Most people think that just because I am a Registered Dietitian I have a healthy diet. Granted I work out regularly which luckily keeps me in shape. But I do have my moments with the chip bag and plate of brownies. Assumptions by other people about what I eat really got me to thinking - what do I eat? And truthfully I kinda cringe when I think about it. Aside from the week cleanse I did in November my diet has been far from stellar over the last few months. More carbs than anything else (no wonder I can’t get rid of that stomach pooch!), lots of sugar, caffeine, some alcohol and definitely lacking on the veggies. So last night I got into some heavy research on vegetarianism and veganism and read about what Oprah did last year with her 21 day vegan diet, which entailed sticking to the 5 “no’s”…no sugar, no meat, no caffeine, no dairy, no eggs. Since I don’t want to give myself a shock I’ll start out with giving up a couple things at a time - meat and sugar.

This morning I got up a little after the crack of dawn and headed to a yoga class. My poor body hadn’t seen a yoga mat in a couple of weeks and was grateful for the stretch. I followed that up with a simple breakfast - 1 cup of cooked millet, 1 Tb of almond/flaxseed butter and 1/2 a banana. As I was preparing breakfast I thought about how easy it is to know what you are putting into your body when your ingredients are so simple. I’m getting some meal ideas from chef Tal Ronnen who cooked for Oprah while she was doing her cleanse and trying to keep the recipes as simple as possible. Being a healthy and balanced takes some planning, which is actually a good thing. It forces you to take some time out for yourself to do something good for you. This way of conscience eating may affect other aspects of my life in a more positive way.