Author: Lauren

So, it’s been a while! But I’m back and better then ever with my weekend eats! Now you’ll get to follow along with my eating on the weekend AND my wedding planning! LOL

What does a dietitian eat? Healthy foods all the time? NO! Organic foods daily? NO! Super small portions? Nope! Dietitians are just like you! We have food days that are super healthy (fruits and veggies at every meal, lean proteins, alcohol free and no sweets!) and we have days that are not as healthy (think chocolate, beer and nachos). Check out my weekly weekend roundup posts so you can see what my weekend eats are all about!

Friday

Breakfast: Friday morning, I headed to the gym for a workout and made a delicious smoothie to start off my day. It’s super easy to make and easy to take with you. I was running out the door to get to a Leadership Conference for the Greater New York Dietetic Association in Binghamton, NY. Interested in making this smoothie? Visit my instagram! I have it saved under my stories!

Lunch: Lunch was amazing! When we arrived at the conference, we were immediately served lunch! I chose some amazing salmon, grilled zucchini and squash, roasted potatoes and a side of salad. YUM! I also had half of a delicious cookie!

Snack: Snack was a small bowl of yogurt with strawberries and granola.

Dinner: Dinner was a mix of everything! We had a little cocktail hour/networking event after the day was over and I filled my plate up with veggies, cheese, hummus and pita bread. The food was amazing! I also had a glass of champagne with mango puree. After that we headed over to another event and I had some grilled chicken and shrimp. Finally, we stopped at a speakeasy, which was super cute! We hung out for a while and I had a beer.

Saturday

Breakfast: We were still at the conference on Saturday. I started my day off with a Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal with milk, topped with strawberries. I wasn’t super hungry since I wasn’t able to exercise that morning.

Snack: For snack they had more crackers, pita and hummus and veggies out. I chose the pickled carrots – which were literally amazing – and some hummus and crackers and pita. I had to leave the conference early to head to a wedding, so I knew I was going to miss lunch as a result. I had a larger snack to hold me over until the wedding cocktail hour.

Dinner: Dinner started at cocktail hour, where I tried an array of things. I had some of my favorite everything bagel crackers, hummus, scallops wrapped in bacon, mini grilled cheese and fig sandwiches, mini lobster rolls and some pulled pork. My meal consisted of amazing mashed sweet potatoes, roasted carrots and the most delicious short rib I’ve ever eaten.

And here’s a pic of me and my bestie at the wedding!

Dessert: Dessert was a small assortment of gelato in a chocolate sugar cone cup. I had the chocolate and caramel gelato and some of the cup.

Sunday

Breakfast: Sunday morning I got up early to exercise and head to Long Island for a day of DRESS SHOPPING! On the way out I grabbed a egg white, turkey bacon english muffin sandwich and a large cold brew from Starbucks.

Lunch: Lunch was a delicious salad from La Bottega in my hometown. It had roasted red peppers, mushrooms, mozzarella cheese and sunflower seeds. I used their balasamic dressing to top it off. Then we headed to look at some dresses – nothing has been found yet, though!

Dinner: Dinner was at Palmer’s American Grill, also in my hometown. I split their amazing Sweet Potato Gnocchi and Pork Tenderloin with Bernie. Both were so good, but we couldn’t finish them all so we took about half home. I also had a beer with dinner.

Dessert: Dessert was a hot chocolate with whipped cream from Charlottes that really hit the spot!

Something you may not know about me – I didn’t get matched 4 times!  Yep, that’s right FOUR.  Full disclosure, it was 4 times over one year, but that didn’t make it any easier each time I got hit with rejection.

My first time applying was during senior year of college.  If I’m being totally honest, I didn’t quite know what I really wanted out of an internship or if I was even ready for one.  I just knew that that was the next step to becoming a dietitian.  Senior year was a difficult time for me.  I struggle a little with change and leaving my friends, my favorite school and my home for the past three years felt weird.  As a whole, leaving college was hard because there was no next step in life, it was just time to figure out what you wanted to do, and frankly, I wasn’t sure what that even was.  After applying, I had two interviews, which I thought went well.  I had prepared for them and sent extra information if needed and figured I’d probably get in.  At the time, I didn’t realize how difficult getting an internship really was. Then match day came.  I didn’t focus on it throughout the day, oddly enough, but when the time came, and I logged in, rejection stared me in the face.  I remember the feeling being weird.  I was sad, but not devastated. More than anything, I was embarrassed.  How was I going to tell all my friends, my friends who I studied with and spent the past three years with, that I didn’t get in?  What would I do next?  Turns out, a bunch of my friends also didn’t match, which brought me a feeling of relief.  Thank god I wasn’t the long one. Now I needed to figure out what to do next.

