Last week my amazingly awesome friend Laura had a few girls over for dinner. Laura is an amazing cook and she did not dissapoint. Laura and I both have dogs who are best friends so rather than paying each other for babysitting, we just "pay" each other with food. :)
Laura is not only a mom, wife, great friend and amazing cook but she also is a RD, triathlete/runner and individual living with lupus nephritis. Laura often blogs about her highs and lows with lupus along with posting some of her yummy creations on her website.
I am so excited to share these creations with you because they were soooo mouth-watering good. All fresh foods and no need for pulling food out of a box. Forget about reading food labels or trying to decide on the "healthiest" option.....we had an amazing evening with great food, strong and confident women and fun stories.......YUM!
(to see original recipes and credit for the creations, hold your mouse over the title of each recipe)
Tomato and Avocado with Boursin cheese
Spinach and strawberry salad w/ balsamic dressing
Graffiti Eggplant with White Bean and Basil lemon spread -(Laura used regular large Japanese eggplant (apparently the skinny one is considered Chinese eggplant) and sliced, placed it in zip loc bag with a tiny bit of salt and fresh lime juice. She left this in the fridge over night to take some of the bitterness away from the eggplant (the lemon juice keeps it from browning too much). Then she grilled it on both sides for about 3-4 minutes on a hot grill pan. Followed the recipe for the rest)
White bean and basil lemon spread (from eggplant)
My plate (first helping :) )
Laura is not only a mom, wife, great friend and amazing cook but she also is a RD, triathlete/runner and individual living with lupus nephritis. Laura often blogs about her highs and lows with lupus along with posting some of her yummy creations on her website.
I am so excited to share these creations with you because they were soooo mouth-watering good. All fresh foods and no need for pulling food out of a box. Forget about reading food labels or trying to decide on the "healthiest" option.....we had an amazing evening with great food, strong and confident women and fun stories.......YUM!
(to see original recipes and credit for the creations, hold your mouse over the title of each recipe)
Tomato and Avocado with Boursin cheese
Spinach and strawberry salad w/ balsamic dressing
Graffiti Eggplant with White Bean and Basil lemon spread -(Laura used regular large Japanese eggplant (apparently the skinny one is considered Chinese eggplant) and sliced, placed it in zip loc bag with a tiny bit of salt and fresh lime juice. She left this in the fridge over night to take some of the bitterness away from the eggplant (the lemon juice keeps it from browning too much). Then she grilled it on both sides for about 3-4 minutes on a hot grill pan. Followed the recipe for the rest)
White bean and basil lemon spread (from eggplant)
My plate (first helping :) )
Campy waiting for food to (accidently) drop from plates.
In other news, the Jacksonville Dietetic Association had their annual May social at Urban Flats last Thursday. After an early-morning 45 minute run + campy mile, I had a really exciting day at Baptist Beach hospital. I typically see patients in med surg, the progressive care unit and any other unit besides the ICU but Susan (the other RD at the Beach who I was working with) let me work in the ICU. It is always a challenging situation for me to work with such complicated patients but in order to get better with my knowledge as a RD, I do enjoy the challenge.
There is never a day that I don't learn something as clinical RD!
I have to admit, working with athletes for coaching and nutrition also keeps me educated as I am always learning from my athletes or researching to better understand the physiology of the body during exercise.
Alongside catching up with other wonderful dietitians and future dietitians and enjoying some yummy food, I was absolutely surprised to receive the award for the 2011-2012 Recognized Young Dietitian of the Year award.
This award means so much to me as I have really enjoyed changing lifestyles for the past year. I have met so many amazing and inspiring individuals and I feel so grateful to have so many motivational people in my life.
Deciding to go back to school to earn my RD credential, back in 2007, was not an easy decision. With 6 prior years from 2000-2006 beind devoted to obtaining my Bachelor degree in exercise science (minor in psychology) and Master of science in Exercise Physiology, putting life on hold was not an option. Finding the right balance was the hard part...and believe me, it has not been an easy journey for me to find the right balance.
But with every day, comes a new challenge and new appreciation for life. I love that every morning, it is up to me to decide what I want to accomplish for the day.
I have learned that I have control over how I choose to live my life and I have also created a great toolset to help others reach their ultimate nutrition and fitness goals. Certainly, the learning never stops....good thing I just love to learn in order to help others!
With the end of June being the 1-year anniversary since receiving my RD credential, I can only think of the many sacrifices I have made in the past 4 years to giving everything I could to becoming the best RD I could be. Finding my voice as a RD AND as an Exercise Physiologist has be fun and challenging at times. Trying to find that right balance between nutrition and exercises is my passion and this award means so much to me.
Thank you to all the dietitians who voted for me and felt as if I was deserving of this award.
Also thanks to my blog readers for coming back to this site, in order to get inspired to live a more healthful lifestyle.