A healthy diet can still lack key nutrients. Here are some easy fixes from a dietitian
Nina “Teddie” Huynh is a chef. The 35-year-old shares her day on a plate.
Credit: Art by Eliza Iredale
6.30am Water with lemon before a 10-minute meditation session and journaling. Then it’s off for a morning beach walk and swim. I return home for a light breakfast of avocado toast and black coffee before dropping my daughter at school.
10am A handful of almonds and green tea for a mid-morning snack.
2pm Between planning and menu-writing sessions, I eat grilled fish, jasmine rice and steamed broccoli.
4pm I taste dishes I’m testing for my coming pop-up restaurant. Today I’m reinventing bánh canh, a noodle dish I loved as a child.
7.30pm Vietnamese summer rolls of prawns certified by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council with herbs, rice noodles and nuoc mam, which is a dipping sauce made of fresh lime juice, garlic, chilli and fish sauce.
Dr Joanna McMillan says
Top marks for… Choosing sustainable seafood. Seafood is important for our wellbeing, providing several key nutrients often low in Aussie diets, including iodine and long-chain omega-3s, but it’s crucial we ensure our supply lasts for generations to come.
If you keep eating like this you’ll… Seriously lack fibre and phytonutrients such as polyphenols, found in different coloured fruit and veg. You eat really well with home-cooked foods, but rice noodles and white jasmine rice lack fibre. You also didn’t eat any fruit and fell short of your goal of five veg.
Why don’t you try… Make sure your toast is wholegrain and add an egg for an earlier protein hit, along with some sautéed veg such as mushrooms and spinach. Add a bowl of berries or piece of fruit to your snack and a serve of stir-fried mixed veg to dinner.
Nina “Teddie” Huynh is an ambassador for the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC).
Get the best of Sunday Life magazine delivered to your inbox every Sunday morning. Sign up here for our free newsletter.