What I Eat in a Day: A Registered Dietitian Shares Her Food Diary

You know how anytime a doctor has dinner with friends, they ask him or her about the aches and pain they have? That’s sort of what it’s like for a Registered Dietitian, but it’s for food. And the most common question I get is “So, what do you eat every day?”

And then that conversation ultimately leads to “what are your cheat meals,” “what would you never eat” and so on and so on. The problem with these questions is that they think I perfectly calibrate every meal based on macros, nutrient density and overall healthful optimization.

But I don’t! I eat like most everyone else. I try to stay healthy, and I splurge on the things I love to splurge on. No one wants to eat bland and boring and healthy all the time.

But since I know what foods tend to be healthier than others, I do have a framework that I tend to use when making my eating decisions. Because you’ll stick to your diet if it’s mostly just eating the healthy stuff you like. That’s the secret. Find the things that are good for you that you love, and put them into the rotation. And then splurge when you want to.

To give you my framework, here’s a food diary from one of my Sundays. And I tell you why I chose each one. You don’t need to stick to this (if you hate berries, find another light, healthy breakfast), but this is what I do.

And I hope this helps you find a little clarity in what and how you eat.

My Food Diary: A Typical Sunday

This is a Sunday in summer. I’m wrapping up housework, prepping the week’s lunches, and carving out some downtime.

Not every day looks like this — but the underlying principles stay consistent whether it’s a weekday scramble or a slow weekend morning.

Breakfast: Light on Purpose

I really don’t enjoy breakfast.

I never did. I’m never particularly hungry first thing in the morning, so I eat accordingly — something quick and light rather than forcing a meal I’m not ready for. This morning around 8:30 I had dried figs and watermelon.

I know that doesn’t sound exciting, but I love fruit. Figs are my new thing — as a kid my dad was so proud of his fig tree, but I never liked them. Last year he made homemade fig jam and I fell in love. Now when I eat figs, it takes me straight back to my childhood. Food does that.

Nutritionally, this is a smarter breakfast than it sounds. My 2oz serving of dried figs delivered 140 calories, 6 grams of fiber (almost 25% of my daily need), and close to 400mg of potassium. I eat watermelon because it’s a great way to hydrate (and I love the taste).

And a cup of watermelon give you about 16% of your daily vitamin C in addition to the nice water content boost. It also has fiber to help moderate blood sugar spikes from the natural sugars.

The one thing to remember is that you don’t need to force breakfast. But if you do eat breakfast, don’t grab something processed. A little fruit goes a long way. And you don’t need to eat if your body isn’t ready. Don’t let the clock dictate your first meal.

Lunch: The Meal That’s All Mine

Now we’re talking.

I love lunch. When I cook dinner I have to accommodate my husband’s preferences. Lunch is all mine. Today that meant homemade ham and bean soup — made earlier this year from a leftover ham bone, stored in the freezer, and pulled out this morning.

Soup is underrated as a practical nutrition strategy. I load mine with a combination of canned and well-rinsed cannellini and Great Northern beans, plenty of chopped carrots, onions, and celery. The thing about most soups is they have a ton of sodium.

And when you make your own soup you can control the amount of salt you put in it. And using something like a ham or hambone can provide the salty and savory base without adding anything extra there.

Beans in this soup are doing a lot of work: protein, fiber, iron, and complex carbohydrates all in one. The carrots added sweetness, fiber, and beta-carotene. Rinsing canned beans before using them removes a significant portion of the added sodium — an easy, underutilized step that takes about 30 seconds.

I finished lunch with a bowl of strawberries from a local farm, topped with a dollop of whipped cream. June strawberries picked fresh are not the same thing as the strawberries sitting in a supermarket in February — the flavor difference is dramatic, and the vitamin C content is higher in freshly picked fruit. The whipped cream is not a nutritional powerhouse. That’s fine.

It made something good taste great, and that’s also part of eating well.

