When was the last time you did something really hard?
I am not talking mildly hard, like opening a jar of pickles without assistance. I'm talking giving you a headache, making you nauseous, nervous sweats, increased heart rate, burst into ugly tears - hard. Take yourself back to this moment for just second. Think of all the madness happening in your head and heart at this time. Think of how your body was reacting to "this hard thing" you were doing or contemplating. How do you feel about it now? You got through it and you are still here today.
You can do hard things.
You can come out of the other side, remember how it changed you and still keep moving along. Hard things come in all shapes and sizes and present themselves at different stages in our lives. They are a very personal part of our journey. When we choose to face those challenges head on, we take control of what scares the shit out of us. For my friend Stacey this year, it was a half Iron Man. For my friend Carrie this week, it was deep cleaning her sons bathroom and signing up for an aerial yoga class. For me, it is always and ever will be, making big life decisions. We all place ourselves in front of tall mountains and it is only ourselves who can make the decision to climb over them.
Nosh Two. Weekly Conversation.
Today’s conversation is with Stephanie Miezen, a registered dietitian who has found joy in combining culinary and sports nutrition into working for Team USA.
I found Stephanie on Instagram with a photo that caught my eye in one of my favorite cities, Colorado Springs. Then I started to look more at her feed and it is filled with amazing food photos, easy nutrition information for fueling your body and video with culinary tips from her kitchen. After making one of her recipes for dates and almond butter that she had posted, she was in Korea for the Olympics with Team USA. Stephanie has had some amazing experiences so far in culinary and sports nutrition, including traveling abroad a few times to share her expertise. I know you will enjoy learning about her journey so far.
Nosh Three. Weekly #HellYeah!
Do you ever have days where you are just so proud of what you do for a living? Like "bursting from the seams" proud? When I attend the Iowa Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Annual Meeting each year, this is exactly how I feel. It is beyond amazing to be in a room full with Registered Dietitians. It might not sound that exciting to everyone, I get it, but to me it is two thumbs up. The other reason I loved it even more this year is because I got to be the keynote speaker in my home state and share my passion for our profession. After going to Utah, Idaho, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan, it was awesome to come home.
I never do a presentation without this sweet gift from my friend Amanda. She gave this to me a year ago and now it goes with me when I do speaking engagements, which bring me so much joy.
The theme of the meeting this year was "A Field of Opportunity to Improve the Health of Iowans." All the sessions will be available at www.eatrightiowa.org to watch for CPEU credit, so if you still need some credits or are interested in the sessions, look for them in 2019. The program was pretty crafty as it resembled the Farmer's Almanac. I have always been a fan of the Farmers Almanac because my sister loved it. She got a new one every year.
What was even more exciting is my dietitian friend Sylvia Klinger was there to present as well. She and I met a few years ago at a Midwest Dairy Nutrition Communicator conference. Sylvia is the queen of media and is doing such great things with nutrition education for the Hispanic community. She travels the world sharing her expertise and we were so lucky for her to be part of our meeting.
It was also bittersweet as I received my last certificate of service as the outgoing Marketing Chair and Media Spokesperson. Who knows, there may be a comeback after a little break. We also had the best food. It's a dietitian conference right? There has to be amazing food! This was my favorite, the best roast beef (so happy to see beef on the menu), mashed potatoes, roasted veggies and gravy. A good, wholesome Iowa meal.
Another reason why it was so great to be presenting back in my home state, was to include my friends in my presentation. Jenny was one of the first people I met when I started my internship over almost 19 years ago and we have been friends ever since. She is the person who helped me find the job of my dreams and share her sister Stacey with me as another member of my tribe. This is why I was bursting at the seams proud of our profession, because of these kind of connections. They are priceless.
Nosh Four. Weekly Music Playlist.
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| This weeks "You Can Do Hard Things" Playlist can be found on Apple Music and Spotify. |
Nosh Five. What I Love Right Now.
I have created this new thing and it is still in the infancy stages but I really love it. Every morning, I combine an Anne Elizabeth approved smoothie mix of powders to blend with milk, frozen spinach and frozen berries or cacao and mint extract. My counter top looks like a disaster with all the bags and containers on it. So....I decided to have them blended all together into one product. I was able to give out samples at our meeting and got some great feedback from some friends and people who attended the conference. Ashley, Lyndi and Anita all shared some fun photos with me too so I had to share them with you as well. It is the real deal and is really delicious, cannot wait to share it with you and the rest of the world...very soon!
~AE
*All views and opinions on products, food and businesses in this blog post are my own and are not sponsored in any way. I just love to share great things!
