Dietitian Lyndi Cohen has offered a look inside her weekly food diary, and revealed why you should never use the ‘day on a plate’ guide as a benchmark for your diet.
The 30-year-old from Sydney said what you eat in a day ‘doesn’t matter’ at all, as it’s what you eat in a week, a month and a year that contributes to making you healthy and strong.
‘A day on a plate is a curated day of eating from someone,’ she explained in a YouTube video.
‘So when you copy it and can’t stick to it, you feel stupid that you can’t eat the same every day as they do for one day.’
Lyndi’s weekly food diary is not only filled with fruit, veg and protein, but also delicious foods that help to keep her sane and more than you might think.
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Dietitian Lyndi Cohen (pictured) has offered a look inside her weekly food diary, and revealed why you should never use the ‘day on a plate’ guide as a benchmark for your diet
Lyndi said she doesn’t eat breakfast as soon as she gets up as she isn’t always hungry then, but rather waits until she is and then eats some homemade muesli with milk (pictured)
MONDAY
7.34am: Lyndi said she starts everyday with a milky cappuccino made with skimmed milk and a little bit of Lindt chocolate grated on the top.
‘I could skip the chocolate and make this healthier, but to be honest a little sprinkling of chocolate helps me to know that chocolate is allowed,’ she said.
‘It’s not forbidden. When we take things off our list of allowed foods, that’s when we start to crave them and they become binge foods.’
The dietitian explained you’re far better off allowing yourself a little of what you love so you don’t feel deprived.
10.30am: While Lyndi said society may have conditioned you to think you should eat as soon as you wake up, this doesn’t have to be the case.
‘I have noticed I’m not really hungry when I first wake up, so I like to wait an hour and see if I get hungrier before I eat,’ she said.
Lyndi’s breakfast on Monday was homemade muesli with milk.
She makes this about once a fortnight and typically throws in a different combination of seeds to vary her diet a little.
This time, the muesli has chia seeds, flax seeds, plain rolled oats, cashews and flaked almonds inside it – along with a little bit of honey and extra Virgin olive oil to toast it.
Lyndi (pictured at home) said she likes to make as much from scratch as possible, because this means she knows what she has put into it
1.07pm: Lunch most days is a salad of some sorts, but Lyndi said she doesn’t like to deprive herself with her salads.
Monday is a pumpkin and falafel option with air-fried pumpkin, falafel and some greens from their garden along with avocado and tahini.
3.11pm: Most afternoons, the dietitian will need some sort of pick-me-up. She likes to try and drink kefir when she can for the gut-loving probiotics.
Lyndi had a glass of kefir alongside a carrot for beta-carotene.
5.04pm: On this particular day, Lyndi said she was especially hungry as she exercised and her lunch was quite light.
She marinated some tofu to enjoy before dinner.
Monday is a pumpkin and falafel option with air-fried pumpkin, falafel and some greens from their garden along with avocado and tahini (pictured)
7.39pm: Dinner on Monday was air-fried sweet potato with stir fry, beef mince and vegetables.
Lyndi said she likes to ‘crowd’ her meals with as many vegetables as possible, so even if she’s not eating especially healthily, then she has plenty of veg.
8.34pm: Pudding on Monday was leftover chocolate cake, dropped over by her mum which had been eaten at Lyndi’s brother’s birthday.
Lyndi often likes to use up leftovers where possible in order to keep on budget and healthy in the kitchen (one of her snacks pictured)
TUESDAY
7.32am: Tuesday began much like Monday, with her chocolate cappuccino at 7.32am and a later breakfast.
11am: Breakfast on Tuesday was the same muesli as the day before, but with a glass of kefir.
1.02pm: Lyndi ate a roast pumpkin and freekeh salad on Tuesday, adding some sweet potato from her air fryer for ‘added yumminess’.
7.43pm: The dietitian didn’t snack on Tuesday, and instead ate leftover foods like the beef mince and veggies inside a tortia.
8.47pm: Dessert on Tuesday was a pear, cut into slices.
She likes to ‘crowd’ her plate with as many different-coloured vegetables as possible in order to get variety (pictured: one of Lyndi’s lunches)
WEDNESDAY
7.32am: As always the day started with coffee.
10.17am: On Wednesday, Lyndi said she fancied eggs for breakfast, and so turned to one of her favourite recipes that she loves for any meal all year round: shakshuka.