It turns out that two spots opened at the school where I had completed my undergrad program, so I decided to apply to both and thought I had a good chance of getting into.  One of these was a distance internship, so I spent hours upon hours finding preceptors within just a few days to be able to apply and be qualified.   This time, rejection came by e-mail.  This time, the rejection hit a little harder.  All I could think about was how much time I had put into this and how much stress I felt applying and why did someone else get it and not me? Graduation came and went, my friends left, I moved out of my senior house and I stayed in the part time job I had with a nearby hospital, feeling a bit stagnant since I hadn’t gotten the one thing I needed to move on in my professional life.

After the three rejections, I reached out to some people I trusted (teachers, my manager and other dietitians I knew) and asked what they thought I should have done differently.  I took their advice and moved forward.  I started applying to some nutrition jobs to gain more experience, did some volunteer work in nutrition on the side and considered taking additional classes to improve my grades.  In the meantime, I got a promotion at work and became a full time employee.  This was the first step in growing my resume for the next application round.  I was pumped!  This would for sure make me look good!  I’m in a good job, doing well and gaining experience in counseling.  I’ll definitely get in next time right?!  WRONG.

Fall match came around.  I applied again, this time to all different schools (not all schools participate in Fall match), all across the country.  I figured, this is going to help me be who I want to be, I’ll move anywhere just to get an internship.  I understood the process, and the internship itself, more as well and I was ready!  I landed two interviews.  I was ready and I felt confident. This time, I focused on match day more, but was a bit more sure of myself regarding the process, so I thought I would get in.  I remember where I was when I found out.  I went out to dinner with my best friend and my boyfriend.  I realized, in the middle of dinner, that the results were out.  I logged into my account – rejection again.  I excused myself, went outside, called my parents and cried.  How could this happen again?!  I had really improved, I had a better job, I did everything they told me to do!  Yet again, here I sit, unmatched.

Thankfully, I’ve got a great support system, people who believed in me and told me that next time would, for sure be it!  And if it wasn’t, I would find something else I loved and move on!

So, I reached out to more people, took more advice.  This time I even called the programs that didn’t take me and asked them the big question – WHY?  Some told me that I was actually a great candidate, but there just weren’t enough spots.  However, one gave me some information I could work with – make your portfolio more presentable.

And so, the fifth time came along.  This time, I applied early decision to the school I completed my undergrad program in.  I re-did my entire portfolio and made it more presentable, I re-did my resume with the help of a dietitian I knew and I re-wrote my personal statement to really showcase who I was and what I could bring to the program.  I also prepared all of my backup information, just incase I was not accepted.  This way I could participate in the Spring match, if needed.  After handing in my application, I waited.  Each day, I checked my e-mail knowing that this could be the day I found out. On the day I found out, I remember checking my e-mail and the internship not even being on my mind. When I pulled up the e-mail, there it was! Finally, I had matched! I was so overcome with excitement and relief that I cried at work!

So why did I tell you my story? Because I want you to know that you’re not the only one. People get rejected, internships are hard to get (even if you’re super prepared) and sometimes, now just isn’t the time for you. And that’s okay! I would not be the dietitian, or person, I am today if I had gotten the internship that first time around (or the other three times either).   That part time job that turned into a full time job? That got me a part time job during my internship AND my first job after the internship as a manager. My five years at that company helped me grow as a person and a professional and taught me more things than I can explain. It helped me meet wonderful people who supported me and believed in me and helped me get where I am today. That management job? It helped get me my first job as a clinical dietitian, which turned into a job as an inpatient and outpatient dietitian and got me my first bit of experience as a wellness professional. That clinical dietitian job? It got me where I am today – in a corporate wellness job I love. I sit on the board of two different professional organizations and I have wonderful relationships with so many different dietitians. I love my job, love all of the extracurricular I do as a dietitian and have experienced so many amazing things in my career so far. Not getting the internship those first few times didn’t define me as a dietitian, but what I did afterwards and how I reacted to that rejection did.

SO, you didn’t get matched. Take some time for yourself, wallow a bit, but then – MOVE ON. Ask for advice, call those programs that didn’t take you, improve yourself, soul search, get more experience and become the dietitian that you want to be and that you know you can be. You got this!

After a short hiatus, the first fall edition of Weekend Eats is back and it’s a BOSTON edition! What does a dietitian eat?  Healthy foods all the time?  NO!  Organic foods daily?  NO!  Super small portions?  Nope!  Dietitians are just like you!  We have food days that are super healthy (fruits and veggies at every meal, lean proteins, alcohol free and no sweets!) and we have days that are not as healthy (think chocolate, beer and nachos).  Check out my weekly weekend roundup posts so you can see what my weekend eats are all about!

