The question I get most often through my site is ‘What do you eat in a day?’ To answer, I started filming from when I woke up right through one whole day showing what I ate.
It was so much fun, like hanging out with you all day. You’ll just have to excuse my quiet voice first thing in the morning 😉
What do you think of my meals? I tried to make it a very typical day for me, which is usually simple meals that taste awesome and give me energy.
I think about what to eat based on 4 basic factors:
- Whole foods: vegetables, fruit, whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds
- Balance: good balance of foods, and good balance of healthy & happy
- Variety: getting different types of the whole foods above
- Plant-Based: I choose to eat only plant foods for a few different reasons – the environment, health and ethical concerns all play a part for me
I think that most healthy cultures have those 4 basic factors of their eating habits in common, even though their food might be totally different in the specifics and the flavors.
Most importantly, I need my food to taste really good otherwise I won’t stick with it. Do you find that?
I’m also really excited to share some info on the new project I’ve been working on for you!
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Day In The Life Of Heather
Morning: I wake up at 7am when the sun’s rising later, and drink some water right away. If I have time, I’ll boil water and make tea or grate some ginger juice into hot water with lemon. I like to do some kind of activity when I wake up – whether it’s a run, workout or stretching – to get me going for the day.
Breakfast: Phil makes a big pot of porridge, enough for 2 days so that he can just reheat the pot the next day. We rotate between steel cut oats, buckwheat, a mix of millet and amaranth, and sometimes brown rice. I made him a jar full of a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice so that he can put a bit in with the porridge while it cooks. When it’s ready, I mix ground flax and some water, and then stir in some porridge. We top it with some chopped fresh fruit, which right now is usually apples and pears. We have breakfast about 8:30am.
Morning: I try to drink lots of water between meals, and I drink a lot of tea (herbal or green) to stay warm and get some flavor and antioxidants.
Lunch: Sometimes I get really hungry just before lunch, and if that happens I have a piece of fruit so that I can make lunch without eating it all as I chop. I always include some kind of bean or legume (either chickpeas, kidney beans, lentils or frozen edamame), and lots of veggies. Since it’s getting cooler, I usually cook some of the vegetables and leave others raw, and serve it over fresh greens. I make a dressing (usually sunflower seed or tahini-based) every few days so that I can just drizzle it on top and be ready to go. If it’s a small meal, or if I’m still hungry after eating, I’ll have a rice cake with some sunflower seed butter and cucumber slices or fresh greens. We eat lunch at noon, or shortly after.
Afternoon: I drink lots more tea and/or water, and then go for a run or do some kind of exercise mid-afternoon. I like to make sure I get up and move around a bit in the middle of my day, otherwise I wind up sitting at the computer all day long. Phil makes us some frozen banana ice cream around 4pm, with berries, fresh sprouts, liquid probiotic and maybe some fresh herbs.
Dinner: We’ve been having dinner late these days because Phil’s working long hours and wants to finish up so he can relax in the evening. Most days that puts dinner at 7:30, which is a bit later than what I’d like (I get really hungry around 5:30 or 6) but still ok. I usually make a starchy vegetable (squash or sweet potato) or whole grain into some kind of warm meal, like a soup or stew or some kind of baked casserole.
Evening: I try not to eat much after dinner, but I like to have a little bite of something sweet right after. I like having a date or some other dried fruit, or a few spoonfuls of applesauce. Then I make sure I brush my teeth otherwise I’d keep eating the sweet stuff, and make myself some tea.
Need Help Planning?
I want to help you figure out how to make healthy eating a part of your life! So what I did is put together a plan for a full 28 days – 4 weeks – of healthy meals.
I planned out all the breakfasts, lunches, dinner and snacks. I included all of the recipes and nutritional breakdowns and I put it together with a weekly grocery list so all you do is go shopping and start eating.
The most amazing part is that the portion sizes for each ingredient in the recipes and meal plan are individually-calculated based on your specific needs.
You just put your age, height, weight, gender and activity level into a calorie calculator and everything is portioned for you. You can even add other members of your family to make enough for them.
I’ve packed the meal plan site with lots of bonuses, too – videos, audio and articles about how to plan meals, how to cook, staying motivated, nutritional balance and even a weight loss guidebook.
I don’t really like calling this a ‘meal plan’ because I think it’s so much cooler than most meal plans I’ve seen out there – and cooler than any meal plan I’ve made before!
I designed it specifically to help you through the transition to healthy eating, and it’s not just a bunch of recipes thrown together.
I planned everything out so that it flows nicely, uses leftovers and is simple enough that you shouldn’t feel overwhelmed – but it’s still flavorful and exciting.
You can check it out here.
In the mean time – what kinds of things do you eat in a typical day? Let me know below, I’d love to hear what you’re up to! Or do you have any questions about my typical day?
