What I Eat In a Day - Featuring Co-Founder Sarah Rioux

What do you usually eat in a day? What should you typically eat in a day? As a Registered Dietitian, these are questions that I get asked a lot. It's essential to consider the food you eat, as it impacts your health and how you feel. If you find yourself feeling sluggish throughout the day or constantly hungry, your meals may be a contributing factor. As a dietitian, mom, and business owner, I know how hectic a day can be. It can be tempting to reach for unhealthy packaged snacks and frozen dinners for the sake of convenience, but eating healthy, balanced meals instead can help you feel full, energized, and provide excellent health benefits. Need some ideas? Here's what I eat in a day.

Healthy, Balanced Meals

Eating balanced meals means making it a priority to eat food from different food groups, which helps ensure your body gets the various nutrients it needs to function correctly. I eat healthy meals that include a combination of protein, healthy fats, lots of vegetables, fruits, and some whole grains throughout the day- although I try to eat grains in moderation. Ensuring each meal is full of healthy fats, protein, and fiber keeps me feeling full, boosts my mood, and keeps my energy levels more consistent.

Protein acts as "building blocks" for muscles, bones, blood, skin, cartilage, hormones, enzymes, and vitamins, making protein a vital part of your diet. Healthy fats have no impact on blood glucose levels and can leave you feeling full and satisfied for long periods. Fruits and vegetables add fiber and potassium to your diet and, when eaten as part of a healthy diet, may reduce your risk for heart attack and stroke. In addition, whole grains provide nutrients like B vitamins, minerals such as iron and magnesium, dietary fiber, and more.

No matter what, I *try* to eat some veggies at every meal. I am known to throw leftover broccoli or squash from dinner the night before into my eggs or have it on the side or slice up some celery or bell pepper strips if I have no leftovers. I'm not always perfect and certainly stray more often than I'd like to admit, but I know my body feels best when I feed it nourishing foods, which is essential to me. Now, here's a look at what I eat in a day.

Breakfast

As some of you know, I am currently 30 weeks pregnant with my third baby (my oldest just turned 4!). This mama is tired and relies on healthy food choices to keep me going. I usually start my morning with a hot cup of coffee made with a Coffee Bomb®. Coffee Bombs give me the mental boost and sustained energy that I need to get my day going. Coffee Bombs from Ladybird Provisions are pre-made versions of butter coffee, full of protein, healthy fats, and medicinal spices to help boost your metabolism, elevate your mood, and keep you feeling full. It's a great way to start the day! Typically a couple of hours after drinking my Coffee Bomb, I eat a healthy, low-carb breakfast. Eating a carb-heavy and sugar-heavy meal in the morning can lead to a spike in blood sugar followed by a crash that will leave you feeling tired. No one wants that! Eating a breakfast with protein and is low in carbohydrates can help keep you feeling full for a more extended amount of time.

Some of my favorite breakfast foods include:

• Scrambled eggs + ½ an avocado splashed with Braggs liquid aminos. Soo yummy and satisfying! 
• Green smoothies made with frozen riced cauliflower, spinach, banana, hemp seeds, nut butter, and almond milk. I love getting veggies in at every meal!
• On occasion, I will have an organic, toasted English muffin with grass-fed butter and nut butter smothered on top with some berries and sliced fresh veggies.

Lunch

 For lunch, I typically eat:

• Big salad with leftover cooked veggies (for texture) + avocado + nuts + protein (like tuna or full-fat cottage cheese).
• Veggie sandwich on fresh Sourdough bread 

Snacks

Snacking sometimes gets a bad rap, but it's an essential part of the day - when done correctly. Now, before you reach for potato chips and cookies, let's talk about what a snack should consist of. Snacks high in sugar, unhealthy fats, and empty calories may taste good, but they won't keep you full for very long and typically don't provide the nutrients your body needs to keep you energized. So instead of processed, pre-packaged snacks, opt for something fresh, like fresh fruit or vegetables paired with a healthy fat. For example, a half-cup of mixed berries like blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries + some nuts is a low-carb snack that provides healthy fats and fiber for satiety, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants while satisfying your sweet tooth. Fresh vegetables like carrots, cucumbers, and peppers dipped in a homemade, plain yogurt-based dip is another snack that provides essential nutrients.

When I need a snack, I usually eat:

• Fresh fruit + nuts
• Veggie sticks + cheese or hummus
• Gluten-free peanut butter filled pretzels- occasionally ;) 

Dinner

I struggle with dinner the most because it's the end of the day, and I'm just trying to feed my hungry kids and husband- sound familiar to anyone?! My son LOVES pasta, and my daughter loves meat, and while I don't cater to them individually (we all eat together and eat the same foods), I do make sure to prepare at least one of their *love it* foods at each meal. I try to focus on various textures and flavors (offering broccoli, baked, steamed, sautéed, for example) and atypical "kid foods" like rainbow chard and salads and serve familiar favorites like pesto pasta w/ shrimp or turkey burgers. Exposure is everything when trying to raise adventurous eaters, which is my top goal and priority!

My favorite healthy dinners include:

• Turkey burgers or meatballs (w/ grated carrot and zucchini) + roasted broccoli + quinoa simmered w/ organic stock or bone broth
• Pesto pasta w/ shrimp + asparagus + cherry tomatoes 
• BBQ chicken + oven roasted potatoes + brussels sprouts & sliced carrots

Making healthy choices throughout the day may improve your overall health, mood, and energy. Want to make some changes to your routine? Starting your morning with a great energy source that won't disrupt the rest of your day is a significant first step. Want to start your day on a healthy note? Make Coffee Bombs part of your morning routine. Click here to check out all of our flavors.