2011 Reflections

I have been reflecting on 2011 and can't believe how much has happened and how much I've done in one year.  The fondest memories from this year were things I got to do with my wonderful boyfriend, Tom.  We went on so many incredible trips and experienced a lot of things most people only dream of doing.

On top of going to the Emmy awards in Las Vegas this past June, we went to visit and volunteer at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, UT and watched the sun set over the Grand Canoyn (all that in 1 trip!).

Grand Canyon sunset

On the Red Carpet

Volunteering at Best Friends

We got to meet the lemurs at the Duke Lemur Center in North Carolina and visit the wonderful rescued farm animals at Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, NY.  We also visited the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and bird watched in the Sapsucker Woods in Ithaca, NY.

We took a few trips to Vermont.  On one of those trips we tried to camp but, due to faulty rented camping equipment, ended up staying in a lovely hotel instead.  That "camping" trip did result in a great bald eagle sighting, so all was not lost there.

Tom and our clearly faulty tent

We worked with groups in NYC trying to put an end to the carriage horse industry and Tom even produced a fantastic PSA for them:  Tom's PSA

Above and beyond all of those amazing things, we traveled to Churchill in Manitoba, Canada to witness polar bears living in the wild on the shores of the Hudson Bay.  Getting the chance to witness the beauty, grace, and peaceful solitude of polar bears in the their natural habitat was, by far, the most incredible thing my eyes have seen.

Small polar bear we spotted nestled in a patch of willows

The shores of Hudson Bay

On top of all these great things I would like to count down my top 5 personal accomplishments of 2011.

5)  Passing the Chem 101 placement exam at Montgomery College.  As silly as it sounds, this was a great accomplishment for me.  I haven't taken a chemistry course in 10 years, so in order to be allowed to register for Chem 101 I had to take a placement test to make sure I know enough basic chemistry to take the college level course.  I studied for a few weeks, basically teaching myself chemistry all over again.  The studying paid off and I passed the test!

4) Losing around 20 lbs.  I have always had to watch my weight and this past year I finally put my mind to dropping the pesky extra weight.  I achieved the weight loss through watching my diet and exercising a lot more than I had been.

3) Getting into yoga.  I had been interested in yoga for years and dabbled in Bikram several years ago but never had a steady practice until this year.  I joined Bikram NYC in the Spring and sweated it out there several times a week for several months.  Since Bikram is rather expensive and I wanted to explore other types of yoga, I have continued practicing Vinyasa at Thrive Yoga here in Rockville (at a great student rate!)  Yoga has changed the way I think about my body, and I can attribute a great deal of my weight loss to it. 

2) Leaving TV (the first time) and working as a Vet Tech for 6 months.  Back in February, I knew I wanted to get out of the TV business and explore other areas of interest.  Since I love animals I thought I would try my hand in the Veterinary field and contemplated going to vet school.  I realized that wasn't the right route for me and I turned to nutrition.  However, those 6 months working at Hope Vet in Brooklyn were such an amazing time.  I worked hands on with animals and, by the end of it, I was doing things I would have never dreamed I could do.  I learned how to draw blood, take x-rays, properly handle animals, fill prescriptions, the list goes on an on.

1) Leaving TV (the second time) and NYC to pursue my goal of becoming a Registered Dietitian.  This, by far, was the greatest personal accomplishment of 2011.  I examined many ways of getting in to the nutrition business, including getting certified online to become a Holistic Health Coach.  After weighing all the options I finally decided to do things the right way and get another degree.  Becoming an RD is my goal and 2012 will be dedicated to that pursuit.

Family Farm vs. Factory Farm

A new investigation of poultry giant Butterball was released today by the animal welfare group, Mercy for Animals.  I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to write about an issue that I am very passionate about.  The horror of factory farming is something I learned about a few years ago and it is the main reason why I stopped eating meat.

Let's face it, most people don't know (and don't want to know) where their meat and other food has come from.  When someone says the word "farm," pastoral images of beautiful black and white cows grazing on bright green grass come to mind.  Others will think of the proverbial "Farmer Brown" in his denim coveralls going out back to feed the chickens and scoop up a few fresh eggs for breakfast.  The unfortunate truth is that most of the meat, eggs and dairy produced in this country come from gigantic factory farms.  These farms are hugely subsidized by the government and are veritable animal factories, churning out millions of deformed, abused and sick animals each year.

