27 Oct Inside the Fridge: Trina Robertson

Inside the Fridge welcomes Registered Dietitian Trina Robertson. Trina has a master’s degree in sports nutrition and currently works as a Project Manager with the Dairy Council of California. Trina has previously served as a nutritionist for the Women, Infant Children federal program and Head Start. Currently, she also works with her local PTA to promote good nutrition to students and families and with the Orange County Health Care Agencies Rethink Your Drink campaign. Trina is a mom to two sons – aged ten and twelve. Her son’s have a diverse palette enjoying everything from Korean to Italian to Great-Grandma’s classic dishes.

Below we ask her questions about her grocery shopping and food habits – with actual pictures from her fridge!

Inside the Fridge: How often do you shop?
Trina Robertson: I shop about three times a week. Once a week is my big shopping trip to stock up on items for the meals I’ve planned. I make a mid-week trip to the local market that has great produce and the other times are to pick up items that we always run out of mid-week: gallons of milk, bananas and bread for sandwiches. If I had a larger refrigerator I could purchase in greater bulk and skip one trip to the store. The plus side is that I don’t mind shopping as I always have a list of what to purchase so it is fast. My husband also helps going to the store and he isn’t so attached to sticking with the list I give him. That means I need to figure out what to do with three heads of cauliflower or how to cook calamari that week!

ITF: How many do you shop for? Ages? 
TR: Our family is growing, not in number but in size. My husband and I (thank goodness we are not growing) and our two tween boys ages 10 and 12. The eldest is currently in a growth spurt and has the appetite to prove it.

ITF: How many times a week do you eat out? (based on 21 meals/week)
TR: I really prefer to eat at home so I eat out 2-3 times a month. I pack lunches for the entire family and the boys select one day a week that they want to purchase the school lunch. When we do eat out it is one of two extremes. We sometimes grab a quick meal to or from an activity or it’s the pizza place for a team event. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we do love food and going out to eat for what I am not talented enough to cook like Thai food or sushi. I think it is important for our boys to learn how to behave in restaurants and to try new foods as a special treat.

ITF: How do you plan your weekly meals? Create a spreadsheet of fly by the seat of your pants? 
TR: My approach to planning weekly meals is a combination of planning and spontaneity. I will have two meals planned on a meal planning website for the week and usually have enough leftovers on the weekend to just reheat on Monday. Depending on what I purchase mid-week at the store I will plan for the second half of the week. I’ve been cooking long enough that I have a good list of meals that I can make and love to get creative with new foods I might bring home.

ITF: When you hear the word “homemade” what is the first thing that comes to mind?
TR: Family. Many women in my family are great cooks and I really think that making food is a way of showing love. I know that’s corny but I do love to put food on the table. Specific foods that come to mind when I hear “homemade” are: Macaroni and cheese, bread, Cioppinio (an Italian fish stew) and great-grandma’s tapioca pudding. I also love homemade desserts that someone else has made because I don’t like to bake. It requires precise measuring and I like to be more creative when cooking.

ITF: How have your cooking/shopping habits changed over the last 10 years?
TR: Ten years ago my youngest was born and life has changed a lot since then. Here’s how:

ITF: What are your go-to food/nutrition/culinary/cooking website/s, book or cookbook?
TR: As I mentioned, the time I spent adding recipes to Meals Matter has made it easy for me to find my favorites and catalog recipes I want to try. I also try recipes that fellow registered dietitians post on Twitter.

ITF: What was the last meal you cooked from scratch?
TR: I wanted to use up a loaf of bread in the freezer and I had two sausages, which is not enough for four people, so I made a savory bread pudding adding onion, frozen spinach, seasoning, egg, milk and cheese.