Friday

Breakfast: Friday morning I started off the day with a 5-mile run and a short lifting workout. After this, I was in a rush to get to an early doctor appointment, so my breakfast was a quick mint chocolate chip LaraBar because I knew I would be having lunch shortly after and I needed something to hold me over that would re-fuel me after my workout, but not be too large.

Lunch:  Bernie and I left for Boston on Friday afternoon, so for lunch we whipped up some turkey and cheese sandwiches that we could eat on the way. We used whole wheat sandwich thins, ultra-thin pepper jack cheese slices, turkey and spicy brown mustard.  I also had a macha iced latte on the side – my new fave!

Snack:  Bernie got some car snacks for the ride. He picked up some Honey BBQ fritos, which are, honestly, one of our favorite car snacks.  As I’ve talked about before, sometimes having snacks, that are not as nutritious for me, around in large quantities, gives me a little too much temptation and I tend to eat more then the recommended serving size at a time. To avoid this, Bernie purchased the snack size and we both only had a few throughout the ride. I knew we were going to have an amazing dinner, so I didn’t want to eat too large of a snack so I wouldn’t be super full by the end of the night.

Dinner: Dinner was INCREDIBLE. Bernie was all about trying seafood in Boston, so we went to an amazing place recommended to us by another dietitian friend called Atlantic Fish Co. I CANNOT recommend this place enough!!! The food AND service was awesome. Bernie and I both got drinks – I got a beer (Sam Adams Oktoberfest) and he got a dirty martini and had some of the bread delivered to the table. The bread was warm and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside – SO. GOOD. I started off with a cup of New England Clam Chowder – a childhood favorite of mine. I can’t even tell you how yummy it was!! Then, for dinner, I had their Pan-Seared Sea Bass that also came with spinach and lobster raviolis – this was easily some of the BEST seafood I have had in a LONG TIME. Bernie had grilled swordfish with roasted brussies (and bacon!) and mashed potatoes. OMG – the brussies were to die for.

Dessert: After dinner, we decided to take a short walk around that area of the city and stumbled upon Emack and Bolio’s ice cream, which, according to the sign outside, is “The Original Boston Ice Cream Experience.” As ice cream lovers, we knew we had to try it and it did not disappoint. I had a scoop of the Stoney’s Dream – vanilla ice cream with brownies, chocolate chip cookies and a fudge swirl. This really topped off an incredible night of Boston eats!

Saturday

Breakfast:  Saturday got off to a bit of a late start due to some AIRBNB issues we had the night before, needing to find a hotel in the middle of the night and not getting to bed until 2 AM. I woke up, did a quick 40 minute HIIT workout on the treadmill at the hotel and got ready for the day. After finding another hotel to crash at for the night, we drove over, checked in, parked the car and headed out on the town! We wanted to do the Freedom Trail (2.5 mile walk around Boston to see most of the historical sites), so we hopped on the bus into downtown Boston and grabbed a quick breakfast at a coffee shop. We split an everything bagel with egg and cheddar cheese and I had a coffee from the hotel and we were on our way!

Lunch: We got a little too into sight seeing and skipped right over lunch! We wanted to do a duck tour and were going to grab something to eat on the ride, but when we got to the Science Museum, tickets for the rest of the tours that day were sold out.  So, we decided to head to Harpoon Brewery (one of my favorite breweries) instead.  We got two of their amazing salted pretzels with beer cheese and brown mustard – SO GOOD. We also got two beers each while we waited to take a tour of their brewery. The tour was awesome! We learned all about Harpoon and even some of the science of how to make beer. We also go to try a whole bunch of their beers that they have on tap – for $5 it was definitely worth it!

Dinner:  After the brewery, we headed back to the hotel room to take short rest, which turned into a little bit of a nap (whoops). We headed back out around 7:30 PM to grab some dinner and walk around Boston. First, we headed to the Lawn on D to get some pictures in the glowing swings – We even met someone on line who was from Long Island and named Lauren! What a small world. We wanted to go to the Oyster House for dinner, but the wait was 2 hours – and we were starving! So, we headed down the street to Salty Dog instead. We split a cup of NE Clam Chowder, some muscles and a lobster roll. I really loved the chowder and muscles. However, I have to say, lobster rolls are not for me. Bernie had been wanting to try one the whole trip, so we decided to split it at dinner. I also had never had one, so I thought it would be good to try them since they are ALL OVER Boston. I just wasn’t that into having a lobster with mayo all over it. Oh well, you never know what you like until you try it!