I don't want to go in to too much detail or head off in a tirade against factory farms, but I strongly urge you to check out the Mercy for Animals website and watch at least one of their videos.  It will be a disturbing and eye-opening experience, and perhaps, might make you think twice about buying factory farmed meat, eggs and dairy.  http://www.mercyforanimals.org/.

At the other end of the spectrum, family farms are smaller operations that, without the government subsidies are finding it harder and harder to succeed.  I was at the Montgomery Farm Women's Cooperative Market (http://www.farmwomensmarket.com/) today and spoke with the owners of a small farm in nearby Virginia.  This farm has about 50 head of cattle, a few goats and a few sheep.  They partner with other nearby small farms to form a co-op and help each other out with producing delicious, humane meat, eggs and dairy to sell at market and through special order.  It are these small farms and co-ops that are losing out to behemoth factory farming operations.  These people aren't farming because it makes them rich, they aren't farming because it makes them famous; they are farming because they love the land, the animals and the community.  The way these farmers speak about their farm and their animals is with pride and love.

These are the farmers I urge you to support.  If you are going to eat meat and dairy, please buy from local, small farmers.  Every community in the country has access to great local food.  If I can go to a fantastic farm market right outside of DC, I am confident you will be able to do so as well.  Check out this website to find local farm markets in your area: http://www.localharvest.org/.

(that's me and a rescued pig at Best Friends in Kanab, UT)

Here are a few other websites you should check out if you are interested in learning more about factory farming...

• Farm Sanctuary:  http://www.farmsanctuary.org/  (We visited here in the fall and it is a wonderful place to see if you have the opportunity) 
• The Humane Society:  http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/campaigns/factory_farming/
• Farm Forward:  http://www.farmforward.com/ 
• Animal Welfare Institute:  http://www.animalwelfareapproved.org/

The Persimmon

The first time I tried a persimmon it was with my grandmother when I was around 8 years old. She always encouraged me to try new foods and my adventurous eating habits have stayed with me to this day.  I remember it tasting very, well, furry...if that's a correct way to describe it.  Eating it left my mouth dry and rough like sandpaper.  Sounds tasty, right?  Needless to say, I hated it (although I do remember sitting around our kitchen table eating it and laughing hysterically about how horrible it was).

What I didn't know then was that there are two types of persimmons.  The "furry" tasting one is called a Hachiya persimmon.  These are generally larger and shaped sort of like an acorn.  They are the astringent variety and, if not properly ripened, do not taste all that great.

This past Thanksgiving, I was reintroduced to the persimmon.  To my delight, it was the Fuyu variety, and very, very tasty.  Fuyu persimmons look something like an orange tomato.  They are smaller than the Hachiya and have what look like dried leaves flowering from the top of it.  The texture is silky and taste a little sweet.  You can eat them raw and with the skins or without, depending on your texture preference.  

These fruits are very popular in Japan, and if you go to an Asian supermarket around this time of year, you will see people walking out of there with case loads of them.  I will tell you more about the great Asian supermarket near my house another time.  It really is incredible.

From a nutritional standpoint, the Fuyu persimmon is a great little fruit.  It is packed with vitamin A, beta carotene, lycopene, and B vitamins.  It is around 120 calories for one persimmon.

I know it can be intimidating to try new foods, but you are really missing out if you don't.  The worst thing that can happen is that you don't like it, right?

I've outlined with pictures how to cut a Fuyu persimmon. 


Step 1:  Rinse off your persimmon as you would any other fruit.

 Step 2:  Slice the persimmon in half from top to bottom (or bottom to top, whichever way proves easier).

 Step 3: Remove the leaf-like things (technically called sepals) using your fingers.

 Step 4:  Slice each half in 4 or 5 pieces like you would a tomato. 

 Step 5:  You can either peel the skin off using a knife or just eat them as-is.  Either way, they are delicious, silky, and healthy little treats! 

Enjoy!

