Peloton's Cody Rigsby on his 'naughty' food indulgence: '1 slice of cheese pizza really isn't that bad for you'

Because food connects us all, Yahoo Life is serving up a heaping plateful of table talk with people who are passionate about what's on their menu in Deglazed, a series about food.

He's a favorite of Peloton members everywhere, known for making class participants laugh through the challenging parts with stories about everything from growing up gay in Greensboro, N.C. to which Disney prince he'd most like to date. But one thing Cody Rigsby takes seriously is mashed potatoes.

"I love making mashed potatoes," he tells Yahoo Life. "It was the one thing my mom really slayed and I think I'm really good at making them because they were the one thing she passed down to me."

"I have an immense sense of pride," he adds. "It feels like a little bit of a legacy when I make mashed potatoes — I always think of her."

For Rigsby, the secret to really good mashed potatoes is sour cream, which he adds to give them more flavor and "make them nice and fatty."

But the Dancing With the Stars alum's appreciation for comfort food doesn't end with spuds.

"Little known fact — I have a slice of pizza probably three to four days a week because one slice of cheese pizza really isn't that bad for you," says Rigsby. "It's got carbs, it's got protein, it's got fat ... it kind of allows me to have that little naughty moment throughout the day that keeps me on track with my nutrition goals."

He's also a self-proclaimed "burgers and fries kind of girl," naming the meal as what he'd want to eat if he could only have one food for the rest of his life. A close second: fast food staples from his North Carolina hometown.

"When I go back to see friends, I always have to stop at either Bojangles or Cookout," he admits. "Bojangles is a fried chicken spot that has an amazing chicken biscuit and a cinnamon bun biscuit. Cookout is a North Carolina staple – they have like 50 different milkshake flavors and all these great barbecue foods like hot dogs and hamburgers and barbecue trays and it's great. Thinking about it makes me nostalgic for North Carolina."

One restaurant from his childhood Rigsby is no longer enamored with: Olive Garden. "It used to be my birthday restaurant but you would not catch me at an Olive Garden today," says the 34-year-old. "I would not be there at all. You couldn't pay me to go to Olive Garden."

Rigsby spoke with Yahoo Life as part of his work promoting Gatorade's newest drink, Gatorade Fit, a line of hydrating beverages that contain no sugar, artificial sweeteners, flavors or colors and contain vitamins A and C. "Gatorade's bringing something to the market that's new and fresh and something they've never done before," he says. "It's about real hydration without all the fuss."

Rigsby is joined by record hurdler Sydney McLaughlin and yoga expert Jessamyn Stanley for the campaign, the latter of which he shared a special moment while filming. "I had a North Carolina moment with Jessamyn Stanley," he shares. "I did the commercial and realized we're both from Greensboro, N.C. and it was good to see two queer people from Greensboro thriving and doing a Gatorade commercial."

When he's not eating cheese pizza or a Bojangles biscuit, what's Rigsby's go-to weeknight meal?

"I love an air fryer moment," he says, "so I'm taking a chicken breast, coating it with egg and gluten-free bread crumbs — I'm not allergic to gluten nor am a girl that does a gluten-free lifestyle, I just really like the texture of them — then I'm air-frying a chicken breast and making a box of macaroni and cheese."

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