Dessert: For dessert, we stopped at the Ghiridelli shop and got some amazing ice cream. The mint chocolate chip really hit the spot.

Sunday

Brunch:  On Sunday, I got up with the sun and ran along the Charles River. It was, BEAUTIFUL.  After that, I headed back to the hotel, ate some yogurt with cheerios, got ready, packed up our stuff and we started the day at Fenway Park. I did this tour about 10 years ago, but it was really cool to do it again, especially since Bernie is such a sports fan. The stadium is awesome and has so much history – I really recommend taking a tour if you come to Boston! Did you know that they have a garden in their stadium?! They started it in 2015, grow about 5,000 pounds of produce a year and harvest the produce and sell it throughout the park. So cool! After the tour, we headed to City Tap, a brunch spot our friend Will recommended. Now, if you know me at all, you know I love brunch and I LOVE pumpkin things. This place could not have been more perfect! They had an awesome pumpkin filled menu AND so many pumpkin beers on tap! And, to top it off, they were actually tapping a 400 pound pumpkin and giving out the beer in cute glasses. Of course, we both got one and now we have super cute glasses as souvenirs! We started off with the pumpkin hummus, which did not disappoint and then I had the Pork and Sweet Potato Hash and OMG, it was INCREDIBLE!!!!! I cannot recommend this place more. AMAZING.

Lunch and Dinner:  After the brunch, we headed to the Duck Tour – which was super fun and relaxing! We got to see more of the city and learn a bunch about their history! After the tour, we headed home. We stopped halfway in Massachusetts to watch the first half of the Packer game and I had some French Onion Soup. I was still feeling super stuffed from brunch.

So, there you have it, a recap of an amazing, food filled, weekend in Boston and a weekend full of dietitian’s eats!

On June 24^th, a group of Greater New York Dietetic Association members spent the day at Fulper Family Farmstead, a farm that has been in business for 107 years and has 120 cows. The group met in NYC to take a bus with Stacey Jackson from the American Dairy Association North East to NJ to tour the family run dairy farm, learn about dairy and chow down on tasty treats!

During the bus ride, members chatted and networked, played dairy trivia to win prizes and watched a video about farms in the northeast.  Upon arrival, they were greeted by members of the Fulper family and delicious homemade cheese samples.

Breanna Fulper Lundy, Mikayla Fulper, Emma Andrew and Stacey Jackson gave some introductory words as members got comfortable and were served an amazing lunch which included, quiche, sandwiches, salad and fruit.

Next up on the agenda was a presentation with veterinarian, Jon Higgins. He shared some great information about regarding cow health and the farm. Members learned when cows are on antibiotics their milk is always thrown out. Dairy is highly regulated and each batch of milk is checked carefully and milk is discarded and farms are fined if a batch includes traces of antibiotics. Members also learned that ear tags are placed on the ear of each animal to identify each herd member and maintain accurate health and milk records. In addition, Jon reviewed the entire process of cows getting impregnated, giving birth and producing milk.

After Jon’s discussion, the group learned about cow nutrition, from their cow nutritionist, Stephen! This was an especially interesting part of the day as all members love learning about nutrition! Stephen explained the different types of feed and each person was able to see, touch and smell the different feeds. Fun fact: Fulper Farms grows all their own feed for their cows at the farm.

Next up was the farm tour by Mikayla Fulper. She brought the group around the entire farm, showing them the different sections for the cows of different ages, the fields where the soy beans are grown for the cows, the solar panels and the silos where the food is kept. They have a solar power system installed on their farm that produces enough energy (500 kilowatts) to power all of the farm’s operations. The barn where adults cows are housed has fans and sprinkler systems to keep the cows cool in the summer. It’s relatively new because it collapsed a few years ago in the snow! It’s easy to see that the cows are taken care of so well – some are even named!

The group came back to some fresh chocolate milk and had a chocolate milk toast! Then, fellow dietitian, Tobi Amidor gave a presentation on deciphering the myths vs. the facts about lactose and everyone enjoyed some dessert.

Finally, the group headed in to see some playful calves and then got to see the milking process.

It was an awesome day of learning, enjoying tasty dairy and cow-hugging fun!

What does a dietitian eat?  Healthy foods all the time?  NO!  Organic foods daily?  NO!  Super small portions?  Nope!  Dietitians are just like you!  We have food days that are super healthy (fruits and veggies at every meal, lean proteins, alcohol free and no sweets!) and we have days that are not as healthy (think chocolate, beer and nachos).  Check out my weekly weekend roundup posts so you can see what my weekend eats are all about!

