‘A quarter serve of veal’: This jeweller’s diet is lean, but is it lacking key nutrients?

Monika Ruggerino is a goldsmith and jewellery designer. The 37-year-old shares her day on a plate.

4.55am Hot water and lemon ahead of my morning stretch, promptly chased by a soy cappuccino.

9am After dropping the kids off at kindergarten, I have avocado, feta and lemon on olive sourdough from my local bakery. AP Bakery has recently moved in around the corner from me in Surry Hills, Sydney, and it’s my guilty pleasure.

11.30am Post-Pilates detox juice on the way to my studio.

1.30pm A quick lunch before a meeting. A quarter serve of veal cotoletta atop an iceberg and cucumber salad mixed with my husband’s homemade family vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil. My studio space sits above my husband’s restaurant – Verde in Darlinghurst – which is very convenient.

4.00pm A square of orange-rind dark chocolate that I keep stashed away for an afternoon pick-me up.

6.30pm Family dinner with our kids, aged two and four; as my husband is a chef, he works most nights, so our Sunday, Monday and Tuesday-night dinners are sacred. We have homemade pasta with blue swimmer crab, cherry tomatoes and home-grown parsley.

9.00pm Herbal tea before bed.

Dr Joanna McMillan says

Top marks for … Prioritising family dinners, which shows a lovely connection to food and wellbeing. You use quality ingredients with good fats from the avocado, extra virgin olive oil and the crab, which is a good source of long-chain omega-3s, vitamin B12, zinc and the powerful antioxidant selenium.

If you keep eating like this you’ll … Miss out on both quantity and variety of fibre types. These support far more than just gut health, playing vital roles in the immune function, inflammation, heart and brain health, and blood sugar regulation. This day lacked wholegrains, seeds, nuts, fruit and the more fibre-rich vegies.

Why don’t you try … Opting for wholegrain sourdough. Making a more substantial salad at lunch, incorporating chickpeas or beans and sprinkling with seeds for crunch. Include cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts or cabbage as a side with dinner.

Monika Ruggerino is the founder of her eponymous Australian jewellery brand.

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