Erin Andrews shares her post-game comfort food: 'I pretty much inhale a burger and fries'

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Reporting from the sidelines during an National Football League (NFL) game is hard work, but Erin Andrews has been making the job look effortless for nearly 20 years. Still, the 44-year-old sportscaster, who works as lead sideline reporter for Fox Sports, says sometimes, her hard work makes her more than a little hungry.

"When we do a game on a Sunday, I don't really get to eat," Andrews tells Yahoo Life. "The boys upstairs calling the game, they get sushi and coffee. I get usually like Uncrustables and a granola bar, so by the time I get to the airport, I'm ready for a cocktail and I pretty much inhale a burger and fries every Sunday.

"I think that's my comfort food because I know I'm about to be on a flight back home," she adds. "It was already a long day on my feet and so, I just crush a burger. Plus, most restaurants at an airport can't screw that up anyways."

Her go-to airport cocktail? "A tequila water — not a soda water — in a tall glass with a lemon and a lime," says Andrews, adding that after a game, she consumes water at every opportunity, even through her bar order.

"I try to get water in me because on the field, you really do forget to drink water because you're running around," she says. "I try to guzzle down a water on our way to the airport because I've had times when you get right to the airport and have a tequila water with lemon and lime and then you're like oh my god, I'm hammered, what happened? It's like well, I haven't really had any water all day, that's what's going on."

Other food rituals that come with Andrews' job are weekly "family" dinners with the Fox Sports crew. "We get to most definitely check out the town and good spots there," she says of the tradition, which takes place the night before a game.

She's also big on a pre-game breakfast, as she depends on the meal to keep her fueled throughout the day. "I have a big breakfast in the morning — my staple is on every hotel menu — the all-American breakfast with a coffee," Andrews shares. "A good room service scramble with bacon, no potatoes. But that's kind of it for me on the field: I don't even have time to go pee during a game — I'm there and that's it."

When she's at home, things are a bit more relaxed. But Andrews admits she's not skilled in the kitchen.

"I am not a cook at all," says Andrews, who married former National Hockey League (NHL) player Jarret Stoll in 2017. "It's something that, in my off-season from football, I always want to try to get better at."

The strongest parts of her home chef game are breakfast and recipes gleaned from her favorite celebrity chefs. "I am seriously Basic Betty over here," she admits, "but I can cook the crap out of breakfast. I am good with the timing, with the eggs and the bacon and the French toast. I can nail it."

"Real life stuff is a little hard for me but Ina Garten's engagement chicken and all that? I can crush that — that's super easy," adds the host of the Calm Down with Erin and Charissa podcast. "I love her basic things, and I did a Martha Stewart stir-fry I was so proud of during the pandemic."

Still, said stir-fry was not without it's share of kitchen disaster. "My husband is very OCD in terms of cleanliness — he's like Monica Geller from Friends — and I was trying to open the cornstarch," she recalls. "This was when you'd been with your significant other morning, noon and night during the pandemic. It exploded all over our wooden floors and he just looked at me and I was like we are gonna get a divorce. This is how the divorce is gonna happen."

Andrews spoke with Yahoo Life as part of her work promoting Optimum Nutrition, a product she credits with fueling her body post workout. "I think one of the biggest things is trying to figure out what to put in your body after a workout," she says. "Their plant protein is like 24 grams of premium plant protein, so for me, it's great for making a sensible smoothie where I feel like I'm replenishing my body."

Andrews says she exercises daily, both because it clears her mind and because she "likes eating what she want to eat."

"I love to eat," she says. "My husband loves to eat — he's a former professional athlete. When we go out to dinner we probably order way more than we should ... it's just always been my favorite thing to do: I love eating, I love getting room service, I love getting a big breakfast in the morning."

"But I've learned over the years you've gotta be smart about portion control," she continues. "There was a time when I was like I'm gonna be really good about what I eat — just a protein and a veggie and no bread. But now, I just try to be smart with portion control and not carb it out all the time. I like to enjoy what I'm eating."

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