What does a Dietitian eat on the weekend?

A Day on a Dietitian’s Plate: Weekend Edition

6:30AM

I try not to sleep in too much on weekends because when I do, Monday morning are SO much harder!! This means I was up by around 6.30am on Saturday and the first thing I have every morning is my coffee. I was recently gifted an espresso pod machine with a milk frother and in the name of saving money, I’ve been making more coffees at home.

7:00AM

I prefer to work out on an empty stomach and weekends give me the luxury of time to do a solid gym session. So, off to the gym I go! After the gym, I take my two (furry) boys for a good walk- extra cardio for me!

Meet little Rambo and big Titan, our two rescue dogs!

11:30AM

Meals on weekends do seem to end up quite a bit later than normal. In fact, whilst on weekdays I always eat breakfast, on weekends it’s often skipped in favour of an early lunch. Brunch today was toasted sandwiches made with olive bread, mustard, cheese, ham and tomato. I served it with a light pear and rocket salad. I really love how the freshness of this salad really balances out the luxurious fatty flavours of the toastie!

3:00PM

On weekends when the afternoon munchies hit, my preference is to make something. I rarely buy baked goods to eat at home- though there is a particularly nice café nearby which makes all their sweet treats in house! This is largely because I LOVE cooking, so it would be a missed opportunity for me. Given I recently received a new baking cookbook, I was inspired to bake fresh, fluffy scones served with jam and whipped cream (with a mug of Earl Grey Tea of course!).

My go-to scone recipe is one which combines self-raising flour, lemonade (the full sugar variety) and thickened cream.

People often ask whether becoming a dietitian has made me a healthier eater. I was lucky to be brought up with very health conscious parents- perhaps to a slight extreme (AKA sugar-free banana birthday cake…yuck!).

Whilst it hasn’t changed the quality of food I eat, my studies improved my RELATIONSHIP with food. This, to me, is just as important because it means I can eat things people would usually demonise (like high fat, high sugar, processed foods) without spiraling into cycles of bingeing and self-deprivation. Research has shown that competent eaters (i.e. people who enjoy a broad variety of foods, both healthy and unhealthy and who are confident in trying new foods) and eaters who have a good relationship with food are more likely to have a healthy, balanced diet.

6:00PM

As you will see on my weekday food diary, I am an avid meal-prepper.  This dinner, brought out from the freezer, is a vegetable-packed pasta with chicken and a splash of cream. Not everyone likes defrosted food but for me, it’s a total time saver and a million times easier even than waiting for home delivered takeaway to arrive.

This is one of my favourite pasta dishes- lots of zucchini, broccolini, onion, garlic, herbs, chicken and pasta in a low fat cream sauce. With cheese…of course!