Stephanie is a Sydney based Accredited Nutritionist that holds the philosophy, “being healthy is about finding the perfect balance between feeling your best without feeling deprived”. Stephanie also believes that good health starts in the gut and therefore has a special interest in digestive health.
Coming from a corporate background, Stephanie understands what it’s like to be busy, stressed out and nutritionally depleted. Using her own personal experiences and acquired knowledge, Stephanie provides her clients with practical nutrition advice that’s realistic and fits into their busy lifestyle, without creating added stress. When Stephanie isn’t seeing clients at her Double Bay clinic, she enjoys running Nutritional Cooking Classes teaching people how to create and implement healthy everyday eating, in a fun hands-on way.
My diet very closely reflects the Mediterranean Diet. Partly because it is one of the most well research and health-promoting diets around and partly because I’ve grown up on it. That being said I am very much a foodie and enjoy all types of food, mostly being good quality and minimally processed.
One of my greatest pleasures is dining out with great company and great wine, so come the weekend that is usually what I like to indulge in. During the week I try to keep it pretty clean, cooking most of my meals at home and alcohol-free.
My day on a plate look typically looks like this…
6am
I wake up and do my morning exercise. I like getting it done in the morning because I feel more energetically and emotionally charged and a clean start sets the tone for the rest of the day. This is often a walk with a girlfriend otherwise I’ll do a solo gym session.
7am
My favourite meal of the day. I never skip breakfast so if it means getting up at 5am so that I’ll have enough time, I will. I’ll start off with a green smoothie such as my Digestive & Detox Green Smoothie to fire up my insides. This helps flush the liver of toxins, stimulate bile and gets the gastric juices churning in preparation for my protein rich breakfast.
This is usually 1-2 eggs or smoked salmon, or a combination of both piled on top of a rice thin, with smashed avo, chilli flakes, roasted pepita seeds, fresh tomato and a sprinkle of sea salt. I always boil up a big batch of eggs and have them ready to go in the fridge. This gives me more time to sit and enjoy my breakfast. I hate rushing my meals
9am
I’ll sip on either a long black or matcha green tea between clients, both rich in antioxidants and I like the caffeine hit. I am to have this around 9am or after when my cortisol levels have stabilised, putting less stress on the adrenal glands.
10:30am
Having snacks on hand is important for me to regulate my blood sugar levels and keep myself focused during consults. My standard snack is a Granny Smith (green) apple with a small handful of pepita seeds for a small dose of protein and zinc. I dry roast my pepita seeds which make them so incredibly moreish. I sprinkle these on pretty much every meal, I am addicted. Another snack favourite is my Cacao Power Balls which taste just like a choc fudge brownie.
12:30 pm
Lunch is usually a colourful mountain of grated raw veggies topped with some kind of protein. It’s important to get a mixture of both raw and cooked veggies into your diet as they offer different nutritional benefits. Sometimes I’ll add some fibre rich complex carbs such as 4 bean mix, chickpeas, sweet potato or pumpkin.
Often I’ll cook a double portion of my dinner protein so I can have it for lunch the next day. Otherwise, I’ll just add some tinned tuna or mackerel. The rest takes no time to throw together. I keep a food grater at my clinic and just grab whatever is in the fridge that morning to take to work to shred up. This typically looks like my Cabbage Slaw Salad With Grilled Chicken & Lemon Tahini Dressing. If I don’t have anything to take, my take away go-to is rice paper rolls filled with veggies, avo and salmon, tuna or chicken.
3pm
For an afternoon snack, I’ll sip on a cup of steaming hot bone broth. I have this stuff daily, whether it be on its own or used as a base in my cooking. Bone Broth is one of the most nutrient-dense and healing foods you can have, particularly for your gut. Stressors such as, alcohol, emotional stress, medications and a poor diet cause wear and tear to the gut lining. When left unchecked, this is a big driver of disease and illness, particularly as it relates to immune driven conditions such as eczema and autoimmunity. ‘Leaky gut’ has become quite the health ‘buzzword’ and there is a reason for that.
The gelatin in bone broth keeps the gut sealed up nice and tight. Every now and then I make my own but it requires hours and hours of cooking which isn’t very practical. My go to is Undivided Food Co’s GOOD BONESTM Organic Bone Broth. I have it stocked up in my freezer because I go through so much of it. I’ll use it to make chicken soup once a week which takes all of 15 minutes. This is God sent liquid gold.
6-8:30pm
Dinner is usually protein and a full plate of cooked veggies. Cold water fatty fish such as salmon, trout or cod is my protein of choice, a rich source of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids. I try to buy wild caught whenever I can.
I am obsessed with cauliflower mash at the moment. It’s a great low carb alternative to your traditional starchy potato mash. I also love broccoli, asparagus, brussels sprouts, leeks and artichokes, all great foods for a healthy gut flora. If steamed I’ll finished off with a drizzle of tamari and unhulled tahini which makes any boring steamed veggie taste heavenly. My dinner plate ends up looking something like this; Crispy skinned salmon with Creamy Cauliflower Mash & Globe Artichoke with Caramelised Onion and Feta.
9pm
I always like to finish off with something sweet. This might be a small cup of frozen berries, frozen grapes (which taste like little balls of sorbet), or 1-2 pieces of dark chocolate, usually 92%. The best thing about 92% is most people think it tastes like dirt so I always find it right where I’ve left it.
RECIPE: Creamy Low Carb Cauliflower Mash
Ingredients
- 1 tsp raw coconut oil
- 1 medium-large cauliflower head, chopped into smaller chunks
- 1 leek, sliced
- 1 cup of Bone Broth or good-quality stock. I use Undivided Food Co's GOOD BONES TM Organic Chicken Bone Broth. You can use water but it's not as flavoursome.
- 2 tbsp full-fat Coconut Milk or 2 ice cubes of coconut milk\* (optional to make it extra creamy)
- Pinch of sea salt
Method
Serves 4
Add the coconut oil to a frying pan on medium heat and sauté the leek until soft
2.
Add the bone broth and chopped cauliflower to a saucepan and cooked covered until soft (approx 10-15 minutes)
3.
Add both the cooked cauliflower with the leftover juices, sautéed leek, coconut milk and a pinch of salt to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.