Healthy Hiker Diet

About author / Amy Powell

World traveler; gourmet 30 minute meals; lover of exotic ingredients; winner on FoodTV's Chefs vs City; graduate French Culinary Institute. Her recipes will tantalize your taste buds.

My legs are aching but my stomach is not. I have been in Switzerland for several days now living out my Alpine hiker fantasies along with my boyfriend. We are staying at a friend's ski chalet, for our summer purposes transformed into the cozy haven we retreat to a the end of each day to soak our sore muscles in a hot shower and refuel with home-cooked meals before heading out again the next day.

The ascents here come quick and hard. Two hikes we’ve been on the starting portion requires a 700 foot climb from the car park to the convergence of trails in just over half an hour. These are the kind of trails that challenge our muscles and our minds leaving our stomachs achingly empty at the end of the day.

After many weeks of not cooking much while on the road, the chalet and its kitchen are a welcome change. Not to mention, nothing helps repair worn out hamstrings and tight calves like healthy cooking, the kind that is hard to find in restaurants in a region best known for its (most excellent) cheese and fondue.

I dubbed our eating regimen the Healthy Hiker Diet. Breakfasts are hearty but not fattening: cereals, yogurt, toast, fruit, and juice. Lunches are portable, a hodgepodge of almonds, raisins, cheese, salami, crackers, and fruit smoothies that we can take in our pack without weighing us down. We pull out the random feast as our reward at the halfway point, refueling for the walk back down.

Dinners require more time and serious nutritional consideration. If we are going to be spending 3-6 hours per day engaged in strenuous physical activity for a full week, well-balanced dinners of protein, carbohydrates, and vegetables are essential to maintaining our stamina day after day.

The Swiss grocery chain Coop (which we fondly like to pronounce like the chicken's home) is a wealth of inspiration at reasonable prices. To the market basics from Coop we supplement our kitchen stock with the occasional roadside find like fresh chanterelles mushrooms and local chevre.

Our first night we came in too late to reach the main market but at the very basic late night shop we were able to buy penne, chicken breasts, sun-dried tomato and basil, with a nice looking head of butter lettuce that, splashed with balsamic, was as delicious side salad. The next day, struggling up our final ascent to take in a view of the Rhone Valley we were ever grateful for the carb and lean protein packed meal from the night before.

Switzerland in August stays light until 9pm, the sort of warm summer evenings that encourage me to lazy cooking. After a day of hard hiking throwing a few lean pork ribs into a stew of green curry, coconut milk, and vegetables is the sort of one pot dish I can put together and forget about, coming back an hour and a half later after a shower and stretching to feast upon with a side of white rice.

Turkey is another go-to for muscle building lean protein and even in the middle of the Alps I was able to find a coupe of turkey breasts sliced thinly and pounded into scallopine. Thinking of the French influence on this part of Switzerland, I spread each scallopine with a combination of Dijon mustard, garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Left to marinate for a few minutes we made side dishes of roasted new potatoes and arugula salad. Back at the stove, the turkey cutlets received a dusting of flour, then into a hot pan for a couple minutes per side in a combination of melted butter and oil.

It has been four days so far of epic hikes to peaks with glacier filled vistas, views of hidden lakes and charming valleys filled with rolling grape vines. I’m not sure we would have made it past day one if we were surviving on fondue alone. Our dinners, big and healthy have gotten us this far. If we keep it up, when our week here is done rather than crawling back to the States as weary hikers, we’ll be bounding up the escalator at the airport wishing we could have stayed for more.

Serves/Makes: 2

• 1 1/2 tablespoon whole grain Dijon mustard
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 12 ounces turkey scallopine
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup flour