Dietitian Eats Series: Laura Appel

If you missed the first two in the series (myself and Caitlin's), click here and here. A quick run-down? The Dietitian Eats Series is a series of food diaries or 'days on a plate' from Dietitians, so you can check out what the people who've made a career out of food and health eat!

Today? Meet Laura…

Laura Appel, Accredited Practising Dietitian

Currently working as a casual consultant for Nutrition Australia, this was her first job as a new graduate and she has found the work a great deal of fun and an excellent learning experience as she entered the workforce. Laura is also looking for work in a hospital as she loves the challenge of therapeutic dietetics in complex cases. She has also decided to do some work as a private dietitian. Laura sees people in their own homes for individual consults, menu planning assistance and a range of exciting nutrition education services. 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/lauraappeldietetics 

Email: lauraappel@outlook.com 

Food Philosophy: I am a dietitian that believes that life is to be lived and food is to be enjoyed.  Aim to eat foods that are beneficial for your health the majority of the time, but it is ok to have those things that aren’t so good in moderation. A few ‘unhealthy’ items are not going to ruin your health but rather will be much better for your mental health in the long run. So enjoy a piece of birthday cake at a party, an Easter egg at Easter, eat a little too much at Christmas and have a cookie your grandmother baked, just make sure the majority of the food you put in will give your body all the good nutrients it need to fuel you for life.

7am I usually eat a pretty standard breakfast of cereal, oats, yoghurt or toast. Today I opted for a mix of oats, 1 weetbix and some Uncle Toby’s Plus Omega-3 cereal. I also had a cup of instant coffee. I used Coles light milk on my cereal and in my coffee. I am a big fan of using smaller bowls for my cereal as I know, being a cereal lover, if I have a bigger bowl I will fill it!

10.30am I wasn’t too hungry this morning so I just had a lemon and ginger tea. I often will have some nuts and/or some fruit to keep me going until lunch if I am feeling peckish mid-morning, the protein in the nuts and fibre in the fruit allows me to not eat too much at lunch.

12.30pm As I said previously, I usually eat pretty standard meals; lunch is usually a sandwich, salad or maybe some leftovers. Today was salmon and cucumber on sourdough bread. I always have to have something a little bit sweet to finish off lunch, studies have found that this does help you to register that the meal has now finished. Today I had some Greek yoghurt with a couple of marinated figs to bring some of sweetness to the table. I washed it all down with a glass of water.

3.30pm As dietitians we are not exempt from the 3:30itis. This macaron needed to be consumed as I had portioned out my birthday box of 6 from my favourite dessert king Adriano Zumbo. This one was red velvet, one of my favourite flavours. I made sure that I sat away from the computer and enjoyed this treat with a cup of green tea. I don’t usually have an afternoon snack but I just couldn’t leave the last macaron another day. 

7pm Today was Pad Thai. This one contained turkey mince, carrots, beans, spring onions and rice noodles with a soy and lime sauce. I wilted a heap of bok choy to bump up the vegetable content and prevent myself consuming too much of the delicious noodles. Each of my dinners aim to have a serve of protein, serve or 2 of carbohydrates and up to 3 serves of vegetables and this idea seems to work well with most recipes.

8.30pm I am thinking I am hungry now because of walking the dog and doing my housework in the afternoon rather than the morning. I decided to make a mini smoothie. I blended up a frozen banana with a dash of light milk and spoon of Greek Yoghurt, I also added about a teaspoon of cocoa powder to give it a chocolate taste. I usually have an herbal tea and a piece of fruit or maybe some dark chocolate but tonight I knew that I needed something a bit more satisfying.