Former professional dancer Brooke Ence was focused on training for the 2015 CrossFit Games when Hollywood came calling. Warner Bros. director Zack Snyder wanted her for the role of an Amazon warrior in "Justice League" (out on Nov. 17).
After some hesitation over interrupting her rising CrossFit career, she took the role, and soon another one was offered to her: that of the Amazonian warrior Penthesilea in "Wonder Woman." Watching herself in this summer's blockbuster hit was exciting, to say the least. "It was surreal and honestly just made me super hungry for more silver-screen time," she says.
While Ence's acting career has been taking off, her CrossFit one has been frustrated by injury recently. After winning two events and placing 14th overall in her rookie appearance at the CrossFit Games in 2015, she missed out on qualifying by one spot in 2016. This season, Ence was forced to sit out with a herniated disc.
She vows she'll be back next year, and while recovering, she's loading up on hearty fuel -- like this easy-to-throw-together fall dish she shared with us:
Day and time: Dinner on a Tuesday night
Place: My home!
What I'm eating: Brooke's Butternut Squash Sauté
Why I'm eating it: Because it's a healthy, yummy fall meal for when the weather cools down.
Whose recipe: My own.
The recipe:
Ingredients:
4 ounces cooked chicken cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 ounces cooked brown rice
1 cup of bell pepper, onion and zucchini pieces, cut into long "noodle" strands
1 cup butternut squash soup
Crispy sweet potato noodles
Feta crumbles
Sriracha sauce to taste
Salt and pepper
Cook the peppers and onion on medium/medium-high heat so they get a little charred. Then add zucchini noodles to the mix until they soften.
Heat the butternut squash soup on low/medium heat to preferred temperature while warming up the chicken and brown rice.
Combine peppers, onions and zucchini noodles with soup, rice and chicken. Top with crispy sweet potato noodles and Sriracha sauce. Add some feta crumbles for more great flavor and season to taste.