WIAWRD was a mystery to me until last week when Amy Macklin RD, LDN, owner of Gluten Free Roots “tagged” me to write about what I ate Wednesday, registered dietitian style #WIAWRD, click here to read her blog. I am glad this is now in my awareness!
I thought this was such a fun idea that I immediately agreed! A large number of people are often curious as to what others eat, especially nutrition experts like a registered dietitian, so I thought it would be cool to give them a little peak inside. I am a pretty food sensitive soul so people often ask me the question, “So, what do you eat?” My dietary restrictions include: gluten, dairy, soy, egg, honey and coffee.
There are a lot of preconceived thoughts and beliefs that RDN’s are the food police. There is the thought that we are judging everything anyone eats and that we never eat anything that isn’t healthy. I am far from the food police. Yes I live a very healthy lifestyle because my body is rather sensitive, however, chocolate is a staple in my house, I must have it to stay sane. As a dietitian, I am very aware and conscious of how I am fueling my body, but that doesn’t mean I am not human, everything in variety and moderation! Here is a peek into my daily fuel.
Breakfast:
I start my day off with warm lemon water, and a bowl of raw oatmeal. This is one of my favorite go-to breakfasts. I tend to eat smaller meals more frequently throughout the day. Starting my day off with warm lemon water wakes my digestion up, getting things moving. About 20 minutes after my lemon water I make my oatmeal: Simple, Simple, Simple is the key for me! Bob’s Red Mill GF Rolled oats, cinnamon, almond milk (homemade), and a pinch of maple syrup. Sometimes I will add some fruit or nuts like blueberries, walnuts, pecans, strawberries, but often I have a snack about an hour to two hours later that usually contains nuts and fruit. I have about four to five different go-to breakfasts but they always consist of a gluten free whole grain, protein, healthy fat and fruit.
Snack:
As I said above, I am usually up early in the morning to get to work, and I take a break around lunchtime for my daily yoga practice. This is why I eat a little something two hours after breakfast so I can fuel my yoga practice and not be starving during it or when I finish. Feeling starved during power yoga, not the best idea. So this is one of my go-to snacks, and again its super easy to make. Apples, walnuts, pecans and raisins. My snacks always consist of some sort of protein paired with a fruit, veggie or whole grain. Usually a 2-part snack, although on days when I am very active or busy writing using my brain I tend to eat more of a 3-part snack. Today though, it was only two.
Lunch:
Lunch for me usually consists of some sort of homemade fruit or vegetable juice, (did I mention I am pretty big into using juicing as a supplement to my meals?) and one of a number of various salads. My favorite lately has been using kale in different ways; so today I made kale salad with quinoa, olives, radishes and a tahini dressing. My lunches always have some sort of protein, veggie and whole grain. I use that as my base and go from there when coming up with new recipes or combinations of foods to eat. Kale and quinoa is actually a great pair! My lunch is usually eaten after my yoga practice so I am really trying to replace and refuel what I just expensed on my yoga mat. As far as a beverage goes, today was a green juice made of: cucumber, apple, lemon, celery, spinach, parsley and watercress. Yum! It’s one of my favorite juice combinations, not too bitter, yet just sweet and refreshing enough. Other than that I am pretty much pounding water all day.
Dinner:
Sometimes I get stuck in a rut when it comes to dinner. I’m always working until later in the evening and when its time to call it quits I end up going in the kitchen cooking whatever is quick and whatever I can get my hands on, so I’ve been making a conscious effort to plan or make things ahead of time to call “dinner”. Usually it’s some sort of salad, GF pasta with a protein and veggies but as I have been trying to get out of this rut, I have started to incorporate more varieties of veggies and proteins into this meal. I tend to bake chicken a lot, steam veggies and then toss it all together with rice, GF pasta or quinoa. Today I picked quinoa! This recipe is an archived recipe from last year and I decided to bring it back to life today, adding it to my new rotation of dinner dishes. Kale, Quinoa, Lemon, Cherry tomatoes, cumin… are just a few of the ingredients.
Snacks: My usual snacks are whatever I have in the house at the time. I make sure to keep my kitchen stocked with raw nuts, fresh fruit, hummus, nut butters, and GF oats. My juice pulp muffins are a great snack as well. I usually have two snacks a day but this day was packed with writing and clients so I only had one snack today.
As you can probably tell I am a big fan of eating organic, whole foods, not so much prepackaged foods. My body feels so much better when things don’t come in a wrapper, although I will say that sometimes, life gets in the way and you have to choose the healthiest thing you can that does come in a wrapper.
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The WIAW Dietitian Tag! #WIAWRD
This blog post is a part of a ‘dietitian tag’ to see what other registered dietitians from around the world really eat!
To carry on this tag all you need to do is:
1) Copy and paste this section (marked within the ******) to the bottom of your WIAW blog post.
2) Tweet/Facebook the link using the hashtag #WIAWRD (What I Ate Wednesday Registered Dietitian).
3) Add your blog post link into the section below.
4) ‘Tag’ 2-3 other dietitians to carry on the tag via email! – I tag
1.) Emily Harrison, MS, RD, LD The Center for Dance Nutrition
2.) Iris Briand, RD, LD Sol Food Nutrition
Previous WIAW Blog Posts (add yours here along with where you’re from!):
Nic’s Nutrition – Weekend Edition (West Yorkshire, UK)
Gemma Critchley, Dietitian Without Borders (Liverpool, UK)
Nic’s Nutrition – Week Day Edition (West Yorkshire, UK)
Helen West, Food & Nonsense (Uluwatu, Bali)
Diana Chard, Bite My Words (Nova Scotia, Canada)
Mark McGill, Glipho (Ottawa, Canada)
Debra Riedesel, CycleDiet.com, Sensitive Dietitian’s Kitchen.com (Iowa,Florida, New Jersey, USA)
Amy Macklin, Gluten Free Roots, (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Colleen McCarthy, OnPointNutrition.com (Atlanta, GA, USA)
