NASCAR driver Danica Patrick races almost 40 weekends a year so she is constantly on the go – so to stay healthy, she makes sure she brings fresh groceries on the road with her.
“When we travel we have the fortune of being able to have a bus that’s filled with groceries. I make that list, so there’s lots of fresh healthy ingredients,” the Nature’s Bakery spokeswoman, 33, tells PEOPLE. “It’s in general a lot easier to stay on the bus and cook than to go out, and it’s healthier of course.”
Despite her busy lifestyle, Patrick always makes time to prepare healthy meals.
“When I’m on the road I cook, and when I’m at home I love to cook,” she says. “I’m a busy person, but you make time for whatever’s a priority, and I love to cook and I make being healthy a priority.”
And while she allows herself the occasional indulgence – trail mix, red wine and chocolate are her favorite treats – Patrick sticks to a pretty clean diet in general.“I’m one of those people who doesn’t believe in cheat days,” she says. “There’s just going to be times when you’re not going to be able to be perfect, or you want a bite of something, so I try and eat as healthy as possible every single meal of the day.”
Patrick loves cooking healthy gourmet dinners that mix flavors and textures, but when she’s short on time, her go-to meal is premade rotisserie chicken with steamed spinach and brown rice or quinoa.
“You can combine all of that and have a super healthy, easy dinner,” she says.
Patrick is also extremely active – she works out every day, and sometimes twice a day.
“I love to work out with intensity,” she says. “I do anything between 5- and 25-minute workouts that are very intense. My preferences are interval running and CrossFit.”