Afternoon Snack: Where I Actually Have to Be Careful

As everyone knows snacking can get out of hand very quickly. Which is why it’s probably the hardest meal of the day to stay disciplined.

Four potato chips can turn into 40 really quick. Which is why I try to reach for something like pickled carrots and cauliflower. I love the crunch it provides (sort of like potato chips, lol) but it also helps me check off a few of my vegetables for the day.

Is it the same as potato chips? No. But it’s filling, tangy, and satisfying in the way that crunchy foods are satisfying.

The fermentation involved in pickling also adds a probiotic dimension that plain raw vegetables don’t have — though the live culture content depends on whether the pickles are lacto-fermented or just vinegar-brined. One cup of cauliflower brings 2 grams of fiber, meaningful vitamin C, and vitamin K for blood clotting and bone metabolism.

And if you want to get into this habit, it’s about making it as easy as possible. If you don’t feel like making your own pickled vegetables, there are a ton of great options at most supermarkets. Make sure you have a few jars of those in your fridge at all times and you can make them a daily ritual. Remember: preparation is the difference between willpower and giving in.

The habit I’ve built here: having something ready to grab. If the pickled vegetables weren’t already in the fridge, the snack would have been something less intentional. Preparation is the real dietary intervention — not willpower in the moment.

Dinner: The Sunday Tradition

Sunday dinner matters to me.

As a kid it was always a little nicer — the better china, eating in the dining room. It included roasted meat and potatoes. Honoring that tradition means something, and I don’t think it’s a small thing to sit down to a meal that feels like an occasion, even on a regular Sunday.

Tonight my husband grilled — chicken drumsticks and thighs, sliced grilled potatoes, and roasted asparagus. The dark meat is juicier and richer than breast meat, and yes, I ate the skin. The skin is higher in saturated fat.

It also gets crispy in a way that nothing else does, and the sugars in the barbecue sauce caramelize against it. I eat dark meat with skin occasionally, which means this is a genuine treat rather than a daily habit. That distinction matters.

Grilled potatoes are a perfectly reasonable starch. Asparagus added folate, fiber, and vitamins K and C. Between the chicken and the beans from lunch, I had protein well covered for the day across multiple meals rather than back-loaded into dinner — which is how protein supports muscle more effectively.

And Yes, There’s a Cocktail

With dinner, I had a peach Long Island Iced Tea.

My husband was working on perfecting his recipe and needed someone to test it. It was a tough situation to find myself in, but I managed. The cocktail is not on any nutrition checklist. It was Sunday evening, dinner smelled great, and we were relaxed.

Those moments are part of eating well too — or at least, part of living well, which turns out to require a lot of the same things.

What This Day Actually Demonstrates

If you add it up, my Sunday hit most of the nutritional fundamentals without any tracking, calorie counting, or particular effort: fiber from beans, figs, cauliflower, and asparagus; protein from beans and chicken; fermented food from pickled vegetables; antioxidant fruit from watermelon and strawberries; vegetables across three meals.

The whipped cream and the cocktail are also in there. This is what 80/20 nutrition looks like in practice.

The framework below is the underlying structure that makes days like this reproducible — not because I’m following a rigid plan, but because I’ve internalized these categories well enough that hitting most of them most days is just how I eat.

The Daily Nutrition Framework: 10 Categories to Hit Every Day

It’s no secret that eating a “balanced diet” is good for us. We hear about the importance of balance from day one: rainbow colored plates at school, MyPlate at the doctor’s office, food groups on the Nutrition Facts Label…We’ve all heard it.

And yet…knowing you should be eating a more well-rounded diet is very different from actually eating a more well-rounded diet.

I get it! We all want to eat better, but life is busy and eating a variety of healthy, whole foods doesn’t always take top priority. Between working full-time, cooking, cleaning, social lives, family obligations and on and on and on…it can be hard to put the “fun” things in life on back burner, including making and eating healthy food.

