Sometimes, controlling what we eat can pose a real challenge. In our new Food Log series, we take a close look at the daily diet plans of our regional influencers to learn how we can all lead a healthier lifestyle.
For 27-year-old fashion blogger Fatima Qassim, maintaining a balanced diet is important as she grew up in a family that cooks healthy, delicious, and authentic food. While juggling her job, studies, and blogging, she sticks to her gym routine of four to five exercise sessions per week. Typically, she spends 90 minutes in the gym and divides her time between cardio, body sculpting, aerobics, and Zumba.
This week, nutritionist and personal trainer Fani Chatzizisi from Al Barari’s Body Language Health Club reviews the Bahraini fashion blogger and style influencer’s daily food log. Along with giving feedback on Qassim’s daily intake, she also weighs in on the goat milk vs. cow milk debate.
Originally from Greece, Chatzizisi completed her bachelor’s degree in physical education and sports science. She has been a personal trainer and nutritionist for over nine years and believes in creating unique workouts for each of her clients to encourage balanced fitness, strength, flexibility, and endurance.
Pre-Breakfast
My day starts with 1 to 2 glasses of water, followed by 10 minutes of stretching. I eat my breakfast 30 minutes after drinking water.
Our nutritionist says: My only recommendation here is to add fresh lemon (squeeze ¼ of the lemon) to your water in the morning to balance and maintain the alkaline pH levels in the body, help digestion, and get vitamin C, among many other benefits.
Breakfast
Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, so I get creative with it. Sometimes it comprises 1 boiled egg, cheese (goat, feta, or halloumi cheese), and steamed veggies on the side, with 2 slices of whole wheat bread—and a cup of coffee, of course. Or, pancakes, honey, and a fruit salad. Other days, I’ll eat labneh and za’atar with extra virgin olive oil.
Our nutritionist says: 2 boiled eggs with a slice of brown or rye bread is an ideal combination because it gives you all the protein, carbohydrates, and fats you need to kick-start your day. If you want to add a portion of cheese to your breakfast, pick goat cheese. The question of goat milk vs. cow milk comes up often in our industry; nutritionally, goat’s milk has many more advantages over cow’s milk. The composition of goat’s milk makes it quite similar to mother’s milk and the fat globules present are far more easily digested than the fat present in cow’s milk.
If you want to have a variety of cheese, other healthy options include cottage cheese or ricotta. If you wake up with a sweet tooth and feel like pancakes, you can always make them delicious and healthy by using ingredients with more fiber. What I usually do when I have cravings for pancakes is make them with oat flour and stevia or pure maple syrup instead of white flour and sugar. You can combine them perfectly with Greek yogurt , honey, and fruits, such as mixed berries, which are packed with antioxidants.
Lunch
Lunch varies as well between typical Khaleeji meals—like majboos and biryani—and other dishes that are all low in calories. Tagine recipes as well as Persian meals are very popular in our house.
Our nutritionist says: It’s great that you can convert delicious and flavorful Khaleeji dishes into low calorie meals. Make sure that you always combine them with a salad, and change your salad options often so that you can get all the vitamins and minerals you need from a variety of vegetables, such as kale, spinach, and cabbage.
Dinner
I try my best to have dinner before 8:30pm. I usually have a bowl of vegetable soup, potato pizza, or bread with cheese and olives.
Our nutritionist says: Vegetable soup sounds great as long as it doesn’t contain cream or any other source of saturated fat. I recommend skipping refined, starchy, or highly processed carbs, such as white rice, white bread, and potatoes at night. Instead, have a grilled fish fillet with a salad or a high protein whole grain tortilla with grilled chicken and vegetables. If you’re craving potatoes, switch to sweet potatoes. Cut them into French fry strips and bake them in the oven for a delicious alternative. You can have them with grilled or oven-baked chicken and vegetables for a healthy and satisfying meal full of nutrients.
If you really want pizza, I have a great solution for you that’s healthy, easy to make, and delicious. You can make your own pizza using quinoa as the pizza base. Quinoa is full of protein and tastes amazing. Add your toppings to the base, pop it in the oven, and voilà—a scrumptious pizza that’s good for you. For toppings, you can choose from peppers, olives, grilled chicken, fresh tomato sauce, basil, oregano, mushrooms, artichokes, and goat cheese.
