My Day on a plate (Summer)

To be the healthiest version of yourself, you have to feed your body the most nutritious diet you can (and don’t forget getting regular physical activity and enough sleep, too). But health, food and exercise depend on the individual. To get the balance right, you need to look at how you feel personally, not at what everyone else is doing.

In this post, I explain what an average summer’s day intake looks like for me. I’m not super-strict, but I do the right thing 80 to 90 per cent of the time.  Read on …

Breakfast

Today, I started with a bowl of my own muesli to which I added bran pellets, flaked almonds, sesame seeds and pine nuts (there are never enough nuts and seeds even with the expensive mueslis, IMHO). I top it with natural Greek-style yoghurt (full-fat) and sliced yellow peaches.

Morning Coffee

As I’m getting older (and wiser!), I opt for a flat white made with skim milk. I dislike the butteriness of full-cream milk.

I know I could have a piccolo OR black coffee, but I prefer mine made with milk. It’s light enough that it won’t fill me up, but it’s still filling enough to keep me going until lunchtime.

Lunch

A salad for me! I teamed mixed lettuce leaves with cashews and sliced green apple, topped with sesame seeds and turmeric plus a side of smoked salmon. It was hot so I was glad to eat it. 

Lunch is usually leftovers from the previous night’s dinner. I cook to ensure there are leftovers – it’s a timesaving strategy and reduces food wastage. Sometimes, it’s chicken and veg or Bolognese served over veg. If there are no leftovers, I might make a massive salad bowl (like the one below) with a can of salmon or sardines.

Afternoon Tea

I don’t usually snack in the afternoons. If I’m peckish, however, I might have something simple: an apple, cut-up orange, handful of nuts or rice cracker spread with peanut butter.

This will depend on whether I’m hungry – our appetite can change from day to day depending on how active we are, hormonal changes, what we’ve eaten earlier, etc.

Dinner

Dinner varies. Sometimes, it’s spaghetti Bolognese; other times, it’s fish fillets, steaks or a stir-fry cooked quickly in the wok. I often do a one-tray chicken bake with veg as well.

When veggies taste good, we’re more likely to eat them. So don’t be afraid of adding in some healthy fat such as a splash of extra-virgin olive oil, or sprinkling some herbs over. Sometimes, I use dressing with lemon juice and mustard for flavour.

Tonight, we had a chicken and curry. The chickpeas add protein and help with the minimum five serves of vegetables we need in a day. I use canned legumes or pulses. I add lots of vegetables to my curry – peas, zucchini and capsicum – and I serve it with chopped fresh coriander (cilantro).  Coriander is packed with vitamin C.

Do I have dessert?

For dessert, I chose a tub of what I call “dessert yoghurt”. Yes, it’s yoghurt but it’s got added sugar and syrup, which is why I call it dessert. A healthy diet has room for all sorts of foods. Eating slowly and enjoying each mouthful means I can enjoy dessert without needing large volumes.

Before bed

I make herbal tea before bed to help me sleep – this time, it was lemon, ginger and chamomile tea in that pot. And I ate a sliced-up apple. 

Sometimes, I’ll have some crackers and cheese or even nuts with chocolate bits, depending on what I’m craving.

The bottom line

You can see how I eat at a glance in the photos and on plates. Do dietitians practise what they preach? Most of the time. But remember, they are foodies too, so they’ll try out something new or unusual to them. But they’ll stop after three mouthfuls! Remember: eat what feels right for you. You don’t have to be perfect all the time.