I promise it doesn’t need to be perfect. But here are some ways you can up the nutrient density in your daily diet:

Rather than focus on foods to eliminate (hello, carbs), I like to think in terms of foods I need to add on a daily basis. Additions, not eliminations, are more sustainable, easier on the mind, and ultimately will lead to better health in the long run.

These are the 10 food groups I like to make sure I’m hitting daily (with suggested serving sizes). Think of these as more of a guideline, and don’t sweat the small stuff:

1. Protein at Every Meal

Protein is used to build and repair tissue, make enzymes and hormones, and help with immune function, to name a few.

Plus, compared to fat or carbs, protein also is more filling on a calorie-for-calorie basis. Aim to include a protein source at lunch, breakfast and dinner, and shoot for about 20-30g at each meal to help with muscle protein synthesis throughout the day.

While animal proteins provide complete proteins (meaning they have all essential amino acids the body needs), it’s best to choose a variety of plant-based proteins throughout the day.

If breakfast is typically light or carb-centered for you (eg: toast and OJ, cereal, etc…), consider adding an egg, side of greek yogurt, or some edamame to ward off mid-morning cravings!

• Garden of Life Organic Vegan Protein Powder — 22g complete plant protein per serving — certified USDA organic, whole-food based, and the cleanest way to hit protein minimums at meals where food sources fall short

2.

Leafy Greens or Cruciferous Vegetables

Packed with vitamins, minerals and fiber with hardly any calories to speak of, greens should be at the center of many of your meals.

Shoot for at least 2 cups per day: you can achieve this by adding cooked veggies to dishes throughout the day and/or incorporating raw veggies as a base of a lunch or dinner salad. Leafy greens (eg: spinach, kale, swiss chard) are excellent sources of folate, vitamin K1, and fiber.

Cruciferous veggies (eg: broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage) contain special antioxidant compounds called glucosinolates that are linked to decreased disease risk.

Vitamin K1 plays a role in blood clotting and bone metabolism, folate is involved in DNA synthesis, and fiber (especially the prebiotic kind) serves as food for beneficial bacteria in the gut.

• Amazing Grass Organic Green Superfood Powder — concentrated kale, spinach, spirulina, and chlorella — mixes into anything in 10 seconds; for the days when the fridge doesn’t cooperate

3.

Healthy Fats

Often demonized, fats actually play a key role in the body including providing structure to cell membranes, help make certain hormones, and assist with the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (eg: vitamins A, D, E, K). Unsaturated fats (mono- and polyunsaturated fats) especially have been shown to decrease risk for heart disease when compared to saturated fats.

Dietary sources of mono/polyunsaturated fats include olive oil, avocados, nuts, seeds, and fatty fish. The western diet is very high in one type of polyunsaturated fat (omega-6 fats, which are found in high amounts in highly-processed foods and vegetable/seed oils), so be sure to work in omega-3 rich foods, including fatty fish (two-three servings per week is ideal), ground flaxseed, and walnuts, among others.

Aim for at least one source per day, and examples would be 1T olive oil, ¼ avocado, small handful of nuts, 3-4 oz serving of fatty fish, etc…

• Chosen Foods 100% Pure Avocado Oil — cold-pressed with a 500°F smoke point — the most reliable everyday fat for cooking, drizzling, and dressings without compromising the oil’s integrity
• Terrasoul Superfoods Organic Brazil Nuts (1 lb) — 1–2 nuts covers the full daily selenium RDA, plus healthy monounsaturated fats — one of the most nutrient-efficient snacks for the healthy-fats category

4.

Complex Carbohydrates

Carbs are your brain’s (and your muscles during exercise) preferred fuel. Quality carbs, otherwise known as complex carbs, can also offer tons of energy (sustained, that is), fiber and B vitamins. Choose quality carbs, whole grains (think farro, barley, quinoa, brown rice), starchy veggies (hello sweet potato, loaded with beta-carotene!), and legumes (counted in the carb and protein groups!).

While white potatoes aren’t the most exciting starchy veg out there, they are at least a whole food and not without merit (but if given the choice, I’d choose a sweet potato any day!).

