My Day on a Plate with Dr Joanna McMillian + giveaway!

When I was asked if I was interested in submitting "My Day on a Plate" for Dr Joanna McMillan, I didn't hesitate to say Yes; even if I was a tad bit apprehensive about letting her know my bad eating habits. I have been a huge fan of hers ever since I watched an episode of the Biggest Loser where she asked them which foods were good or bad (pointing towards a massive table of all sorts of food you could think of). It knocked my socks off when she said "None of them are bad, it's just food." I could have hugged and kissed my t.v right then and there!

Dr Joanna is a leading nutritionist and is the ambassador of Australian Pineapples.
She is a registered nutritionist with a PhD in nutritional science. Her philosophy on diet is pretty simple - eat more fresh wholesome foods and fewer processed, packaged foods.

So I give you: My Day on a Plate :

7.30am cup of coffee (one Natvia sweetener, soy milk)

two slices of toast with butter and vegemite

10am - Snack: apple, cup of tea ( (one Natvia sweetener, soy milk)

12pm - Lunch: one Lean Cuisine Cheese and  Cracked Pepper Chicken Pasta

Cup of water

3pm : afternoon: cup of tea (milk and one Natvia sweetener) or small yoghurt

5.30pm: dinner: 4 rice paper rolls filled with chicken breast, vermicelli noodles, cucumber, lettuce, chilli sauce.

7pm snack: Banana

It wasn't very exciting and it certainly showed that I am a very time poor (slack) person when it comes to feeding myself. I was really excited and nervous when booking in my maiden Skype session with her!

So here is Dr Joanna talking to me!!! Isn't she beautiful. She was soooo lovely to talk to and helped me identify foods that were missing in my diet. For breakfast she suggested that I include nutrient dense fruits such as berries, pomegranates etc and preferred eggs over the toast. She wasn't a big fan of toast and vegemite, which understandably has more salt than anything else. For lunch she could see that the Lean Cuisine was for convenience but alternatively, I should be having wholesome soups. It's a really smart way to include vegies and other nutrients into your diet so I will definately have a go at that. 

I need to include a lot more vegies in my rice paper rolls such as: capsicum, bok choy, beans etc. She said there's nothing wrong with having the sweetener instead of sugar but definately, steer clear of the artificial ones like Equal (darn, it tastes so good). I could also try skim milk if I didn't want to have the soy milk and I could mix white pasta and wholemeal pasta to appease the kids.

So, I was madly writing these things down while trying to be part of my own consultation. I still can't believe I got to speak with her. I tried not to say anything wierd that would blow my cover as a woman who consciously chooses 2 minute noodles when I can't be bothered to cook. The month prior I had scoffed down more Easter eggs than my kids knew they owned. Ha ha ha. Hence, my reason for a healthier diet. My waistline was beginning to show my bad habits.

Dr Joanna says: "Pineapples are the perfect fruit to use in recipes as they are incredibly good for you and can be used in so many ways, from curries to quinoa. Just one pineapple is enough for the whole family."

As well as high levels of Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Bromelain, Manganese and Potassium, fresh pineapples deliver a delicious taste and help support a balanced diet. For more information please check out Dr Joanna's web site: https://getlean.com.au and Australian Pineapples.

Dr Joanna has these awesome pineapple recipes from the Australian Pineapple website. This is the Pineapple, Sweet Chicken and Chilli Curry that I made at home. It was really, really yummy to eat. Admittedly, I don't use pineapple in any of my cooking but it gives a wonderful just sweet enough flavour so I will definately eat this again. I did have some left over roasted pumpkin so I added that to it instead of adding more chicken.

I also served this with brown rice that I cooked on the stove top. It was a simple and delicious lunch that would easily be for dinner but it's rather spicy so not for the young ones. You could eliminate the red curry paste and just use coconut milk for the kids. 

My tip for eating healthier: Listen to your body. Your body will tell you if a certain type of food is making you feel bloated afterwards or giving you an upset stomach so eliminate it or reduce your intake. If you eat slowly, savouring the flavour, and then stop when you are full, you are on your way to eating better portions. I suggest Dr Jo's plate model (see her website) as a great guide to eating better.

Would you like to win a $75 Woolworths voucher? Send me your yummy pineapple or healthy eating recipe to be in the running. One extra entry if you post about it on your blog!

** I've just added a Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/AllThingsMum
for comments where you can post your recipe and comment. There seems to be problems with adding comments here. You can do either, whichever works best for you. Thanks everyone!!!

I'll draw two winners next week!