut茅 the sweet potato for about five minutes, then add the other vegetables. Stir-fry for another minute or so.
5. Add half a block of extra-firm organic tofu, cubed, and cook another four or five minutes.
6. Pour a couple of tablespoons of Bragg鈥檚 Liquid Aminos over everything and saut茅 for another minute or two. Serve on a bed of quinoa.
SERVINGS: Two
CALORIES PER SERVING: 775