Wouldn’t it be nice if donuts were part of an Olympic athlete’s training program? As delicious as donuts taste, we know that they’re not good for you (sigh). According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a glazed donut contains about 240 calories and half of those calories are from fat. It only gets worse if you add frosting, cake batter or extra toppings (major sigh).

Since we’d like to keep eating donuts, we know how important an active lifestyle is, and we don’t want to feel bad seeing all of those six packs in Rio. Here was our good cop and bad cop checklist for the week:

  1. Test a donut recipe at home
  2. Find a fun way to work off said donut

We found an adorable Olympic Ring recipe from Chef Richard Blais of Cooking with Team USA. After sampling the goods, we turned to personal trainer Graeme Baumstein of Body Fuel by G for a workout solution. The result: a quick 20-minute circuit that torches the calories in one delicious ring. Let’s head to the kitchen first…

Part 1: The Recipe

Print Recipe
Olympic Ring Donuts
As seen on Cooking with Team USA and Richard Blais featuring Alysia Montano.
Olympic Ring Donuts on Cooling Rack
Prep Time 10-12 minutes
Cook Time 8-11 minutes
Servings
donuts
Ingredients
Donuts
Glaze
Prep Time 10-12 minutes
Cook Time 8-11 minutes
Servings
donuts
Ingredients
Donuts
Glaze
Olympic Ring Donuts on Cooling Rack
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Grease the donut pan. Combine all wet donut ingredients. Combine all dry ingredients separately. Fold the dry ingredients into wet as it’s mixing.
  3. Put batter into a pastry bag (we used a Ziploc bag and snipped off the corner with scissors). Pipe into a donut pan.
    Batter in Donut Pan
  4. Place into the oven for 8-11 minutes.
  5. While they bake, work on the glaze: Combine powdered sugar, vanilla, and coconut milk and whisk together. Add lemon and orange zest, if desired.
    Donut Glaze Ingredients
  6. Separate the glaze into 5 bowls. Add food coloring. TIP: You'll need to combine red, green and blue for the "black" glaze.
    Olympic Donut Glazes
  7. Take donuts out of the oven. Let them cool 5 minutes before removing from the pan.
    Baked Donuts Without Glaze
  8. Dip donuts into glaze.
  9. Enjoy!
    Olympic Ring Donuts on Silver Background
Recipe Notes

Easy to make and fun to eat! We're used to eating light and airy donuts, so we gave this recipe 3 stars for its thicker cake consistency.

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Part 2: The “Skinny Donut” Workout

Ready to burn 250-300 calories? Let’s get to work!

"Skinny Donut Workout" infographic

Can’t read the infographic? Follow along with the plain text workout:

  • D: Down Dog Push Ups x 12-15
  • O: Obliques by Russian Twists x 50
  • N: 4-second Negative Lower Leg Raises x 12-15
  • U: Upper Cuts with 5-10 lbs. x 50
  • T: Tricep Dips x 20
  • S: Jump Squats x 20
  • Repeat 4x (5x if you snuck an extra bite or two)

You Made It to the Finish Line!

How was your baking and workout experience? Comment below with your thoughts, then share this recipe/exercise combo with all of your donut-loving friends. Go Team USA!