"I'm a nutritionist and a vegan. Here's what I eat in a day."

I'm a nutritionist, yoga teacher, author and nut butter addict, and this is my very pervy food diary. 

Breakfast

I have the same brekkie every morning. When you create an elixir that is chock-full of veggies, yet tastes like a chocolate milkshake, you don’t stray from it.

Watch: 7 tips to reduce bloating. Post continues after. 

The base recipe involves frozen zucchini (tasteless, adds bulk, great for my liver), coconut water (full of potassium), raw cacao powder (the ultimate food source of stress-busting magnesium), spirulina (iron, B vitamins and complete protein), green leaf stevia (an antioxidant rich herb that tastes sweeter than sugar), homemade vanilla essence (vanilla beans brewed in vodka – yep, a splash of the funny water at brekkie), food-based probiotic powder (to support digestive, immune and cognitive health) cinnamon (brilliant for balancing blood glucose levels) and chilli flakes (to kick-start my metabolism).

Image: Supplied. 

At the moment, I’m also adding a plant-based calcium powder (milk and I aren’t the best of friends so I source my calcium elsewhere), beetroot powder (it was on special and I dig the sweet taste. Beets are an incredible blood cleanser) and a (totally legal) magical mushroom medley. I use the latter for their cognitive and immune-boosting benefits. I also like the names; Chaga, Reishi, Cordyceps, Lion’s Mane. You can’t make this Shitake up. 

Comments: Before you ‘at’ me for the exhaustive ingredient list of my seductive smoothie, I best mention that I am in remission for a chronic autoimmune liver disease and have spent the last decade recovering from cirrhosis. I didn’t respond well to medication and so food is my medicine. Also, I’m a vegan – not because I believe it’s the healthiest choice for all humans, it simply works best for me, given my medical history. To minimise the need for additional supplementation, I cover as much nutritional ground as possible with food.  

Lunch 

It depends on what my schedule looks like for the day but more often than not, nut butter plays a starring role. 

I’m partial to baked sweet potato (especially the purple-fleshed variety), steamed pumpkin or a homemade pumpkin, oat and banana flour muffin. Each option pairs insanely well with homemade peanut, sunflower seed, coconut and manuka honey butter. 

If I’m on the go, I love a big organic apple followed by several chunks of fresh ginger root eaten with sunflower seed butter and roasted cashews. 

As a treat, I love having lunch at my favourite Adelaide café; Nutrition Republic. Their homemade bread is ode-worthy and I order it toasted a-la ‘the health nut’ (almond butter, blueberries and coconut) or ‘the gut loving’ (avo mash, sauerkraut and hemp seeds). 

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L U N C H I N 🥰 ________________________ @nutritionrepublic @jettyrdglenelg my favourite cafe in the world 🌎 so that I still have somewhere to dine when this madness is over 🤪 _________________________ You might have a safe job that pays you to work from home 🏡 Or work in a job that can’t be shut down 🏥 but the small businesses that offer important services - such as the best bloody almond butter toast in town - to our community need our support now more than ever before. ________________________ We can’t support every small business but we can support the ones that mean the most to us 💕💪 ________________________ We keep talking about protecting the vulnerable. Small business owners fall into this category too. _________________________ PS: @nutritionrepublic is sustainable 🌱 allergy aware 🍏 and make a damn good coffee ☕️ (and try their immune juice, errr moi gawd it’s insanely gooooooood) 🍊🥕🍍

A post shared by  The OG Comedic Nutritionist (@rachelfavilla) on Mar 21, 2020 at 12:00am PDT

I can’t visit Nutrition Republic without ordering their original blended espresso as well, a double shot of fair-trade espresso blended with ice and Medjool dates. Heaven in a biodegradable cup! Fun fact: coffee is rich in antioxidants and supports liver detoxification. 

Comments: As a vegan, it’s vital that I prioritise foods that are rich in protein, essential fats, minerals and B vitamins. Thankfully, nuts and seeds tick all of these boxes.  

Dinner 

I love yoga teaching, but there is one catch; I work most week nights. As such, I’m all about prep-in-advance options so that dinner is waiting for me when I arrive home. 

At the moment I’m buying big, dirty organic potatoes and baking them in bulk. I adore doing this because when you cook and refrigerate starches, such as spuds or grains, part of the starch gets converted to a fibre-like substance called resistant starch that ‘resists’ digestion in the small intestine. It travels to our colon and feeds our friendly bowel bugs instead.

I fill these creamy fibre-bombs with homemade macadamia butter and a sea of roasted cashews. Potassium, vitamin C and oodles of dietary fibre (snaps to Mr Potato), plus protein, zinc, essential fats, iron, B vitamins and antioxidants from nuts, glorious nuts.

Other nights I’ll have a veggie ad legume (either beans, lentils or chickpeas) curry with resistant starch (read: cold) Jasmine rice. I top this with more nut butter, because, if you hadn’t cottoned on to it already, ‘nut butter on life’ is my motto. 

I also love big bowls of ‘pulse pasta’ (pasta made from legumes – also a ripper source of resistant starch) with steamed veggies, olive oil and turmeric dressing, nut butter and an extremely generous handful (or three) of roasted nuts and seeds. 

Image: Supplied. 

If I’m out and about, I might give my digestive system a mini-break and opt for a Nutrition Republic blended espresso for ‘lunch’. If I do this, I’m sure to order a substantial takeaway meal for dinner. 

My ‘usual’ is their vegetable frittata (made from chickpea flour instead of eggs) with fusion salad (a rainbow of veggies drenched in their life-affirming ginger-citrus dressing) with onion relish and chilli cashews. I often add a few dollops of macadamia butter as well (see life motto, above).  

Parting words

My food choices vary, but it’s a safe bet that on a day ending in ‘y’, I’ve eaten my body weight in nut butter and included resistant starch somewhere in the mix. I often spike my muffins with dark chocolate chips or have a few squares of loving earth coconut ‘mylk’ chocolate for ‘dessert’ after lunch or dinner. 

Image: Supplied. 

I also enjoy a Kombucha a day. I sometimes make my own, but the store-bought varieties taste so much better. 

In addition to coffee and kombucha, I also drink 2-4 cups of water, keeping in mind that I am a tiny human, and there’s only so much liquid my pint-sized bladder can hold.

Rach is the OG Comedic Nutritionist, marrying health with humour and science with soul. Wildly passionate about health education and best known for her trademark wit, you can find her on www.realsoupfortherealsoul.com, Instagram @rachelfavilla and Facebook  @realsoupfortherealsoul