A dietitian’s day on a plate - part 2

My general week day

6.00 Cup of tea

7.30 Greek yoghurt with ½ cup muesli (I slowly built up my tolerance to yoghurt)

9.00 Sourdough spelt toast with Marmalade and a cup of tea

10.30 ½ banana and hand full of nuts

12.00 Chicken stir fry (homemade) with rice or Jaffle with mince meat and vegetables (sourdough spelt bread)

** I always have a lots of vegetables with a variety of low to moderate FODMAP rating Occasionally I would throw in some high FODMAP vegetables eg. snow peas, but I’ll only eat about 4-5

3.00 Muesli bar or baby bell cheese and a tea

4.00 Glass of water

6.30 ½ Raw carrot while I’m cooking to stop myself from snacking on the food that I’m preparing and thus overeating

Dinner – Shephard’s pie with lots of vegetables. I make mine with a tomato sauce and check that there is no garlic or onion in the sauce base. Vegetables include carrots, capsicum, and the green tops of spring onion. I always top mine off with a thin layer of cheddar cheese baked in the oven, so it’s nice a crunchy on the top

Another frequently made meal in my house is roasted chicken with roasted vegetables: sweet potato, radishes, carrots, a couple of slices of beetroot and pumpkin

8.00 Peppermint tea or water

My weekends are never the same

Generally, I like to sleep in and have breakfast at 8.30 am. One of my weekend favourite breakfasts is bruschetta and poached eggs. I make this with sourdough spelt toast, topped with a variety of tomatoes, black olives, olive oil, salt and a poached egg on top.

If I’m out exercising, hiking or at the gym, I’ll snack on a banana and a Greek yoghurt in between breakfast and lunch, while drinking plenty of water.

12.30 pm Lunch is usually a meat (chicken or deli ham) and salad sandwich with tomatoes, ice berg lettuce and avocado. If I’m feeling adventurous I might add a teaspoon of chutney or mustard

4.00pm I usually drink tea in the afternoon

6.30pm Dinner is a big family affair which usually involves a barbeque. Salmon with a bit of lemon, butter and salad is popular in warm weather or roasted vegetables if it’s cold out

Eating out

I still enjoy eating out. I tend to choose Japanese as it is freshly cooked and I can ask for onion and garlic to be left out (those two ingredients are my main concern). If I eat other cuisines I tend to order non-marinated chicken or meat with mixed vegetables. I always run my dietary requirements passed restaurant staff and have found chefs are generally willing to alter meals for me. An advantage of living in Melbourne is that the low FODMAP diet was developed here by Monash University. Therefore, I find that there is good awareness of food intolerances compared to other countries. This said, awareness of the low FODMAP diet is growing worldwide, so this is a positive sign. 

I think that even though I struggle with IBS it is important to still have a diet that includes a wide variety of foods to ensure that I get all the nutrients that my body needs. Food is meant to be enjoyed, so go ahead, try new things and get creative!

What’s on your plate?