Kelsea Ballerini reveals her on-tour meals and reviews Chase Stokes’ cooking skills


Kelsea Ballerini says she’s a “two-cup-a-day kind of girl,” when it comes to coffee.

The “Rolling Up the Welcome Mat” artist might be a four-time Grammy nominee, but in a very relatable move, Ballerini needs her morning java like the rest of us.

“I’m full gremlin mode until I have coffee,” the singer-songwriter tells TODAY.com in an interview about her partnership with The Original Donut Shop Coffee brand.

The Country artist teamed up with this Keurig mainstay to launch a “Ballerini Blend” — its vanilla flavor is inspired by what she says is her favorite coffee treat.

If she’s not sipping on a black cup of coffee, she likes to add a little something sweet “to make it like feel special.”

“My go-to is a yummy, good vanilla latte,” Ballerini says.

She adds that paying attention to what she puts into her body is an important part of her work as a touring musician. “I think, depending on what season I’m in, I kind of treat the way that I operate with my body very differently,” she says.

Kelsea Ballerini. (Tibrina Hobson / Getty Images)

When Ballerini is actively touring, she thinks of her intake “like an athlete” would.

“I have to make sure I get enough protein, enough caffeine, the nights are longer,” she says. “I have to make sure that I’m moving my body enough to work on my breath support for my stage show.”

Though the artist doesn’t eat a huge meal right before going out on stage, she says “a good carb” is always “waiting for me” once she walks off.

“I’m like a monster when I get off stage,” she continues. “I’m like ‘Where’s the Pasta?’”

Ballerini explains that when she’s not touring, she enjoys food differently.

“I cook a lot more, I’m less about a routine and more about just listening to my body,” she says, adding that it’s a lesson she’s learned as she’s gotten older.

“I think everyone needs different things to be able to navigate their lives, and so learning what works for me has been really crucial.”

What works for Ballerini? A good chili crunch salmon is one example. She uses chili crisp condiment, honey and coconut aminos to make a glaze for the fish, then cooks up some vegetables and bone broth rice as sides. “That’s like a normal day at home,” she tells TODAY.com.

But the singer isn’t the only chef in the house. When it comes to her relationship with “Outer Banks” actor Chase Stokes, they take turns in the kitchen.

“When we’re in Charleston, he kind of takes the baton on cooking; and he’s a really good cook,” she says. “Two nights ago he made this like homemade chimichurri skirt steak.”

But when they’re at Ballerini’s home in Nashville, Tennessee, she takes back the proverbial apron.

“Lately I’ve been trying to really nail the like, the good spicy rigatoni at home,” she says. “My last name is Ballerini! I gotta get good at this stuff. I’m trying to nail my Italian dishes!”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com

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