What This Popular Instagram Nutritionist Eats in a Day

The first thing you notice when you scroll through Nashville dietitian McKel Hill's feed is how colorful the images are. The next thing: There are doughnuts, ice pops and fudge. No wonder she has more than 200,000 followers.

Breakfast

To drink: After dietitian McKel Hill wakes up, she drinks about a liter of filtered water (that's the equivalent of two 16.9-ounce bottles) with lemon; then sips a cup of "Coffee Elevated," which is her version of Bulletproof Coffee. Hill makes this rich, frothy, caffeinated drink with coffee, coconut milk, coconut oil, medicinal mushrooms and stevia, and especially likes it before exercising.

To eat (after exercising): Hill has a Blue Morning Smoothie Bowl, a puree that begins with—we know this sounds weird—frozen zucchini. Coming up with healthy options for her clients, she discovered that, like bananas and avocado, zucchini, when frozen and blended, turns smoothies thick and creamy (with fewer carbs, sugar and fat). The other ingredients in her smoothie: coconut milk, chia seeds, cashew butter, spirulina powder (which gives the bowl a blue tint), and a few pinches of sea salt and cinnamon. She garnishes the whole thing with fruit.

Hill's midday meal also happens to be one of her most popular Instagram posts ever: a big, multi-component dish she calls the "Nourish Bowl." It's in her regular rotation because it's so easy (there's no real recipe) and delicious. Basically, a huge salad in a bowl, it starts with greens; then she piles on raw vegetables, some sort of healthy fat and a protein. Lately Hill's bowls have included avocado, pumpkin seeds, wild-caught smoked salmon and some shredded nori.

During the day, Hill snacks on energy balls made with oats, almonds, cocoa powder, almond butter, maple syrup and coconut oil—they're loaded with healthy fats, fiber, carbohydrates and protein.

Since Hill tends to eat cold food during the day, she likes to sit down with a hot, cooked supper in the evening. That could mean a quick, clear-out-the-fridge stir-fry or something more thought-out, such as her Chickpea Meatballs with Spaghetti Squash, which is a vegetarian version of one of the most comforting meals she ate growing up. Hill makes the balls with a flavorful mixture of sautéed onion and garlic, egg, rolled oats, hemp seeds, chopped walnuts, basil, chopped sun-dried tomatoes and a can of chickpeas.

Hill loves to eat vibrant fruits and vegetables, but chocolate is a mainstay, too (fair trade, organic, 80 percent dark is her favorite). Another semi-regular indulgence: a mug of Turmeric Milk, a warm, somewhat spicy drink that's slightly sweet thanks to a drizzle of honey.