Once upon a time, I was a food blogger. I started back in 2007 (yes, nearly 12 years ago!) with a blog called Kristin’s Nibbles. After a year or so and an unsettling amount of emails based upon accidental search misspellings, I changed it to Cook, Bake, Nibble, which it stayed for the next five years. It started as a journal of sorts, to document my eats as I started as a freshman in college studying nutrition. I called it a ‘Diary of a future Dietitian’ (it’s worth noting that though I did continue in nutrition, I did not choose this path and switched my majors about two years in, eventually pursuing holistic nutrition, which is the space I practice in now. I have utmost respect for the profession of dietetics, I simply want to avoid falsely labeling myself). I documented my daily eats, which were, back then, sparse- as I was navigating the tail end of my eating disorder and recovery. I documented my summer in Italy and my experiments cooking for my new boyfriend, my traverse back into the world of eating meat as a former vegetarian, and then of trying every diet under the sun in my post-recovery stage. Oh, hindsight. I shared my experience in culinary school, eventually moving from a daily diary type post to one of more recipes and cooking advice. Eventually, as my business picked up and I worked on my holistic nutrition certification, I let my blog go. But I did miss those days of sharing my daily eats– and those were my most popular posts, whenever I did share them. I think as humans we have an innate desire to be a little bit nosy. We want to know what others are up to, and unfortunately, this can result in some (or a lot of) comparison– judging ourselves if we don’t live up what we see as perfection. So I was hesitant when I began receiving requests for a ‘what I eat’ post– now that I do enjoy food from a place of intuition and freedom.
But I have seen some others intuitive eating focused bloggers share their own daily eats in another light– that of sharing what balance and intuitive eating looks like, in real life. Inspiring others to listen to their OWN bodies and make choices that serve them. I’m not much of a follower, but I DO want to provide as much value as possible and if sharing my own experience living and eating intuitively provides you with the best value, I’m all for it. So let’s try it out, shall we?I’m sharing a work-from-home day. Thanks to my mom, Fridays are devoted entirely to working. I take clients, I write, I create recipes, I record podcasts, and a couple of times a month she takes the girls overnight so my husband and I can enjoy a date night, too. Thanks, mom 🙂 This was one of those days- one with all of those, in fact, work-write-create-record- and date night. So here is how I navigated a day of eating intuitively, on a busy work day.
5:30am. I always start my day with a mug of coffee, journaling and a devotional. I love adding collagen peptides to my coffee, as well as a little bit of stevia- these are constants. When I am going to work out early, I always add some sort of fat to it as well to hold me until breakfast, because I’m not a fan of eating first thing. This is out of self-care– I don’t feel well when I don’t eat at all before my workout, but I also don’t feel well when I eat anything that might sit in my stomach. So blended coffee it is. I added a splash of MCT oil as well as cacao and maca powder (for mocha flavor and hormone balancing). I am loving this devotional, lately. It’s short but powerful.
I work or get family stuff done (finances, meal planning) first thing in the morning, and my husband gets the girls breakfast while I do my workout. Today I went for a short run outside. It was still cold (its February in New England!) but invigorating. And I couldn’t stop thinking about this combo! When I came back, I enjoyed it!. One slice of sprouted toast (easier on digestion) with some salted almond butter, sliced banana and cinnamon. I scrambled two eggs in coconut oil with spinach, sea salt and garlic powder and had it on the side.
After showering and getting the kiddos out the door, I got to work. I created a recipe first thing and let it cool as I got to answering some emails and writing. I enjoyed another cup of coffee with vanilla nut pods mid-morning (unpictured) before a podcast call. After the call I was hungry, and knew I needed to photograph my lunch, so I quickly set it up, photographed it and got to eating!
Let’s be real– I enjoyed it at my desk. Roasted chickpea power bowl with quinoa, roasted sweet potatoes and tahini sauce. Restricted me would have taken one look at this bowl and thought, “Ugh, way too many carbs.”. Balanced me knows that this will feel good in my body because the carbs are balanced by protein and fat- and the balance makes me feel good, keeps me satiated and satisfied.
After taking clients, I took a break mid-afternoon between clients to relax and go over my schedule for the next week and had a bar. These Aloha bars are delicious!
It held me over well until my husband picked me up for dinner. We went to grab a drink at one of our new favorite spots before dinner. I chose one of their signature drinks- a rum and tonic- which came in a very fancy cup with a pasta straw. So fun! Because we don’t go out for drinks often, I’ve made peace with enjoying fancy and sometimes sweet cocktails when we’re out (though an Old Fashioned is always my first choice). It’s not an everyday thing– and I only enjoy one, because I know more than one doesn’t make me feel good! I switched to a glass of wine at dinner.
For dinner, we used a gift card (Thanks, Em!) for one of our absolute favorite spots in Newport. We started with some oysters, and I chose the scallop dish- it was scallops in an orange sauce with roasted vegetables over risotto. I ate most of this, until I felt like I was full. It was delicious and satisfying, because I ordered what SOUNDED GOOD– not what I thought I ‘should’ order. I often have dessert at night, but this night- I didn’t feel like I needed it. My tastebuds were satisfied with the sweet cocktail, and delicious dinner, and my stomach was more than satisfied- though not over-full– with my choice of dinner. So we headed home and I woke up the next morning feeling good and energized. Not every day looks like this– not every Friday looks like this– not every date night looks like this. But one thing remains- I listen to my body in making my food choices. I enjoy a balance of real foods at home, ones that satisfy and make me feel good– and when we go out, I enjoy the experience without pretense. THAT is the beauty of eating intuitively. What used to create stress or what I used to hold rules around has turned into a gentle experience of tuning into my body, honoring my hunger and enjoying food– all food– and feeling energized, balanced and peaceful around food. I hope this was helpful for you, friends, and inspired you to look at food in a different way- and that all food can be a part of a healthful, balanced life.If you like posts like this– please tell me! I’d be happy to do more.
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