Avoid refined carbohydrates (white bread and rice, pastries, and sugary cereals) when possible, these carbs offer very little to the body besides calories, digest super quickly, and send our blood sugar soaring.

Carbs get a bad rap in today’s low-fat eating society. Though low in fat themselves, there is no evidence they cause weight gain. It’s important to remember, however, that NOTHING makes you gain weight in and of itself, it comes back to total caloric intake.

Instead of sweating the carbs (or cutting them out completely), sweat the QUALITY of the carbs you’re choosing.

• Bob’s Red Mill Organic Old Fashioned Rolled Oats (32oz) — whole grain beta-glucan oats — the most-studied complex carb for blood sugar stability and sustained morning energy; certified gluten-free
• Food to Live French Green Lentils — 19g protein + 15g fiber per cup cooked — one of the highest-fiber complex carbs available; cook a batch once and use across 3–4 meals

5.

Berries or Antioxidant-Rich Fruit

Berries are chock full of disease-fighting polyphenols and vitamin C and happen to have the least impact on your blood sugar compared to most fruits. Include at least ½ cup per day (examples: blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, cherries, pomegranate seeds, red grapes, etc). Frozen counts (just as nutritious, often less expensive year-round)!

– Anthocyanins (found in berries such as blueberries and blackberries) may help improve cognitive function and decrease markers of oxidative stress and inflammation

– Choose whole fruit over 100% fruit juice, fruit juice lacks the fiber found in whole fruit (helps slow the absorption of the naturally occurring sugar into the bloodstream), is often missing many of the polyphenols that make berries shine, and it’s much easier to over-consume calories from juice

• ÖSEL BERRY Organic Unsweetened Wild Blueberries — wild-harvested, no added sugar — wild varieties carry up to 3× the anthocyanin load of cultivated berries; shelf-stable so they’re always available

6.

A Fermented or Probiotic Food

Fermented foods are foods that have beneficial (aka good/probiotic) live bacteria added. These beneficial bacteria in our gut positively impact everything from digestion and our immune system to inflammation and mental health.

Try to work at least one fermented food into your daily diet (examples: kefir, yogurt, be sure it includes “live active cultures” on the label, sauerkraut, kim chee, miso, tempeh, kombucha, etc) along with a diet filled with prebiotics (the bacteria food sources found as fiber in whole foods).

Start slow, even a ¼ cup of sauerkraut or serving of kefir will do the trick, working too much in at once can lead to tummy troubles!

• Garden of Life Dr.Formulated Women’s Probiotic (50B CFU)

  — 16 clinically studied strains including L. reuteri and L. fermentum — no refrigeration required; the reliable daily backup when fermented foods don’t happen

7. Nuts or Seeds

Include a serving (¼ cup or about an oz) of nuts or seeds daily. Nuts and seeds offer an impressive nutritional profile, including healthy fats, protein, fiber, magnesium, zinc, selenium, and vitamin E. Some examples include:

– Almonds (high in magnesium and vitamin E)

– Walnuts (best fat profile including omega-3 fat)

– Pumpkin seeds (great source of zinc)

– Flax and chia seeds (great sources of omega-3 fats from a plant source)

– Brazil nuts (best food source of selenium, 1-2 will cover your daily bases)

Magnesium deficiency is very common (and frequently goes undiagnosed) despite the mineral’s involvement in more than 300 enzyme systems that help to regulate everything from sleep quality to muscle function to blood pressure control.

Nuts and seeds are an easy source, as are nut butters (as long as they’re void of added sugar and hydrogenated oils).

• Nuts.com Organic Hulled Pumpkin Seeds (2 lb) — hull-free pepitas ready to add to anything — one of the richest plant sources of magnesium and zinc; the most versatile nut/seed for daily use

8.

Adequate Hydration

Dehydration negatively impacts cognitive and physical performance, our ability to regulate our body temperature, as well as kidney function. Even mild dehydration (1-2% of body mass) has been shown to influence concentration and mood. Although 64 oz. per day is commonly recommended, individual needs will vary based on body size, level of physical activity, climate, and fluid intake from foods.

