Penélope Cruz Sánchez (born 28 April 1974) is a Spanish actress.
“I love Spanish food. My diet is the Mediterranean diet, which is good food. I eat well, but I try to eat healthily,”
Breakfast
When she’s on the go, Penelope is happy to eat breakfast out or in a hotel restaurant. During those times, she tries to keep it simple, choosing a breakfast with eggs and a side of bacon.
This gives her a naturally protein-dense and low-carb breakfast that helps her start the day off right.
When she’s at home and has a bit more time, she’s happy to make a fresher and more colourful breakfast. Somedays, this could mean a gluten-free English muffin with avocado and poached eggs on top. Others, it could be a serving of Greek yogurt with seasonal fresh fruit, and a drizzle of honey.
It all depends on what she has in the kitchen and what she’s craving at that particular point.
Lunch
For lunch, Penelope tries to keep things lean. She’ll often have a large salad with sautéed or baked fish and seasonal vegetables. If she’s craving something warm, she’ll have a salad similar to this one.
This is a dramatic change from her days when she would overindulge in burgers and fries—we’ve all been there and I know just how hard it is to give up junk food for good.
If she’s looking for something a little heartier, the Mediterranean diet allows for reasonable portions of rice, quinoa, or other whole grains served alongside sautéed vegetables, hummus, or beans.
If she’s on the go, she can easily grab some hummus and veggie sticks to take with her.
There are no limitations here, save for avoiding overly processed foods.
Dinner
For dinner, the Mediterranean diet allows for just about anything that’s fresh. It doesn’t tend to encourage eating tons of red meat, but Penelope isn’t afraid to indulge in a steak every now and then.
She’s from Spain and LOVES incorporating Spanish food into her diet whenever possible. This often means fish, lamb, and some lean cuts of red meat get served alongside her favourite rice and bean dish.
She’s even allowed to indulge in a little wine with dinner every now and then. It all comes down to moderation, and like the other meals she makes in a week, Penelope’s dinner options are designed to make her feel her best.
Snacks
The star isn’t out to starve herself. That’s why she’s happy to snack whenever she’s feeling hungry and her snacks always stay true to the Mediterranean diet.
She often reaches for nuts like whole almonds or peanuts and satisfies her sweet tooth with fresh fruit instead of processed energy bars. She still gets plenty of nutrients and protein, just without the added ingredients of store-bought convenience foods.
Foods she avoids
Though Penelope follows the Mediterranean diet, she does keep things a bit stricter than the diet alone calls for. She actively avoids eating gluten and, as I mentioned, doesn’t drink much alcohol these days. She also avoids eating meat from animals not raised in a free-range facility.
She’s always careful to drink plenty of water throughout the day to stay hydrated.
Workout routine
The actress has been a professional ballet dancer before she had been an actress. Her dancing routine is what keeps her fit the most. It helps to keep her body toned, improves flexibility and postures. Dance has always been one of the be stress busters. She is much into Pilates at present which includes control of breathing, stretching, involves concentration, tones up muscles, etc.
Penelope’s workouts are just as functional and consistent as her diet. Before having first her baby, she kept a fairly standard workout regimen.
She did plenty of cardio, lifted weights, and worked with a professional trainer. Now, her workouts are a bit differnt.
Instead of spending hours in the gym, she now takes time to do Bikram yoga.
This type of yoga is done in a heated room and can, depending on the class, double as a cardio workout. Most of Penelope’s classes last up to 90 minutes and leave her drenched in sweat by the end of the session.
She tries to head to the yoga studio at least a few times each week and widely credits her yoga practice for giving her so much energy.
That said, she still makes time for traditional workouts and often works out with her personal trainer, Gunnar Peterson.
Penelope loves doing dance exercises to build strength and tone, and Gunnar Peterson tries to incorporate this into her gym routines. However, she’s no stranger to traditional strength training.
Sources:
- https://www.rachaelattard.com/penelope-cruz-diet-workout-actress/
- https://us.hola.com/food/20191110fiecwi6u6f/penelope-cruz-health-mediterranean-diet-tips/
- https://koko.news/move/The-Yoga-exercise-that-Penelope-Cruz-practices-to-stay-in-shape-at-46-20200815-0015.html
- https://stylesatlife.com/articles/penelope-cruz-beauty-secrets/