Friday

Breakfast: Friday was a quick breakfast of Vans toaster waffles and a tablespoon of sunflower seed butter. I also had the rest of my mom’s fruit salad a little later in the morning. I had clients scheduled all morning and it was super easy for me to chow down on these waffles on the way to the train and then eat my fruit later on.

Lunch:  Lunch was my favorite Just Salad salad, the Roasted Turkey Health Cobb. I really love their bread, but I feel like the portion size is super small. This Friday, I got TWO! I was pretty amped about it.

Snack:  I didn’t have a snack at my usual time, because the salad was super filling. Instead, when I got to Bernie’s job I had a few gold fish.

Dinner:  It was a long week and we had a busy Saturday coming up, so we did Friday Funday in Jersey City. We went to a sushi place and I got two rolls. I always like to get a specialty roll when we get sushi and I’m a sucker for shrimp tempura. I got a shrimp tempura roll with avocado and a spicy tuna roll.

Saturday

Breakfast:  Before my long run, I had a bowl of chex mix with almond milk. When I run my long runs, I like to have a small carbohydrate breakfast prior to the run. I also brought my clif bar shot blocks with me to give me a bit of fuel during my run.  I was in a rush after my run to eat and get out the door because Bernie and I were helping take pictures of our friends’ engagement and we had to leave right after my run (SO EXCITING!)! I had another two waffles with a tablespoon of sunflower seed butter.

Lunch: Once we got home, we got sandwiches from Prato, a cute Italian place nearby. I got a mozzarella and tomato sandwich. It’s my favorite sandwich from there. 

Dinner:  We went out after lunch to celebrate the engagement at Zepplin Hall, a beer garden in Jersey City. I had one beer and then our friends ordered some food and I had a few fries and a chicken finger from that.

Sunday

Breakfast:  Sunday I met my Godmother in the city for brunch and a walk in Central Park. I got the heuvos rancheros at The Smith at Lincoln Center. It was delicious! I also had a bellini with my food.

Lunch and Dinner:  We visited our best friends Jon and Julie and their baby Ben on Sunday and hung out for a bit. My lunch/dinner was a delicious steak quesadilla. It was so good!  You know I love my quesadillas!! There you have it!  A weekend full of dietitian’s eats!

What does a dietitian eat?  Healthy foods all the time?  NO!  Organic foods daily?  NO!  Super small portions?  Nope!  Dietitians are just like you!  We have food days that are super healthy (fruits and veggies at every meal, lean proteins, alcohol free and no sweets!) and we have days that are not as healthy (think chocolate, beer and nachos).  Check out my weekly weekend roundup posts so you can see what my weekend eats are all about!

Friday

Breakfast: Friday was my typical Siggi’s vanilla yogurt with Purely Elizabeth’s granola, chopped chocolate chips and sliced strawberries.Lunch:  Lunch was my Mexican Quinoa Bowl.  So delicious and filling!

Snack:  For snack I had a banana that I had taken from the Flywheel Sports chelsea location the night before after my workout and 1 tbsp of sunflower seed butter.  This is such an easy snack and tastes AMAZE.

Dinner:  NYP had a free cycling promotion, so after work I headed over to Flywheel Sports for the second day in a row and got in an awesome workout!  When I got home, I was ravenous.  We were supposed to go to a Midnight Market event again, but Bernie wasn’t feeling well, so an egg scramble was my dinner instead!  I sautéed kale and onions and added 1 egg and 1 egg white with cheddar cheese.  This was a good example of how I am as a cook, because I dropped a whole egg on the floor in my haste.  I definitely need to remember to SLOW DOWN when I am cooking sometimes.  I ate this with two slices of whole wheat toast.  YUM!

Saturday

Breakfast:  We were on Long Island for the weekend and I had to do a 9 mile run.  My breakfast was a bowl of honey nut cheerios with strawberries and almond milk and a cup of coffee.  After eating, I waited about 1 hour until I decided to go for my run.  I also drank plenty of water beforehand.  During my run I ate one clif bar c-blok to give me a bit of fuel.  I forgot my water on the run, though, and totally regretted that!  I was super thirsty and it definitely affected how I was running.  I came home and drank water for the rest of the day.  The run went pretty well and we are coming up to the final month before the half marathon, so I am getting pretty pumped!

Lunch:  After my run, lunch was two slices of whole wheat bread, turkey breast and 2 slices of Colby jack cheese with some brown mustard.  YUMMO!

Snack 1: Bernie and I left to do a bunch of errands and I brought a health warrior chocolate peanut butter chia bar along for the ride. I also got an iced coffee at Flux Coffee.

