What Digestive Health Expert Tamara Duker Freuman Eats in a Day

Named “The Bloated Belly Whisperer” for her work with patients experiencing unexplained gas, bloating and more, digestive health expert Tamara Duker Freuman, MS, RD, CDN, believes that there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to eating a healthy diet.

“There are a lot of paths to good health, and we all don’t need to eat the same diet in order to be healthy,” she says. “I personally follow a Mediterranean diet because I like those foods. That’s the healthiest diet I enjoy.”

We asked the mom and dietitian, who just released her first book “The Bloated Belly Whisperer” (St. Martin’s Press, December 2018), to share what a day of a eating looks like for her, as well as her tips for eating healthy on a budget, a simple go-to weeknight dinner recipe, and more.

What does a day of eating look like for you?

In the morning, I’ll do two slices of whole-grain toast with either avocado and a Kumato, or I’ll do Muenster cheese and sliced cucumber. If I have leftover tuna fish that I’ve packed my kids for lunch, I’ll throw tuna and a tomato on toast.

I have a latte—lactose-free, 2 percent. That’s my breakfast nine months out of the year.

Lunch is usually my main, biggest meal of the day; I try to do more front-loaded eating. I’ve got a protein, a starch and a veg. It’s usually half a plate of vegetables, often left over from the night before. I bring a lot of leftovers. If I have a salad, it will always have a carb and a protein in it. My favorite carb is beans; I’m a big bean eater. Or I’ll have leftover salmon, chicken or a hard-boiled egg. Usually, it’s a cooked starch or bean or grain.

As I’m getting ready to leave work, I’ll have a couple of clementines to hold me until dinner. Then dinner, probably like four or five nights a week, I try to do low carb, a protein and a vegetable. Then maybe the other two, three nights, I’ll eat whatever starch I’m serving for the family.

I’m in my 40s. It’s not as easy to maintain a healthy weight when I’m sitting all day at work and driving all the time. For me, making dinner a smaller, low-carb meal has been helpful.

In my kitchen, I always have …

Peanut butter. A lot of fruit. I have a huge three-tiered fruit tower. My son is obsessed. It’s always full of fruit. Lot of cans of beans.

Snacks I always have on hand …

Usually at work, I keep a jar of peanut butter in my desk and dry-roasted chickpeas because of their shelf life. If I didn’t bring fruit that day—a couple of clementines, an apple, anything I can throw in my purse—I have something I can throw in my mouth if I’m famished.

Favorite ingredient …

I put cumin in everything.

Favorite cookbook or cooking icons …

I like Once Upon a Chef. Cookie and Kate has some really nice recipes. Lately, I’ve been getting more into Instant Pot cooking. I just got a great cookbook, it’s “The Essential Mexican Instant Pot Cookbook: Authentic Flavors and Modern Recipes for Your Electric Pressure Cooker” [by Deborah Schneider]. I’ve been doing some of her recipes, which have come out really good. For dessert, I’m into David Lebovitz. I love his stuff.

Current favorite food …

That’s so hard. I’m eating a lot of pomegranates right now because they’re in season and there’s such a short window. They’re so tart and juicy and crunchy. I love them. But obviously, if I were watching the “Great British Baking Show,” I’d say cake. I’m highly suggestible.

Food I love that requires zero prep …

Beans. Open a can of black beans, throw it in a pan with cumin, garlic powder and salt. Dinner.

My best cooking on a budget tip …

Probably beans. Or eggs. They’re a complete protein, cheap, yummy. You can make them a million different ways. You can have them for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Eggs are a staple.

Craziest thing I buy at the grocery store …

The amount of money I’d spend if I see a maitake mushroom. They’re really rare and so delicious roasted. My husband loves them. Sometimes I will splurge for it, and I get up to the grocery counter and I’ve spent like a stupid amount of money on a mushroom that shrinks down to nothing. I’m like, “Wow, there’s people starving in the world and I can’t believe how much I spent on this mushroom.” It’s an irrational economic decision.

My ideal dinner …

A really well-prepared fish with roasted vegetables. When you go to a fancy French restaurant and they have beautiful delicate sauce and the fish is prepared just right, that’s something I’ve never mastered at home. Obviously, I love a bowl of pasta as much as the next girl. A giant bowl of pasta Bolognese with Parmesan or a gooey lasagna. But that is not something I am in the habit of eating regularly. Once I start eating that, I can’t stop.

Easy go-to weeknight recipe …

I make a great turkey chili. It’s a ground turkey white bean chili. You don’t need anything fresh to make it. I throw a can of white beans in with turkey, onions, garlic, cumin. You can serve it with crushed tortilla chips and a sprinkle of cheese. I’ll put hot sauce and avocado in it. It takes maybe 15 minutes to make, and my whole family will eat it. Great for weeknights.

For energy, I eat …

When I need energy, I make sure I’m eating regularly. I eat complex carbs, which give you energy because they stay with you longer. I’m not eating a lot of white carbs and things that spike your blood sugar and cause you to crash. I eat a healthy diet. I eat regularly to maintain my energy, and I eat a variety of things. When I eat my healthy diet and I’m not skipping meals or going too long between meals, my energy levels are stable.

Coffee, matcha or tea in the morning?

I drink coffee first thing in the morning, a latte. When I get to work, I make myself a green tea.

Supplements I take …

For a couple of months in winter, I’ll take vitamin D, but that’s pretty much it.

Before and after a workout, I eat …

I’m at a phase in my life where I realize I only have time to work out at night. We got a Peloton bike a few months ago. I’m now a night worker-outer. I eat dinner at 6:30. I work out at 9 p.m. I’m not going to eat after dinner before working out because I’m going to have horrible reflux. I eat dinner, let it settle, then I get on the bike, work out, sweat, shower and fall asleep before the hunger can catch up with me.

Photo credit: Milada Vigerova, Unsplash; Courtesy of Tamara Freuman