I wanted to take a break from my regular posts to tell you all a little more about me! I’ll post life updates and off-topic tidbits periodically, since it’s always fun to get a real deal look at behind the scenes. Yes, I’m a dietitian, but I’m also a real person who eats things like chocolate and cookies. And watches prison documentaries and baby ballroom shows on Netflix. I know, I know, I know. Not exactly high quality TV. But you just gotta accept me for who I am!
5 Things About Me
- I still use my FIRST smartphone ever, an iPhone 5s from 2013.
- I love to use really big sharp knives in the kitchen. None of that “paring knife” stuff. As a joke Chris bought me a meat cleaver for my birthday one year.
- I grew up in Northern California and firmly believe that West Coast Mexican food > Tex Mex.
- I started cooking and baking in elementary school, and checked out cookbooks from the library throughout middle and high school –> Nerd alert!
- I’m a first-generation American. My parents moved from South Africa to the US before I was born, and most of my family still lives there.
There’s plenty more where that came from, but gotta save some of my deepest darkest secrets for next time 🙂
Football Season
College football season has officially started and our house is split once more. Chris is a Texas A&M Aggies fan and I’m a UCLA Bruin through-and-through. So the big question is, what is Charlie? We’ve agreed to “let him decide”, but I feel like as a seven-month-old he’s understandably leaning towards the Bruins because they’re obviously cooler.
We’re heading to College Station this weekend for the Texas A&M/Clemson game, both my and Charlie’s first football game here in Texas! Our gear is in order – Charlie’s Aggie onesie is in the mail and I have the A&M shirt that Chris gave me for my birthday the week we got engaged (coincidence? I think not). I’m excited to see all the hoopla and festivities on campus, especially since Chris was in the Corps and has lots of special memories.
What I Eat in a Day
Today I also thought I’d share what I usually eat in a day. Not because I think it’s particularly ground-breaking, but because people always seem to be really curious about what dietitians eat! It’s understandable but also a little intense sometimes. Like when your coworkers eye-stalk you around the cafeteria (ha!).
I think it’s important for people to know that nobody eats “perfectly”, and in fact, there is no such thing as a perfect diet or meal plan. There’s just perfect for YOU. But, since we all love new meal ideas (and we’re all curious humans, let’s face it) – here’s a day in the life of my stomach.
Breakfast
6:00am: For breakfast I ate my usual go-to bowl of diced fresh fruit (today it was pears, banana, and frozen raspberries), a tablespoon each of peanut butter powder, chia seeds, and ground flaxseed, 1/2 cup of homemade granola, and almond milk (almond milk not pictured so you can see everything else in the bowl). I love how the frozen berries keep the milk ice cold. It’s my new favorite thing. My other favorite thing is breakfast dessert – see dark chocolate square – because I always crave something sweet after breakfast.
I also had my usual cup of decaf coffee with almond milk and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar stirred in. The decaf is because I’m nursing Charlie, and I want to keep my caffeine intake moderate. But before baby I definitely drank normal caffeinated coffee! Oh, the irony.
Morning Snack
10:00am: Snack time! I had a cup of English breakfast tea with two of my Blueberry Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies. Sometimes I only eat one, but let’s be real, it’s usually two! They’re super hearty, made with oats, peanut butter, mashed banana, and applesauce, so they keep me going until I get a chance to eat lunch during Charlie’s second nap.
Lunch
1:00pm: Lunch is always some version of a salad with leftovers on top. Today it was: arugula and spinach, sliced baked chicken (seasoned with onion powder, garlic powder, and smoked paprika), baby carrots, cucumber, diced roasted sweet potato (skin on), radishes, and avocado. I used a spoon of hummus as my “salad dressing”, and today I had some leftover bruschetta topping to throw on as well!
Every week I bake a batch of chicken and sweet potatoes which makes lunch easy to throw together. FYI the salad bowl doesn’t always look so…symmetrical, it’s usually more along the lines of smooshed and jumbled.
Afternoon Snack
3:30pm: The snack attack hit again, and I had a small banana topped with (about) two tablespoons of homemade peanut butter and a sprinkle of hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, and cinnamon. This is one of my favorite snacks, mostly because I love anything and everything involving peanut butter! This mid-afternoon snack is key, since I don’t want to head into our 4:30pm Crossfit class on an empty stomach.
Post-workout Snack
5:45pm: Are you seeing a theme here? Love me some snacks. Post-workout I had a Chocolate Peanut butter (No Protein Powder) Shake because, protein + peanut butter. And for the sake of honesty, I also included my habitual handful of salty tortilla chips. After a 100-degree workout (not kidding, no AC) I always want a quick bite of something salty. Plus, carbs are a post-workout must!
Dinner
7:30pm: Dinner is usually later, after we bathe, feed, and put Charlie to bed. No, I didn’t accidentally put a breakfast photo here! I do actually eat oatmeal for dinner four to five nights a week. Tonight it was 3/4 cup of old-fashioned oats cooked with water in the microwave. I stirred in a few spoons of peanut butter powder and topped the oatmeal with cinnamon, almond milk, frozen blueberries, and pumpkin seeds. I also take my gummy prenatal vitamins (pictured) with dinner, since food helps enhance absorption.
Why oatmeal? It’s easier for my stomach to digest than meat and vegetables. When my IBS was at its worst (like during my pregnancy) I had to be really careful what I ate before bed, and so I got into the habit of eating oatmeal for dinner. Don’t worry, I don’t make Chris eat oatmeal too! He eats normal “dinner” food, like some type of chicken, sweet potato, and veggies, and I eat those leftovers for lunch instead.
So there ya have it! I do eat a lot more food than I did pre-baby, since I burn lots of energy from nursing and exercising. Mostly real, whole foods, with little indulgences sprinkled in here and there. You can rest assured that this is an honest account because otherwise I never would have admitted to eating something as weird as oatmeal for dinner!
It’s great to meet you! Thanks for following along on my food + digestive health adventures! 🙂
Love following you and thanks for the tips.
Thanks for reading, Terri! 🙂