Everything a heart health dietitian eats in a week, including plant-based protein sources and 'joy foods'

• Lena Beal, a cardiovascular dietitian, follows a primarily plant-based diet for most of the week.
• On Sundays, she lets herself have "joy foods" like sweets and alcohol.
• She said this balance helps her get enough nutrients without feeling too restricted.

As a registered dietitian, Lena Beal first learned about nutrition from her own family.

"My great-grandparents were farmers, so they grew nearly everything they ate, made their own preserves, the whole thing," Beal, a cardiovascular dietitian at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, told Business Insider.

Her roots inspired her profession. "It was generational wisdom," she said. "The foods that give us the most nutrients, the most pleasure, they're the most sustainable and practical." In her own life, she focuses on a minimally processed, plant-packed diet, incorporating chicken, fish and eggs on occasion.

Still, it doesn't mean there isn't room for flexibility.

Once a week, Beal eats what she calls "joy foods": things she enjoys, like sweets and alcohol, which are best consumed in moderation. A Christian, Beal links joy foods to her Sabbath, or day of rest.

Eating her joy foods on Sundays is her version of the 80/20 diet, helping her stay on track with eating mostly heart-healthy foods — with the occasional treats. "That way, I can enjoy them intentionally, but without feeling like I'm constantly negotiating with myself," she said.

Beal shared what she eats in a week to get enough protein — and what a typical Sunday of fun looks like.

She leans on plant-based protein sources

Given her focus on cardiovascular health, Beal said she has always focused on heart-healthy foods to keep her fueled throughout the day.

"It's subliminal," she said. "Those things are extremely important to me: making sure I have hearty, fiber-rich, high-omega-3 foods with those macronutrients."

On a typical day, her meals look like this:

• A high-protein, fiber-rich breakfast such as oatmeal with nuts and fruit
• Lunch, her biggest meal of the day, is usually a hearty salad, grain bowl, or soup. She focuses on plant-based protein sources like legumes, dried beans, and chickpeas, but will sometimes include chopped egg or a piece of fish.
• Snacks such as mixed nuts, granola bars, or fresh berries with yogurt
• A light, mostly plant-based dinner such as steamed cabbage with brown rice and black-eyed peas

She focuses a lot on protein because she works out at least 3 to 4 days a week, including resistance training, brisk walking, and yoga. She said her target is reaching 150 minutes of moderate physical activity a week, the recommended goal for most people.

Her diet helps her stay on track. "Because my eating pattern is relatively consistent, it supports strength, energy, and flexibility," she said.

Cutting down on red meat

Beal was never interested in intentionally following a strict vegan or vegetarian diet. Instead, her diet evolved over the past eight years to naturally involve less red meat.

"I wasn't a heavy red meat-eater in the first place." she said. "I no longer enjoyed it. It was heavy for me." Having it once a week was easier for her because it didn't feel like much of a sacrifice.

On occasion, she'll eat leaner animal-based protein sources like chicken or turkey during the week, which have less saturated fat.

Joy meals include mimosas and French toast

When Sunday rolls around, she doesn't exactly go all out on sugar or cocktails, either. She still aims to stick to her normal habits, like eating a light dinner, because it ties into better sleep.

"I don't go too far out of bounds," she said. Treating herself might look like French toast, a mimosa, or fish in a richer cream sauce than she would pick during the week.

It's been the easiest way to keep a balance in her life. Beal, who's taught weight management classes in the past, said that words like "diet" or "cheat foods" can bring up a lot of negative feelings for people.

"I shy away from that language," she said. "I call them 'joy foods' because they absolutely fit if you leave room for them intentionally."

She focuses on flexibility

Beal takes a few supplements — vitamin D and iron — based on recommendations her doctor made, given her age and medical history.

Otherwise, she gets all her nutrients from her diet, which she feels is easy to maintain because she eats whole foods she loves during the week, while being flexible enough to enjoy a sweet treat or glass of wine, too.

"Healthy eating works best when it leaves room for living," Beal said. "It ought to feel like when you get up from a meal that you have good feelings, whether it's nostalgic, whether it satiates you. That's what food is."