Hello Fort Worth Food Stories reader,
My name is Dixya Bhattarai – Culinary Dietitian & Enterprenuer, originally from Kathmandu, Nepal but I currently live in Fort Worth, Texas. I am one of the contributors at Fort Worth Food Stories and today I want to invite you into my day in life as a Culinary Dietitian and Entrepreneur in the food & wellness industry. I worked as a Clinical Dietitian for eight years before transitioning into the world of Culinary Dietitian/Entrepreneur full-time since June 2020. In case you are curious about what Clinical Dietitian does at a hospital, here is an old blog post from 2016.
Currently, I divide my time between Food, Pleasure, and Health (my food and wellness brand where I develop and share recipes, teach cooking classes, and collaborate with other brands), Hao & Dixya ( dumpling-centric pop-up in Fort Worth with my business partner Hao Tran), The Table LLC (co-own and manage a local retail market and culinary studio), and at TCC as an adjunct nutrition instructor.
6:00-7:00 am: I have always been an early riser but now that I work mostly from home, it is nice to wake up leisurely and start my day. Once I am up, I reach for my phone and scroll through emails and social media on all three businesses and freshen up.
7:00-9:00 am: Most days of the week, I do some exercise (yoga or walking) in the morning as it makes me calmer and happy. Breakfast (which if you follow me on instagram is usually an open faced sandwich with eggs + kimchi or sauerkraut or avocado) and chiya (Nepali-style milk tea). My daily planner and to-do list is how I keep everything organized, otherwise I’d be very lost.
9:00-1:00 pm: I am most productive between these hours but no two days are alike. In the morning, I usually work on my blog, answer emails/schedule calls and organize social media posts for all three businesses. Depending on the week, you will find me in the commercial kitchen folding dumplings, grading assignments/papers, or teaching a cooking workshop. I do enjoy variety and flexibility with my schedule but I am learning how to be more efficient and disciplined with my time.
1:00-3:00 pm: Lunch is usually around 1:00 followed by a nap if I don’t have anything scheduled or needs immediate attention. Since the pandemic, I have been cooking 4-5 days a week so there is always a leftover in my fridge. One of my favorite things to eat for lunch is noodles tossed with peanut butter/sriracha sauce. It’s a flexible lunch that can be served with whatever protein and veggies I have on hand. I also do most of my recipe testing and food photography in the afternoon. Some days I celebrate recipe testing victory, other days it’s a massive fail. Recently, I made this beetroot pasta after three failed attempts! Don’t even get me started on dishes.
5:00-7:00 pm: This is when I “wrap-up” for the day but when you work for yourself, there is really no clocking-out. I try to step away from my computer but I am most likely thinking about what to post on my instagram, see the sales report from The Table, or should I respond to my student email now or tomorrow? It’s a never ending story but I am grateful for this entrepreneur journey and platforms I am part of. I do miss the office environment, mostly social interactions and co-workers but again with the pandemic, it is for the best the way things are.
7:00 pm-10:00 pm: A lot of people assume that since I am a Culinary Dietitian, I always eat healthy food (whatever that means) or things that are beautifully presented but friends, on recipe testing and kitchen production days, I am too tired to cook and wash more dishes so dinner often involves popcorn, brinner (savory waffles and eggs is my go-to), or peanut butter sandwich. I am not much of a tv/movie person but I am mildly obsessed with murder mystery type shows. I just finished watching Unsolved Mysteries on Netflix.
Photos and story by Dixya Bhattarai.