What Katie Ate on Friday

Hello Healthy Hearts Nutrition followers! I’m so thrilled to be writing my first blog post and I’m incredibly excited to be joining Leslie at Healthy Hearts Nutrition! 🙂

For my first blog post, I will be sharing what I ate on Friday to give you a snapshot into what another registered dietitian eats in a day.

Full disclosure: I was working at home on Friday, so I had the luxury of having access to and eating from my own kitchen all day. For my next “what I ate” blog post, I’ll be sure it’s on a day when I’m on-the-go!

7:00am

First thing in the morning, I always fill up my 32 ounce water bottle and I try to drink at least two of these per day. In the summer, I shoot for three.

I used to drink one to two cups of caffeinated coffee each morning, but I recently did an experiment on myself and slowly weaned myself off caffeine to see what happened. I learned that I don’t really need all that much (if any) caffeine during the day as long as I eat well and sleep enough. Because I love having a hot cup of coffee in the morning, I generally go for decaf coffee. One of my favorites is the decaf by Allegro Coffee.

I’m all about that pumpkin spice flavor all year round, so I throw some pumpkin pie spice in with the coffee grounds before brewing. On other days, I’ll also use ground cinnamon, vanilla extract, or unsweetened cocoa powder with the coffee grounds to provide some extra flavor.

With that extra flavor, I usually don’t need to add anything else. On rare occasions, I’ll add some whole milk or half & half.

 

8:00am // Breakfast

Scrambled eggs with any veggies I happen to have in my fridge is a breakfast go-to for me. First, I sautéed mushrooms and spinach in some coconut oil. Then, I cracked 2 eggs into the pan and cooked until done!

These eggs were from The Little Red Barn in Huber Heights, OH located off of Chambersburg Road. If you have never had farm fresh eggs, I highly recommend trying them. You can taste the difference! The Little Red Barn sells fresh eggs from their own chickens as well as many other local products like honey, strawberries, and seasonal veggies. They are open from 10:00am to 6:00pm every day of the year!

 

10:30am // Snack

A sliced Fuji apple dipped in sunflower seed butter. It doesn’t get more simple than that!

I love organic SunButter because it has just one ingredient: sunflower seeds. Check out the ingredient list on the nut butter in your home … could a third-grader pronounce all of those ingredients? 😉

 

12:30pm // Lunch

At the last minute, my fiancé and I had the opportunity to meet up for lunch … so change of plans! I like Chipotle because they tend to have real-food ingredients and you can pile on the veggies (and the guac!). What’s in my burrito bowl? Brown rice, black beans, pinto beans, lots of pico de gallo, medium salsa, corn, cheese, guacamole, and lettuce. Plus, a glass of water on the side.

This was a large serving, so I could only eat about two thirds. I took the rest home to add to my collection of leftovers!

6:30pm // Snack

I snacked on some raw carrots while I made dinner because I was feeling a little bit too hungry and needed something to hold me over!

 

7:15pm // Dinner

I always dedicate one to two nights per week for leftovers. For this meal, I had a baked chicken breast topped with leftover homemade BBQ sauce (I highly recommend this BBQ sauce recipe from www.TheGraciousPantry.com), frozen broccoli steamed in the microwave (with salt and pepper), and leftover roasted patty pan squash (with salt and pepper). So simple, yet so delicious!

 

I love the famous quote by journalist Michael Pollan as he describes how we should eat: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” I try to follow this simple way of eating in my daily life:

I strive to eat real food (food my great-grandmother would have recognized as food).

I go for a balanced plate (I try not to emphasize one food group at the expense of another).

I try not to overdo it (eat when I’m hungry and stop when I’m full).

I go for plant-based foods as much as possible (veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes, and whole grains).

However, I am definitely not perfect … and no one should be!! My simple advice to you for today: Plan ahead and don’t overthink it 😉

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