We sit down with one of Australia’s most exceptional athletes, Australian cricketer and soccer star, Ellyse Perry, to chat about her healthy eating goals (and serious coffee addiction).

Do you follow a strict diet when training?
Yes and no. Obviously, being an athlete you have to consume a fair bit more food than the average person and while I’m not particularly strict, I do try to eat food that is good for me and will help with recovery and training. I basically stick to fresh, wholesome food, so anything from the fruit and vegetable section as opposed to packaged, perishable foods. I really like the idea that if your grandparents wouldn’t recognise it or know what it was then it’s probably not worth eating.

Is there anything you avoid?
I try to avoid fast food and desserts, which is very much a special treat, but in all honesty, it’s not food that I crave very often anyway.

Are there any foods you don’t like?
Dill. I hate dill. It somehow manages to permeate a whole meal.

What are some of your go-to meals at home?
I quite like cooking. My go-to dish is salmon and salad or roast vegetables. I keep it pretty plain and simple.

What do you eat before a match?
Depends what time of day the match is really. For a morning match, I’ll just have muesli, fruit and yoghurt, or if it’s a night game, I might have something silly like peanut butter and sliced banana on bread. I really like coffee and I drink a lot of it so I’ll always have a coffee before a game.

How do you take your coffee and how often do you have it?
I’m normally a long black drinker. How many I have varies but I could easily have like six coffees. If I’m in that kind of situation where you end up sitting down with people and drinking coffee I can just keep going and going.

Do you find it helps with the matches?
Certainly for a late game I like having one before I leave to go to the ground and I think it helps, I feel like I’m able to focus a little better.

Where are some of your favourite cafes for a coffee?
In Sydney, there’s a place in walking distance from us called SML in Willoughby and they’ve got another café in Neutral Bay called At Neutral and Roseville called Calibrate, so I like going to these three places, and thankfully, they are all quite close. In Melbourne, Plain Sailing in Elwood is probably my favourite.

Learn more about Ellyse in her inspiring new book, Perspective (Harper Collins), which hits shelves November 4, 2019.