If you’re like me, you get a major thrill out of reading food diaries. Reading ballerinas’ food diaries, then, is an extra treat (pun intended). After all, the more I know about the inner lives of bunheads, the closer I feel to actually being a bunhead. And since portion size is an important factor in having enough energy to dance an entire day, this Coveteur article on New York City Ballet ballerinas Megan Fairchild, Sara Mearns and Gretchen Smith has plenty of good information for growing dancers.

Photo by Leslie Kirchhoff, courtesy of The Coveteur

Here are my favorite highlights from each dancer’s food diary:

• Megan Fairchild can’t resist a few squares (or maybe the whole bar) of dark chocolate at the end of the day. Chocolate = life-affirming.
• Sara Mearns cools down at the end of a show with a glass of wine!
• Gretchen Smith gives herself an extra push before show time by drinking down some Emergen-C mixed with water.

Okay, now I’m just hungry.

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