{"id":409675,"date":"2026-01-14T23:23:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T23:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/409675\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T23:23:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T23:23:10","slug":"what-an-rd-eats-to-hit-protein-and-fiber-goals-for-good-gut-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/409675\/","title":{"rendered":"What an RD Eats to Hit Protein and Fiber Goals for Good Gut Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most dietary advice<\/a> is fairly straightforward: eat whole foods with a good balance of protein, fiber, carbs, and healthy fats.<\/p>\n

Consistently adhering to that guidance is another story, particularly if you live a busy life.<\/p>\n

Rachel Swanson, a registered dietitian at LifeSpan Medicine and author of “Trying!: A Science-Backed Plan to Optimize Your Fertility,” splits her time between New York City and Miami, spending about half the year in each. She also takes small-group workout classes three times a week, focusing on strength training<\/a>.<\/p>\n

She says eating enough nutrients, especially protein for muscle-building, is crucial for her. She generally aims for around 0.7 grams of protein per pound of body weight, the protein intake<\/a> usually recommended for physically active people.<\/p>\n

“Every single ingredient is going to be very intentionally added,” Swanson, 35, told Business Insider. “What are the foods that are going to give me the biggest bang-for-my-nutritional-buck, so to speak?” She incorporates foods like blueberries and sweet potatoes for their high fiber and vitamin content.<\/p>\n

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Throughout the workweek, she follows an “automated” meal plan, eating mostly foods she batch-cooked in advance. Beyond making her jam-packed days easier, preparing meals in advance helps her eat a wide variety of plants<\/a> \u2014 essential for good gut health.<\/p>\n

\"Mealprep\"\/<\/p>\n

Swanson meal-preps her own turkey-blueberry meatballs, salads, soups, and stews.<\/p>\n

Rachel Swanson<\/p>\n

“I know every single day is built in support for my gut microbiome,” she said, deliberately rotating which vegetables, herbs, and spices she uses in her cooking to increase her variety.<\/p>\n

Swanson shared what she typically eats in a day to get enough protein, fiber, and other nutrients.<\/p>\n

She starts the day light<\/p>\n

\"Yerba<\/p>\n

Yerba mate, an herbal drink similar to tea, provides caffeine as well as other nutrients like antioxidants and vitamins A, C, and E.<\/p>\n

Alberto Case\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Swanson is typically too busy to eat a full breakfast on weekday mornings. Because she starts her clinic hours at 8 a.m., she usually packs in media interviews and other meetings right before.<\/p>\n

She keeps her mornings simple with some lemon water, coffee, or yerba mate<\/a> \u2014 a caffeinated herbal drink similar to tea with additional antioxidants.<\/p>\n

If she has time to eat, it’s usually a quick high-protein snack to keep her satiated until her early lunch. Lately, it’s been homemade turkey meatballs with sweet potatoes, onions, and blueberries.<\/p>\n

She loves a filling soup for lunch<\/p>\n

\"Golden<\/p>\n

Swanson’s “golden soup” features chicken, bone broth, seasonal vegetables, and turmeric.<\/p>\n

michellegibson\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Most of Swanson’s lunches are pre-cooked meals<\/a>, and she usually has two different options in the fridge to avoid the monotony of eating the same lunch five days in a row.<\/p>\n

She frequently opts for hearty soups and stews. The meals usually feature an animal protein, like chicken, and Swanson rotates the vegetables and herbs.<\/p>\n

“I like to get whatever’s in season if possible \u2014 that’s just automatically going to maximize the diversity,” she said.<\/p>\n

One of her favorites is a protein- and fiber-packed “golden soup” with chicken, bone broth, carrots, cauliflower, white beans, light coconut milk, ginger, and some turmeric, which has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Her snacks are cozy beverages \u2014 with nutritional perks<\/p>\n

\"Matcha<\/p>\n

Swanson makes matcha lattes at home, topping them with chia seeds for extra protein and fiber.<\/p>\n

Sebastian Condrea\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Swanson isn’t a big snacker, but she loves a warm beverage.<\/p>\n

In the winter, she makes hot chocolate with CocoaVia, a cocoa supplement infused with flavanols, which have been shown to have some heart and brain health benefits. She mixes the powder with non-dairy milk and a small amount of sweetener.<\/p>\n

Another favorite treat is a homemade matcha latte. She prepares ceremonial-grade matcha with non-dairy milk and mixes in about a tablespoon of chia seeds, which add protein, fiber, and omega-3s and can also help with appetite control<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“The combination, I know it probably sounds crazy when I describe it, but it’s literally like drinking boba tea because it’s chewy and fun,” she said. “It’s the easiest possible way to get 5 grams of fiber injected into your day.”<\/p>\n

Dinner is protein- and fiber-forward<\/p>\n

\"Steak<\/p>\n

Swanson loves a protein-packed dinner like steak fajitas.<\/p>\n

chang\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Like her lunches, Swanson also batch-preps most of her dinners, which always feature a core protein<\/a> and at least one vegetable for fiber and nutrients.<\/p>\n

A recent favorite was a fajita made with grass-fed steak, which studies find to be leaner and richer in omega-3s than regular steak. She added saut\u00e9ed peppers, onions, and pineapple, topping the meal with fresh cilantro to further maximize her microbiome diversity.<\/p>\n

Her go-to dessert is a protein smoothie<\/p>\n

\"Berry<\/p>\n

Swanson makes a protein berry smoothie for dessert.<\/p>\n

miniseries\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Following her rule of ensuring every meal has some nutritional value, Swanson likes to make a smoothie with frozen mixed berries, frozen cauliflower, non-dairy milk, and a scoop of chocolate or nut butter-flavored protein powder (she opts for an organic, grass-fed beef isolate version).<\/p>\n

She said it’s a delicious way to get a little extra protein and fiber<\/a>. “It kind of turns out as a chocolate-covered-cherry or a PB&J flavor,” she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Most dietary advice is fairly straightforward: eat whole foods with a good balance of protein, fiber, carbs, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":409676,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[49,48,84,395],"class_list":{"0":"post-409675","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-nutrition"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=409675"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409675\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/409676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=409675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=409675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}