‘To make my shakshuka, simply add some oil into a pan, add some chickpeas and tinned tomatoes and stir in some chilli flakes and Moroccan seasoning,’ Lyndi said.
‘Stir it all up, let it heat and then add in two eggs and let them cook slowly.’
Leave the pan for five or ten minutes before serving.
‘You can add in fresh herbs and feta to season it, I also add avocado,’ Lyndi said.
‘I love this dish because it’s great for getting the legumes into your diet. It’s also a great option, when you want something quick that is also healthy.’
Lyndi often allows herself a healthy snack late in the afternoon, like some air-fried cauliflower which is quick and easy to make (pictured)
1.45pm: Because the shakshuka kept Lyndi full over lunchtime, she said she just had some watermelon as a snack at 1.45pm.
4pm: However, by 4pm, the dietitian said she was ready for something a bit more filling. Lyndi opted for a vegetable bowl with tofu in an attempt to ‘use up and eat as many vegetables as possible’.
7.16pm: Because it was Passover on Wednesday and Lyndi is Jewish, she said she had chicken soup and potato kugel dropped off by her mother for dinner.
8pm: The dietitian followed this with some brownie.
The dietitian (pictured) said her weekly diet is not perfect, and you absolutely do not have to eat perfectly to be healthy
THURSDAY
7.32am: Thursday started with coffee, before Lyndi had her muesli.
11.15am: On Thursday, Lyndi said she had the muesli with Greek yoghurt instead.
2.05pm: Lunch was leftover pumpkin and freekeh salad.
5.30pm: But because the lunch didn’t keep her full all afternoon, Lyndi said she popped some sweet potato in the air fryer quickly at 5.30pm and had some fries as a snack.
8.39pm: Lyndi then had leftover kugel and beef brisket for dinner, along with a leftover piece of brownie for dessert.
FRIDAY
7.32am: Lyndi began with coffee before going for a walk in her local area.
10.30am: At 10.30am, she had a peanut butter muffin she picked up from a local healthy cafe.
12.07pm: Then, around midday, she air-fried some cauliflower to keep her going.
1.45pm: Lunch was a pumpkin salad with pomegranate and a cucumber salad on the side.
4.13pm: At around 4, Lyndi said she snacked on both some rock melon and a homemade bliss ball to tide her over until the evening.
7.38pm: ‘Dinner tonight is slow-cooked lamb and roasted vegetables,’ Lyndi said.
‘We’ve been cooking the lamb for seven hours and I really felt like it as we haven’t eaten much meat this week.’
SATURDAY
7.32am: Coffee as normal.
9.46am: Lyndi reverted to her muesli with milk classic breakfast choice.
12.34pm: Lunch was a pumpkin and quinoa salad.
3.20pm: At twenty past three, she said she had some kefir and a chocolate bliss ball.
5.12pm: Then later at 5pm, Lyndi had a decaffeinated coffee along with a couple of squares of her favourite chocolate.
7.46pm: Dinner was leftover lamb and any veg she had left along with bocconcini.
‘We get a vegetable delivery once a week so I like trying to use up as many veggies in the fridge as possible,’ she said.
8pm: For pudding, Lyndi had homemade apple crumble and custard.
Lyndi (pictured) said that while the majority of her meals are balanced and vegetable-filled, she does allow herself a little of what she loves – so she isn’t depriving herself
SUNDAY
7.32am: Coffee as normal.
9am: On Sunday, Lyndi said she often likes to eat something a little different, and on this particular Sunday she fancied avocado on toast with chilli flakes and feta on top.
12.57pm: Lunch was leftover lamb with veggies in a bowl.
‘I like to eat outside and away from distractions,’ Lyndi said. ‘I find it stops me from over-eating.’
6.15pm: For dinner, Lyndi and her boyfriend enjoyed ‘fake duck’ rice paper rolls with cucumber, coriander and shallots.
They made them from home and Lyndi said they are the perfect Sunday night in light dinner.
8pm: Pudding was leftover apple crumble and custard.
‘My weekly diet is not perfect and I don’t think you need to eat perfectly,’ Lyndi said.
‘I don’t cut out any foods from my diet. I simply focus on crowding in more fruit and vegetables and wholegrains and nuts.’
She said that while the majority of her meals are balanced and vegetable-filled, she does allow herself a little of what she loves – so she isn’t depriving herself.
To find out more about Lyndi Cohen’s Back To Basics program, please visit her website here.