Snack 2: After the errands we still had some time before dinner, so I had a few sea salt multigrain tortilla chips with hummus and then went to get pedicures with Gina.  WOO!  A pedi felt so good after my long run!  New tip I learned – don’t wear skinny jeans to get your nails done – the nail lady was sweating so hard after trying to pull my pants back down over my monster calves!  Whoops!

 Dinner:  For dinner, my mom made paninis with whole wheat rolls, mozzarella cheese, grilled chicken and roasted red peppers.  I had one of those with a balsamic, apricot glaze and some salad on the side.

Dessert:  We spent some of the night stuffing easter eggs for the easter egg hunt, so I did sneak a few bite sized candies and peanut M&M’s during that 🙂

Sunday

Breakfast:  Sunday morning, I went for a 45 minute bike ride and did some ab work before mass.  After Easter mass, we went to the diner for some breakfast before having to set up the house to have people over.  I got an omelette with broccoli and cheddar cheese and a side of potatoes.  I had about half the omelet and a quarter of the potatoes and a slice of wheat toast with some coffee.

Lunch and Dinner:  I had a few bites of different appetizers before dinner – ham and cheese Stromboli and bean dip with tortillas chips.  For dinner, I had chicken, garlic bread and asparagus.  I also tried lamb.  I have to say I was not a fan of the lamb, but everything else was awesome!

Dessert:  Aunt Di’s famous desserts were back again and you know I had some!  TWO WEEKENDS IN A ROW!!!  I had some apple strudel and a brownie.  Then I got to take some apple strudel home too!  DELICIOUS!  Here’s a pic of her amazing cake (I didn’t eat it because I’m not a huge cake fan).  But how cute is that?!  Also here are a few of the “bunny butt” cookies she made!  I may have had a few bites of one of these too 🙂

There you have it!  A weekend full of dietitian’s eats!

I LOVE Black Bean Tacos and they are a staple in our apartment for quick dinners.  So, I decided to take break down my tacos and make a Mexican themed lunch for the final installation of my meatless meals during Lent.  Instead of using the tortillas for my carb, I used quinoa, which adds to the protein content in this yummy meal!

This meal is super easy to make and throw together to re-heat the next day for lunch.  Plus it’s full of protein AND fiber, to help keep you satisfied until that afternoon snack.  WAHOO!

Mexican Quinoa Bowl

Servings: 1

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup quinoa, cooked
• Olive oil spray
• 1/4 cup red onion, sliced
• 1/2 green peppers, large, sliced
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cups black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/4 avocado, sliced

Directions

• Cook quinoa according to package.
• While quinoa is cooking, heat olive oil spray on medium pan.  Add red onion, green peppers, garlic and onion powder and sauté for 5 minutes or until onions are translucent.
• Add cooked quinoa, black beans, peppers and onions to bowl.
• Top with cheese and avocado.
• Enjoy!

Calories: 420; Fat: 12,68 g; Saturated fat: 3.891 g; Cholesterol: 12.5 mg; Sodium: 536 mg; Carb: 58.93 g; Fiber: 13.2 g; Sugars: 6.29 g; Protein: 18.7g

Don’t forget to keep reading for some DELICIOUS, meatless, recipes from my amazing dietitian colleagues!

Katie, of One Hungry Bunny, shared her 3-Step Mediterranean Style Buddha Bowl.  She explains how to make your own delicious Buddha Bowl and even gives you tips on how to use the ingredients in her recipe for other meals during the week!

Lindsey, of Tasty Balance Nutrition, shared her Curried Chickpea, Sweet Potato, Tofu and Veggie Bowl with Tahini Sauce.  She eats plant powered bowls all the time and shares her formula on how to create your own, easily, and with yummy ingredients!  This Curried Chickpea, Sweet Potato, Tofu and Veggie Bowl with Tahini Sauce is a staple she brings to work and quickly heats up in the microwave!

Kelli, of Hungry Hobby, shared her Spicy Tuna Salad, Salmon Hummus Wrap and Chop Chop Salad.  Her tuna salad is an easy, protein packed lunch can be made in 5 minutes and is delicious with toast, whole grain crackers or veggies!  For her salmon wrap recipe, Kelli tells you how to cook salmon so it’s nice and juicy and gives you step by step instructions on how to assemble this delicious wrap!  Her Chop Chop Salad is yummy, takes minimal time to prep, lasts for multiple meals and it’s as crunchy on day three as it was on day one!

Julie, of RDelicious Kitchen, shard her Chickpea Walnut Sandwich.  Her protein packed mixture can be eaten on your favorite whole wheat bread, added to your fave salad or eaten with some delicious whole grain crackers.

