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This weeks My Day On A Plate comes from the July GoodnessMe Box recipe creator Lyndi Polivnick who you might know as @nude_nutritionist. Lyndi is an Accredited Practising Dietitian and Nutritionist who believes that you don’t need to follow a boring or restrictive diet to be vibrant, feel energised and look amazing.
7:00am-10:00am
Breakfast
No one day is every same for my eating! I’m a very ad-hoc, unplanned eater. Instead of following a meal plan, I listen to my hunger and respond appropriately by making the healthiest choices. I generally eat three meals a day as I like to feel hungry before I eat.
The first thing I ask myself in the morning is: Am I hungry? What I do next is simple: I respond to my body. On the days that I am not hungry, I wait until my body is telling me it is ready for food – even if that means I only eat at 10am. If I am hungry, I make myself a bowl of Goodness Superfoods Barley and Oats, topped with pepitas or others seeds and a tablespoon of natural peanut butter.
I always start my morning with my daily cup of coffee. About a year ago, I decided to give up sugar and sweeteners in order to train my taste buds to be more sensitive. It was initially hard but after a month of bitter coffee, I become accustomed to the flavour. Now I couldn’t imagine drinking sweetened coffee!
Some mornings, I have a work meeting. I’m lucky that I get to pick my meeting locations and so often end up eating amazing breakfasts like this one from Nelson Road Tuckshop in Bondi Junction.; I am loving the Winter Breaky Salad at the moment which is green falafel balls, poached egg, kale, mint, coriander, red quinoa, chickpeas, sweet potato, slivered almonds and bright fermented cabbage.
On the weekends, I often go grocery shopping at Bondi markets and stop to hang with friends and eat the Egyptian plate from the Corn Fritters stall. The Egyptian plate is delicious and comes with corn fritters, salad, grilled eggplant, haloumi, tomatoes, potatoes, yoghurt and dukkah. Yum!
1:00pm
Lunch
Lunch is my favourite meal of the day because I have the time to make or find something delicious. If I’m working from home, I’ll raid the fridge to make a hearty salad or nourishing bowl. When I make dinner, I make twice as much so that I have healthy leftovers ready to be enjoyed. I know I feel so much happier when I eat nourishing foods, especially vegetables, so I always make an effort at lunchtime. I am a big fan of legumes (particularly chickpeas) so I try to sneak a serve of legumes in at lunch.
Some days I walk to Coogee beach between clients and grab myself some fresh air, physical activity and nourishment. At lunch time, I aim to eat loads of vegetables and nourishing ingredients. I love this freekeh, lentil and kale salad with spinach and falafel from @fresh_fodder. Yum. Who said take-away needs to be bad for you?
7:00pm
Dinner
These days, I really love cooking and creating delicious, healthy recipes. Although, It wasn’t always this way. I have had to train myself to like cooking and now, the more I cook the better I become and the more I enjoy it. One day I realised that I would have to cook for the rest of my life – whether I wanted to or not. So I figured that I may as well find a way to enjoy the process. To make dinner prep fun, I put on my favourite music. Some nights I’ll pour myself a glass of red wine because I believe that everything can be enjoyed in moderation.
Dinner is the perfect time to get adventurous and eat lots of vegetables. When it comes to dinner, I generally like to follow a super-easy formula for creating healthy dinners without the stress. Here is the trick. I always have three plates of food:
- Lean protein... Like these chicken fillets cooked on the BBQ. Yum! One fillet is the size of your hand = one serve
- A delicious side of veggies such as broccolini, green beans, baked or roasted vegetables etc.
- A BIG side salad which often includes rocket, tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, red onion and feta.
This is a typical dinner for me. Lean chicken breast, side of broccolini and a large salad.
Another really simple dinner I make is this lean San Choy Bow! I grate carrots into my mince for extra vegetables. It makes your meat go further costing less, is healthier and you can't even taste the extra serve of vegetables.
9:00pm
Evening treat
After dinner I treat myself to two squares of Lindt dark chocolate. Some nights I love to have a glass of wine with my dinner! Because I eat everything in moderation I never feel deprived. I used to deprive myself of ‘naughty’ unhealthy foods and it created a really negative relationship for me and food. I’m done with depriving myself and instead, I make balance part of my ritual.
11:00pm
Bed time
I am admittedly a bit of a night owl but always aim to hit the hay by 11pm. Getting at least 8 hours of sleep means I can manage my stress and anxiety levels! Sleep is also really important to managing your weight so I make an effort to sleep well every night.
To see more on Lyndi head to her Website | Instagram | Facebook