Most dietary advice is fairly straightforward: eat whole foods with a good balance of protein, fiber, carbs, and healthy fats.
Consistently adhering to that guidance is another story, particularly if you live a busy life.
Rachel Swanson, a registered dietitian at LifeSpan Medicine and author of “Trying!: A Science-Backed Plan to Optimize Your Fertility,” splits her time between New York City and Miami, spending about half the year in each. She also takes small-group workout classes three times a week, focusing on strength training.
She says eating enough nutrients, especially protein for muscle-building, is crucial for her. She generally aims for around 0.7 grams of protein per pound of body weight, the protein intake usually recommended for physically active people.
“Every single ingredient is going to be very intentionally added,” Swanson, 35, told Business Insider. “What are the foods that are going to give me the biggest bang-for-my-nutritional-buck, so to speak?” She incorporates foods like blueberries and sweet potatoes for their high fiber and vitamin content.
Throughout the workweek, she follows an “automated” meal plan, eating mostly foods she batch-cooked in advance. Beyond making her jam-packed days easier, preparing meals in advance helps her eat a wide variety of plants — essential for good gut health.
“I know every single day is built in support for my gut microbiome,” she said, deliberately rotating which vegetables, herbs, and spices she uses in her cooking to increase her variety.
Swanson shared what she typically eats in a day to get enough protein, fiber, and other nutrients.
She starts the day light
Swanson is typically too busy to eat a full breakfast on weekday mornings. Because she starts her clinic hours at 8 a.m., she usually packs in media interviews and other meetings right before.
She keeps her mornings simple with some lemon water, coffee, or yerba mate — a caffeinated herbal drink similar to tea with additional antioxidants.
If she has time to eat, it’s usually a quick high-protein snack to keep her satiated until her early lunch. Lately, it’s been homemade turkey meatballs with sweet potatoes, onions, and blueberries.
She loves a filling soup for lunch
Most of Swanson’s lunches are pre-cooked meals, and she usually has two different options in the fridge to avoid the monotony of eating the same lunch five days in a row.
She frequently opts for hearty soups and stews. The meals usually feature an animal protein, like chicken, and Swanson rotates the vegetables and herbs.
“I like to get whatever’s in season if possible — that’s just automatically going to maximize the diversity,” she said.
One of her favorites is a protein- and fiber-packed “golden soup” with chicken, bone broth, carrots, cauliflower, white beans, light coconut milk, ginger, and some turmeric, which has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.
Her snacks are cozy beverages — with nutritional perks
Swanson isn’t a big snacker, but she loves a warm beverage.
In the winter, she makes hot chocolate with CocoaVia, a cocoa supplement infused with flavanols, which have been shown to have some heart and brain health benefits. She mixes the powder with non-dairy milk and a small amount of sweetener.
Another favorite treat is a homemade matcha latte. She prepares ceremonial-grade matcha with non-dairy milk and mixes in about a tablespoon of chia seeds, which add protein, fiber, and omega-3s and can also help with appetite control.
“The combination, I know it probably sounds crazy when I describe it, but it’s literally like drinking boba tea because it’s chewy and fun,” she said. “It’s the easiest possible way to get 5 grams of fiber injected into your day.”
Dinner is protein- and fiber-forward
Like her lunches, Swanson also batch-preps most of her dinners, which always feature a core protein and at least one vegetable for fiber and nutrients.
A recent favorite was a fajita made with grass-fed steak, which studies find to be leaner and richer in omega-3s than regular steak. She added sautéed peppers, onions, and pineapple, topping the meal with fresh cilantro to further maximize her microbiome diversity.
Her go-to dessert is a protein smoothie
Following her rule of ensuring every meal has some nutritional value, Swanson likes to make a smoothie with frozen mixed berries, frozen cauliflower, non-dairy milk, and a scoop of chocolate or nut butter-flavored protein powder (she opts for an organic, grass-fed beef isolate version).
She said it’s a delicious way to get a little extra protein and fiber. “It kind of turns out as a chocolate-covered-cherry or a PB&J flavor,” she said.
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