Holiday Cookies

I got into the holiday spirit and spent Christmas day in the Nutrition Kitchen baking cookies and other tasty treats.  One of my favorite things is vegan baking.  It is so much fun to adapt recipes to make them dairy and egg free without losing any of the taste.  These cookies came out so well and do not taste vegan at all!  You can make them any time of year, of course, but are perfect little morsels to satisfy that holiday sweet tooth we all get.  Enjoy!


Raspberry and Chocolate Ganache Tumbprint Cookies
Makes about 24 cookies
Use whatever preserves you like!

 
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup finely ground cashews (just throw a cup of plain cashews in a food processor and process until the cashews are about the consistency of flour)
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup canola oil or olive oil (I used olive)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

raspberry preserves
5 oz good quality dark, dairy free chocolate, chopped (I used "Enjoy Life" brand Mega Chunk chocolate)
5.4 oz can coconut milk
1/8 tsp vanilla

• Preheat oven to 325 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Mix flour, ground cashews, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
• Whisk oil, lemon juice and vanilla in a small bowl.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until the dough comes together.  The dough will be very dry and crumbly, but should hold together when you press it with your fingers.  
• Form the dough into 1-2" balls and make in indent in the center with your thumb.  You will have to flatten them out slightly and take care to make sure they don't fall apart.
• Fill with a small dollop of the raspberry preserves.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown.  While the cookies are baking, prepare the chocolate ganache.

• Place the chopped chocolate in a bowl and set aside.
• Heat coconut milk in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until little bubbles appear around the edges and steam rises from the surface.
• Pour the coconut milk over the chocolate and let sit for 5 minutes without stirring.  
• After 5 minutes, stir the mixture until smooth (about 2 minutes).
• Add vanilla and stir until incorporated.  
• Let it cool slightly before putting it on the cookies.

• Once the cookies are done and cooled completely, dot a small amount of the ganache on top of the raspberry preserves.  
• Let cool until chocolate has set.
• Serve at room temp or cold.

Nutritional info per cookie (not my healthiest creation but at least it's dairy free!)
Calories: 160     Fat: 10g     Saturated Fat: 3g     Sodium: 33mg     Sugar: 7g
 

Hello internet!

Thanks for visiting!

I suppose I should start out with explaining the purpose behind this blog.  I am 26 and an aspiring Registered Dietitian (RD for short) with a not-so-helpful degree in Theater.  I am currently in the throws of a very interesting career change and thought it would be fun to write about my experiences as I go through this major life change.  I will share interesting stories, nutrition information, and some healthy, delicious recipes.

The process by which one becomes an RD is a challenging, and somewhat arduous one.  The first step is to complete a Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) which can either be a Bachelors or Masters Degree program accredited by the American Dietetics Association and the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education (ADA and CADE respectively--there sure are a lot of abbreviations to learn...).  Then you have to complete an accredited Dietetic Internship.  These internship programs last roughly one year and are very competitive to get in to; there is only about a 50% acceptance rate.

It is very important that one not only excels in their DPD courses but also be very active in the dietetics community throughout their education.  Internships with RDs, establishing a relationship with a mentor, volunteering within the community, and taking entrepreneurial initiative make someone a lot more desirable to potential DI selection committees.  

After the internship you can take the Registration Exam and finally become an RD.

So...here's what I have so far:

• Bachelor of Arts in Theater Arts with a minor in Film Studies (virtually useless for this career, by the way)
• Intro to Nutrition course which I took as an elective during my first time in college (I got an A, so there's a start...)
• A lot of drive and ambition

And here's my plan:

• Take basic science courses needed for DPD at Montgomery College here in Rockville, MD.  I start Chem 101 and Bio 101 this semester.
• Transfer to University of Maryland in the Spring of 2013 to finish DPD.
• Work part-time (or full-time while taking evening courses) in an administrative role of some sort at a nutrition related business.  This will allow me to get my foot in the door and start learning from professionals already in the field.
• Volunteer as much as I can while working and going to school.  Need to make myself desirable!
• Write this blog to keep myself motivated.   

Enough rambling for now.  We will get to know each other more as I write, and I hope you enjoy what I have to say.