Figure Competitor Emily Zaler Cooks Up a Storm – the EZ Whey

By Joe Pietaro
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Updated: December 6, 2009

Everything happens for a reason. Sometimes what appears to be a stroke of bad luck results in the exact opposite. For Emily Zaler, a career-ending knee injury during a soccer match spurned on a lifestyle that differed from the team sport concept.

“I always loved the game of soccer and was named the PAC-10 Player of the Week when I was a freshman at the University of Oregon,” the 21-year-old said. “The following year, I transferred to the University of Missouri.” The life-altering injury occurred that season and Zaler again transferred, but this time it was back to her hometown of Scottsdale at Arizona State University, where she is currently in her last year and working towards a BS in Exercise and Wellness.

“I am using both my personal experience, as well as education and passion for fitness to help others reach their goals – whether it be sports performance, weight loss or general fitness training.”

In addition to being a student, Zaler is also a certified personal trainer, fitness model and figure competitor. If that isn’t enough, she also took on the task of writing a nutritional cookbook entitled “The EZ Whey – Clean Eats That Taste Like Cheats!”

“I have now taken my love for cooking and combined it with my love for fitness to create my own fitness/clean eating recipe book,” Zaler says proudly. “I have taken my drive, determination, work ethic, dedication, discipline and motivation that I learned being an elite athlete and am now applying that towards making a name for myself in the fitness industry.”

The thing that separates this system from the others is that Zaler actually cooks with whey protein in many of her recipes. “Being a figure athlete, I came up with most of my recipes when I was in contest prep,” she recalls. “I needed to find a way to be more creative and make dieting more enjoyable.”

After posting some of her recipes on the various fitness forums online, Zaler received such a positive response that she decided to put them together in a cookbook. “My book can target many different audiences, including people who are trying to lose weight, people who just want to maintain a healthy lifestyle or even people who are preparing for a contest,” she said. “And all of my recipes are diabetic-friendly, as I use no sugar in nay of them.”

Especially with the holiday season upon us, eating properly becomes not just a job, but an adventure. Take the mystery out of it by following a clean and healthy diet that merely tastes like you’re cheating. “We all know that after the holidays and at the start of the new year everybody has weight loss and health goals they set for themselves,” Zaler commented. “My book is a great tool that can be utilized and allow people to truly enjoy what they are eating while still reaching their fitness goals.”

For more info or to order your copy of The EZ Whey, please visit www.theEZWhey.com. You can contact Emily at ezwheycookbook@gmail.com. You can also follow the latest news and updates at twitter.com/theezwhey and facebook: ezwheycookbook

Top photo by Jeph DeLorme