A good indicator of adequate hydration is a light yellow-colored urine, the darker it is, the more dehydrated you likely are. Tip: Drinking a tall (16oz) glass of water first thing in the a.m. is an easy one to implement with big bang-for-the-buck when it comes to optimizing nutrition!

Coffee and unsweetened tea count toward daily fluid intake despite the mild diuretic effect of caffeine, the net fluid contribution is positive. Keep in mind, though, that beverages that are high in added sugar (i.e. most juices, sodas, sweetened teas/coffees, sports drinks, etc.) do little to quench your thirst and hydration status.

Foods, too, can count towards daily fluid goals, foods high in water content include most fruits and veggies (watermelon, for example, is > 90% H20!), soups, stews, smoothies, yogurt, etc.

9. Enough Fiber

Fiber not only feeds a happy gut microbiome, it helps to slow glucose absorption and decrease LDL (“bad”) cholesterol.

It also keeps bowels moving! The recommended daily intake is 25g/day for women and 38g for men, yet most Americans are only consuming half that (an estimated 15g/day). Low fiber intakes are directly associated with increased risks for colorectal cancer, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and a dysbiotic (aka unhappy) gut microbiome.

It’s best to consume adequate amounts of both soluble AND insoluble fiber types, the easiest way to accomplish this is to eat a variety of whole plant-based foods (fiber supplements may be lacking in one fiber type over another).

Also, if you’re used to getting about 15g per day and want to work your way up to 35g, increase your fiber intake over the course of 2-3 weeks to avoid GI upset as your microbiome adapts to the change.

Tip: I don’t typically pay much attention to my daily fiber intake, yet that Sunday I consumed > 30g between the beans at lunch, the figs and cauliflower/carrots/asparagus with dinner, and the strawberries for dessert.

10.

A Food You Actually Enjoy

Although it’s common to believe that healthy eating equals eating a joyless and bland diet (and eliminating all forms of carbs!), research suggests that individuals who adhere to such chronic restriction are at an increased risk for developing a disordered relationship with food and may eat more solitary (as opposed to social) meals.

Food enjoyment is also one of the greatest predictors of eating healthy in the long-term, which is why I had a scoop of whipped cream on my strawberries that Sunday, ate the skin on my chicken, and even had a cocktail with dinner, it all adds up to make healthy eating sustainable and successful and that day felt more complete for having included these treats as opposed to feeling like another day of restriction and dieting.

The 80/20 Rule — and Why It Actually Works

Although it can be nice (and motivating) to check all 10 of these nutrient boxes in a single day, it’s far more important to hit all (or nearly all) of these categories most days.

Being 80% consistent will still lead to better energy levels, more consistent blood sugar levels, improved digestive regularity and gut health, decreased inflammation (as measured by inflammatory biomarkers in the body), and require less willpower in the process.

Aim to check all 10 boxes on a regular basis, and don’t worry so much about nailing it everyday! Trust me, I know from experience that eating perfectly isn’t always in the cards on days packed with working full-time, running a household, and leaving just enough time and energy in the day for fun personal hobbies.

As a RD, though, I promise it does NOT take a degree in dietetics to plan and prepare meals and snacks that leave you feeling nourished and healthy!
Christine Morgan, RD, LD is a Registered and Licensed Dietitian who currently practices in dialysis.

Her experience includes renal nutrition, food service, and geriatrics. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics from West Chester University of Pennsylvania and completed her Dietetic Internship with the University of Delaware. She is a member of the Tri-State Renal Dietitians Association.

Christine Morgan, RD, LDN

Christine Morgan is a Registered and Licensed Dietitian who currently practices in dialysis. Her experience includes renal nutrition, food service, and geriatrics. Her education includes a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics from West Chester University of Pennsylvania, and she completed her Dietetic Internship with the University of Delaware. She is also a member of the Tri-State Renal Dietitians Association.