Chelsey, of C It Nutritionally, shared her Mung Bean Lentil Salad.  It’s full of veggies and protein and if you haven’t tried lentils or mung beans, this is the salad for you!  YUM!

What does a dietitian eat?  Healthy foods all the time?  NO!  Organic foods daily?  NO!  Super small portions?  Nope!  Dietitians are just like you!  We have food days that are super healthy (fruits and veggies at every meal, lean proteins, alcohol free and no sweets!) and we have days that are not as healthy (think chocolate, beer and nachos).  Check out my weekly weekend roundup posts so you can see what my weekend eats are all about!

Friday

Breakfast: Friday was my typical Siggi’s yogurt with Simply Elizabeth’s granola, chopped chocolate chips and sliced strawberries.  I had a bunch of clients to see early on Friday, so I was eating my breakfast in a bit of a rush and forgot to take a pic!

Lunch:  Thursday night was super busy for me and I forgot to pack a lunch, so I ended up walking and getting a Market Plate for lunch.  My plate consisted of baked salmon on a bed of kale and sides of roasted broccoli and sweet potatoes.  It was DELICIOUS!

Dinner:  For dinner, Bernie and I went to a Hot Pot place in Jersey City.  It was my first time experiencing Hot Pot and it was cool and interesting and definitely yummy.  We got shrimp, scallops, dumplings and a side of shrimp fried rice.  I had a pretty difficult time with the chopsticks, but I finally figured it out!  I definitely like forks and knives better. LOL.  I was also pretty surprised when the shrimp arrived and they had eyes!  At first, I was slightly grossed out, but they ended up being so fresh and delicious after we cooked them.  YUM.  After dinner, we went to Target so I could get a FitBit upgrade!  I am amped about this FitBit.  I got the first one that ever came out years ago and I have finally upgraded!  Woo!  On Saturday, I did 36,000 steps!

Saturday

Breakfast/Brunch: My best friend Kelli visited this weekend, so we had a fun Saturday planned.  After running 8 miles for my half marathon training, we went to Latham House for breakfast.  I got the heuvos rancheros and split one of their homemade biscuits with Bernie.  I have heard awesome things about this place and they were all true.  The food was DELICIOUS!

Lunch:  Since we had brunch/breakfast kind of late, we opted to not get lunch.  Instead, we went into the city, walked along the High Line, and then went to New Territories and split the Unicorn Parade milk shake.  OMG, it was AMAZING!  I highly recommend it.  I cannot wait to go back and try their other items!Dinner:  For dinner, Kelli and I went to Amelia’s.  I had a roll with some hummus (that you get to mix yourself at the table!) and got their Turkey Rueben with the dressing on the side and no swiss cheese.  I ended up taking the bread off and eating the turkey and sauerkraut and dipping my fork in the dressing so I could get a taste of the dressing without all the calories.  I also had about half of the fries on my plate.

Sunday

Breakfast:  Sunday we had a quick brunch before Bernie and I headed to Long Island for a family party.  I chowed down on a yummy slice of toast topped with avocado, feta cheese and egg.

Lunch and Dinner:  Since we were at the party for a while, I ate enough for both lunch and dinner.  I had some penne ala vodka, a few pieces of chicken breast, some salad and a slice of ham and cheese roll.

Dessert:  Aunt Di’s famous desserts were back and you know I had some!  I had some of here delicious apple puffs and I also had a few mini donuts with canoli cream inside.  So good AND the perfect serving size.

There you have it!  A weekend full of dietitian’s eats!

I’ve been eating strawberries like it’s my job lately, so I decided to make a salad and add those babies to it!  I love filling my salads with delicious toppings.  This keeps my tastebuds happy and helps me feel satisfied until my next meal.

For this salad, I used spring mix as the base, because that tends to be my favorite salad base.  Feel free to use your fave leafy green as the base if you’re not a spring mix fan.  I love adding quinoa to salads to make them a big heartier.  Anytime I see a quinoa salad at a restaurant, I HAVE to get it.  When you’re chowing down on this salad, you’ll notice that the sweetness of the strawberries mixes so well with the creaminess of the feta cheese and avocado and the chopped walnuts add a nice crunch.

I enjoy this salad with Ken’s Balsamic with Honey Dressing, because balsamic just goes sooo well with strawberries, but you can feel free to dress it up however you like!

