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Registered Dietitians Reveal Their Own Diet Secrets

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They're the experts in food and health. So, what do Registered Dietitians chow down on in their own kitchens? Okay, the secret's out. Let's look and see!

I myself am a fan of any dish that has mostly vegetables, a lean protein, is easy to make and is of course, tasty. Almost everyone needs more veggies and fruit - at least five to nine servings a day, due to their disease prevention properties, fiber, vitamins and minerals. So obviously my meals have to offer this for my family and me.

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Breakfast for me is usually a half-cup of homemade apple cinnamon or pineapple mango muesli (oatmeal, nuts, dried fruit) and soy milk. Sometimes we whip up some Bob's Red Mill 10-grain pancake mix with tons of ground walnuts thrown in and topped with Smucker's All Fruit jam or fresh fruit. When time allows, a veggie omelet (with free-range eggs) filled with tomato, spinach, mushroom and onion hits the spot.

A typical lunch might be a half a plate of raw, crunchy veggies and a small bean and cheese burrito and salsa; or veggie lasagna. Favorite dinners at my house include my winning walnut basil spaghetti. Visit my blog to see the recipe cathyhainsrd.blogspot.com.


Another dinner we like is a large platter of asian tofu fresh rolls - rice paper stuffed with fresh cilantro or basil, lettuce, sprouts, savory, sautéed, crispy tofu (other fillings can include salmon or shrimp, even peanut butter!) served with optional chili sauce. Some favorite refined sugar-free and raw desserts for my family are a super healthy chocolate cashew-date pudding and homemade coconut ice cream.

Here's what some other dietitians across the United States are eating:

For breakfast, Lori Sullivan, MS RD of OneSourceNutrition in Connecticut combines a fourth cup cottage cheese with light or Greek-style yogurt with with one to two tablespoons of ground flax seed and toasted pecans or walnuts and sometimes berries or pineapple.

Vegan dietitian Alexandra Caspero, MA RD owner of Delicious Knowledge in Stockton, CA loves a breakfast of toasted Ezekiel bread with avocado and a slice of tomato. It's easy and filling, she swears. Caspero also enjoys a healthy homemade smoothie with chocolate, hemp powder, almond milk, blueberries, strawberries, calcium-rich kale and one tablespoon flax seed meal, a great source of omega-3 fatty acids.

Over in North Bergen, New Jersey, Leslie Goldstein, RD enjoys a lunch of two cups mixed greens tossed with chickpeas, red kidney beans, sliced mushrooms, diced tomatoes, cucumber, carrots, steamed broccoli and balsamic vinegar. She drinks green tea. A snack for Goldstein is a medium apple, half a cup nonfat cottage cheese with pineapple, two dried prunes and a handful of baby carrots.

For dinner, Goldstein sometimes serves up grilled salmon over steamed spinach, a half-cup each of lentils and brown rice per person and ends with a small pear, 15 red grapes and chamomile tea for dessert.

Registered Dietitians enjoy using the latest nutrition knowledge to make meals that are not only scrumptious, but super healthy as well. Add to these ideas and see what you come up with for yourself!

Catherine S. Hains, MS RD has been interested in health and nutrition since she was a young child. Growing up in Fort Worth, TX, she earned a Bachelor's Degree in Broadcast Journalism from Texas Christian University and wrote for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for 12 years. Her life-long interest in nutrition and disease prevention never waned, and she went on to earn her Master's Degree in Nutrition from Eastern Michigan University. Cathy, now a Registered Dietitian, owns Lighthouse Nutrition and Wellness in Gig Harbor, WA where she enjoys inspiring people of all ages to make losing weight and living a healthy lifestyle easy, fun and permanent. She enjoys good food, cooking and food preparation, and showing others how healthy this can be. Her other pastimes include traveling, art, music and family life. She also likes staying fit with tennis, bicycling walking and jogging, researching nutrition and helping clients be at their best. For more information on Cathy, visit www.lighthouse-nutrition.com or write to Catherine at [email protected].


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