Wake-up time:
Weekdays, my alarm is always set for 5.30am. As soon as I’m up, I’ll have a black coffee, get dressed and head out the door for an 8km run/walk with my pooch Freddie. Freddie has literally endless energy, so I make sure the route is through at least a couple of off-leash dog areas such as Cox’s Bay Reserve and Western Park, so that he gets a good run.
8 am
I work from my home office, so after a quick shower and change I commute the 2 seconds from my kitchen to work. Breakfast comes with me to the desk – normally either a protein smoothie (blueberries, frozen banana, avocado, pumpkin seeds, spinach, pea protein powder and collagen powder) OR a bircher muesli with plenty of Greek yoghurt and fresh fruit. It’s super important that I get a good mix of quality proteins and carbs after the morning exercise. I also take a daily B complex, Vitamin D, omega 3, and probiotic.
Typical workday
No two days are the same really! Wednesday to Saturday is set aside to see clients for my private practice, belle époque nutrition. Consultations are held in my Grey Lynn office, or – increasingly – online. I provide clients with personalised advice and diet plans for a wide range of concerns. These are mostly for weight management, sport nutrition, gut issues such as IBS and coeliac disease, other chronic health conditions, and restricted diets, for example, plant-based or keto. The rest of the week is packed with all the other back-of-house tasks involved with operating your own small business – business development, marketing projects, meetings, and the fun bit – recipe development and tasting for client food plans. We’re also working on a couple of new projects in the nutrition & wellbeing sphere, so watch this space!
11am-4pm
Somewhere in here I will try to make it to the gym or a Pilates class, but this is highly dependent on my schedule. As I usually do cardio in the morning, these workout sessions are for strength, flexibility, and sometimes just to get out of the house!
I vary my lunches, but essentials are a healthy mix of protein and carbs especially if I’ve had that workout. This usually looks like a quinoa and tuna salad with greens and avocado, or vegetable and legume soup. If I’m eating out or on the run, I’m rather partial to Little Bird Kitchen, Taco Medic, or one of Ripe Deli’s amazing salads.
6 pm
By 6pm I’m usually done with work for the day. As a hopeful gesture I like to make a to-do list for the next day. It’s my husband’s turn to take Freddie out for a walk, then he and I take turns making dinner. We are both keen foodies, so it’s always fun seeing what we come up with. We love experimenting with new flavours and matching our creations with different wines. If we’re not cooking at home, we like to head out a couple of times a week to support our favourite local Ponsonby restaurants or anything along the K Road strip.
9 pm
I have a 9pm reminder for bedtime on my phone which I try to abide by most nights! Wind down is typically comprised of a hot shower, and evening skin care routine. This is followed by a mug of herbal tea, my daily magnesium supplement, and a few chapters of a good book. I’m currently reading “This Changes Everything” by Nikki Bezzant – highly recommend!