Strawberry Quinoa Salad

Servings: 1

Ingredients

• 2 cups spring mix
• 1/2 cup strawberries, chopped
• 1/4 cup low fat feta cheese
• 2 tablespoons red onion
• 2 tablespoon walnuts, chopped
• 1/4 cup quinoa, cooked
• 1/4 avocado, chopped

Directions

• Add all ingredients to plate
• Top with dressing of choice
• Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts:

Calories: 343; Fat: 21.26 g; Saturated fat: 3.7 g; Cholesterol: 10 mg; Sodium: 374 mg; Carb: 31 g; Fiber: 10.6 g; Sugars: 7.5 g; Protein: 12.7 g

Don’t forget to check out these other delicious meatless recipes from some amazing dietitians below!

Meri, of Real Living Nutrition Services, shared her Winter Quinoa Kale and Pear Salad.  With sweet pears, creamy goat cheese, delicious kale, quinoa and crunchy walnuts, this salad is sure to please!Danielle, of The Every Kitchen, shared her Green Papaya Salad with Shrimp.  If you haven’t tried papaya yet, this is the salad for you!  Delicious papaya paired with shrimp and roasted peanuts as your proteins and some traditional Thai flavors.  Yum!Amanda, of Nutritionist Reviews, shared her Greek Chopped Salad with Roasted Chickpeas.  This lunch is super easy to make and adds a boost of vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber to your lunch!Stacie and Jessica, of The Real Food Dietitians, shared their Greek Quinoa Salad.  This gluten-free salad is made with creamy feta, veggies and healthy fats.  Plus they use delicious avocado oil and lemon juice as the dressing!

Natalie, of Nutrition A La Natalie, shared her Chickpea Salad Sandwich with Sweet Apple Slaw.  A vegetarian twist on a tuna salad, this sandwich is chock full of fiber, vitamins, protein, antioxidants, minerals and healthy fats.Lauren, of Nutri Savvy Health, shared her Eggplant and Squash Tacos with Miso Kale Slaw.  This delicious twist on tacos features grated hard boiled eggs as the protein and baked eggplant as the shell.  Yum!

Who doesn’t love a good old peanut butter and jelly sandwich?!  If I’m being honest, growing up, I actually hated them.  I would always ask for peanut butter only and didn’t want to touch the jelly.  But one summer, in 10th grade, I was offered one on a school trip.  With nothing else in site to eat, I had to eat it!  To my surprise, I loved it!  Flash forward a few years and I still love them, but sometimes I need to mix it up a bit.

Recently, I’ve become a sunflower seed butter lover, so my sandwiches have changed from PB&J to SB&J.  Then, this past weekend I had a sandwich with fig jam and I thought, “what better way to spice up my SB&J sandie?!”  So I went out and got some delish fig preserves from a market by my apartment (which were on sale…woo!) an created this sandie.

Of course, I had to add some nannies to the mix because I wanted something a little extra to keep me full.

P.S. If you have the luxury of working from home (woohoo!) I suggest throwing this in a panini maker or heating it up in a pan to make it that much more delicious! Yum!

Sunflower Seed Butter, Banana & Fig Sandwich

Servings: 1

Ingredients

• 2 slices whole wheat bread
• 1 tablespoon sunflower seed butter
• 1 tablespoon fig preserves
• 1 medium (about 7 inches) banana, sliced

Directions

• Top one slice of bread with sunflower seed butter and one slice with fig preserves.
• Add sliced banana and put two slices together.
• Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts:

Calories: 455; Fat: 19.4 g; Saturated fat: 2.1 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 441 mg; Carb: 83 g; Fiber: 15.1 g; Sugars: 36.4 g; Protein: 18.3 g

Whitney, of To Live and Diet in L.A. shared her Sweet Corn Pasta Salad.  This protein packed salad takes only 20 minutes to whip up and helps you add more corn (a yummy whole grain) to your diet!

Kelly, of Hungry Hobby shared her Taco Tuna Quinoa Sliders.  These 5 ingredient, protein packed, sliders are a delicious lunch idea and they are freezable so you can make enough of them them to reheat whenever you want!

Gauri, of Ayur Nutrition, shared her Spinach Lentil Quinoa Khichari.  This protein packed meal is a great way to add more lentils to your diet and includes some yummy spices!

EA Stewart, of The Spicy RD, shared her Super Duper Raw Power Salad.  This salad is loaded with veggies and fruits and has a variety of textures to make your tastebuds go “Wow!”.

Sarah, of The Bucket List Tummy, shared her Lemon Tahini Lentil Dip.  This delicious dish is packed with fiber and a blend of Indian and Mediterranean flavors.

Jessica, of Nutrioulicious, shared her Asian Style Farro Buddha Bowl with Crispy Baked Tofu.  This is the perfect recipe if you’re trying to eat healthy on a budget!  With whole grain farro and some delicious toppings (including crispy tofu!), you just can’t go wrong with this buddha bowl.