What A Nutritionist Eats in A Day | Alyssa Krejci, RD, LD, LMNT

By Nutritional Weight & Wellness Staff
November 16, 2021

One of the perks to being an employee at Nutritional Weight & Wellness is the opportunity to talk shop with fellow co-workers who also eat the Weight & Wellness Way. Whether it’s to share a scrumptious recipe, a new product with stellar ingredients, or a time-saving technique to help get dinner on the table, it’s helpful to be surrounded by like-minded folks who share a passion for real food.

And since you’re here with us, we want to bring you into the conversation! We’ve asked registered dietitian Alyssa to share some tricks of the trade she uses to help feed herself and her family, especially when life gets busy!

Tips For Food Prep

Q: Alyssa, how do you plan for a week of real food?

A: My husband and I usually shop for food twice a week. Over the years we have come up with a list of foundational foods that we enjoy, eat often and are on our weekly shopping list. For evening family meals, we often like to use theme nights to help us plan what’s for dinner.  Example themes we use include slow cooker night, salmon night, build your own taco or taco salad bowl night, and stir-fry night.  We try to always make our shopping list before going to the store or ordering from our phone for pick-up at the store.

Q: What are your top five items used in the kitchen?

A: Here are my top five kitchen tools and equipment that I use all the time:

1)      Chef knife + cutting board
2)      Cuisinart toaster oven
3)      Microwave
4)      Blender – currently a Jamba blender.
5)      Coffee maker or Cosori electric kettle + Aerolatte to froth milk or whip cream

And here are my top five foods (if I must choose!) I use for making balanced meals:

1)      2% or 5% Greek yogurt
2)      Eggs
3)      Strawberries/wild blueberries (mixed)
4)      Pepitas/almonds (mixed)
5)      Green beans + carrots (mixed)

Q: What tricks do you use that make meal prep easier?

A: First step is having containers that I like! Some of my favorites include:

• Easy Lunchboxes
• Prep Naturals
• Pyrex Meal Prep
• Ello Lunch Bowl Container
• Sistema Mini Bites 3 Pack
• Sistema Small Split To Go

I also like to use multiple tools to make everything finish at the same time.  Example: chicken in Instant Pot, quinoa in rice cooker, and vegetables in the oven roasting.

I get all my ingredients out and set it up in an assembly line fashion to put my meals or snacks together into containers. 

Q: What do you always keep on hand?

A: My list can get a bit long because I have many foods that seem to always be in the pantry, deep freezer, or refrigerator.  Utilize all your storage spaces to give yourself whole foods at the ready. Some things I always have on hand include: eggs, Wild Planet or SafeCatch tuna, turkey, vegetables (green beans, broccoli, carrots, cherry tomatoes, spinach/leafy greens), frozen berries, quinoa and/or brown rice, almonds, chia seeds, hemp hearts, pepitas, avocado oil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, butter, cream cheese, Greek yogurt, cheese and chickpeas.

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What To Eat

Once you have all your favorite kitchen gear and healthy foods worked into the plan and in the pantry, how does that look as a day of meals? Alyssa gave us a visual example of how she pairs her favorite types of quality protein, healthy fat, and nutrient-dense carbohydrates together to make a nourishing day of balanced meals and snacks:

Breakfast (8:00am):

• 2 eggs with chicken sausage + roasted vegetables cooked with avocado oil. 
• Not pictured is the small bowl of raspberries that I ate before I remembered to take a picture and my cup of coffee with 1 tablespoon cream. 

**Most mornings I enjoy a cup of coffee or matcha tea with cream or coconut milk.  On days like this one, where I enjoy a more savory breakfast, I like to use my toaster oven to quickly cook my vegetables.

Lunch (12:15pm): 

• Large bowl of salad with mixed spring greens, cucumbers, peppers, cubed sweet potato, chicken and feta cheese + Primal Kitchen Green Goddess Dressing.

Afternoon Snack (4:00pm):

• Smoothie – ingredients: strawberries, riced cauliflower, lemon juice, pinch of salt, ½ avocado, lactose-free milk + 1 scoop collagen peptides.

Dinner (7:00pm):

• Baked salmon with roasted broccoli cooked with avocado oil + 1/3 cup mix of brown and wild rice.

Bedtime Snack (8:00pm):

• Mixed pumpkin seeds + almonds + 2-3 dried figs.

  Let Our Nutritionists Help Create a Meal Plan for You

And there you have it! Real food meals spread throughout the day to give energy and focus for living a full and busy life. To recap some of these ideas, recruit your partner to help you plan and shop, use theme nights to give you inspiration (everyone loves a Taco Tuesday, right?!), utilize your pantry and freezer spaces to always having your favorites on-hand, and use all your kitchen tools to put pieces of the meal together at the same time!

For more information on eating real food and meal prepping, check out these additional resources:

• Read: What a Nutritionist Eats In A Day with Kristi and Alysha
• Listen: Cooking the Weight & Wellness Way
• Try: Sheet Pan Salmon with Brussels Sprouts and Red Peppers or Instant Pot Garlic Herb Chicken
• Learn: virtual healthy cooking demonstration classes