Showing posts with label Pick A Better Snack. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pick A Better Snack. Show all posts

5.17.2016

Derby Day, Mother's Day, School Days, TV Day = Joyful Days




I have been slacking on my weeks in review, so I wanted to make sure I shared with you all the fabulous joys in my life the past few week with some pretty kick ass people. 


May not only brings warmer weather but gets me extremely excited for the earth to transition completely out of the dismal "brown town" into lusciously green. Weeee! It also started out with our 4th Annual Derby Party!  


It is so fun to get dressed up and hang out with some of my favorite people. This year I guess black and polka dots were what the ladies fashioned (with absolutely no planning whatsoever). 


And the boys donning some interesting attire, especially Justin who went all out!  We couldn't find him a piano to play though. 


Love our guys in seersucker and bow ties  (and polka dots, they secretly got the memo too!)


A little Prosecco, a few mint juleps, a lot of laughs and another fantastic party in the books. We are planning an actual Derby trip, so hopefully our 5th annual is in Kentucky! 


Quite quickly after our Derby fun was Mother's Day fun. My presence was graced with 3 beautiful ladies: my Mom, Gramma and cousin Christine. 
   

When I moved to Waukee, my parents gave me my Grandma Jose's china and I thought it was nice to include her in our day, along with the soft powdery smells of pale pink roses. 


A pretty tablescape on top of a lacey tablecloth my parents got for their wedding. Classic pieces full of love, sweet components of the sweet little lunch we had that ended in banana cream pie. Unfortunately, not even close to Grandma Jose homemade banana cream, but still a fitting ending to our meal.


The middle of my week brought a few great endings to a couple of schools I work with. Wayne Community Schools in Corydon, Iowa were presented with being a Healthy US School by the Iowa Department of Education and the USDA. Kelley Lavely and her Food Service staff have such an inspirational passion for keeping kids healthy and providing them amazing school breakfast and lunches. Congratulations to them and I feel lucky to have been a part of it! 


It was also the last week of Pick A Better Snack for Wright Elementary in Des Moines, Iowa for this school year. There are many days I wonder if my work as a dietitian is making and impact and then I get these. Handwritten thank yous from the kiddos with many confirmations of things they learned with me over the past year (insert nerdy but excited dietitian dance). 


To top off my joys, I ended the week with Sunday Funday a little TV segment on KCCI discussing the worlds most favorite fruit and our Dietitian Pick of the Month: Mangos. It sure is an early Sunday, but I enjoy each segment to share delicious food with those on set and those watching. 

My jar of joy is filling up quickly...

AE

3.16.2015

Week in Review



Did you celebrate your Registered Dietitian (RD) this past week?  March 11th was National Registered Dietitian Day during National Nutrtion Month. If you don't have your own personal RD, you really need one!  For any nutrition question you have, they are the go-to for the most sound nutrition advice. Nutritionist are not the same thing. Anyone can be a Nutritionist.

This is a great resource to explain why a dietitian is the nutrition expert:  http://www.eatrightpro.org/resources/about-us/what-is-an-rdn-and-dtr/what-is-a-registered-dietitian-nutritionist

I celebrated this day with a good book and a relaxing pedicure. 


The week quickly flew by with another fantastic week with the kids at Wright Elementary and Pick a Better a Better Snack. Milk, yogurt and fruit = smoothie love!  I shared with them my book of thanks for being brave and trying new healthy foods over the past year. 


Stacey and I worked on a "Healthier Happy Hour" Nacho recipe we are featuring this weekend at our Whole Health Experience at Hy-Vee Hall on Saturday, March 21st. 


And the week ended celebrating a member of my tribe's birthday. Happy Happy Birthday Kevin!  Can't wait to celebrate many more with you! 

       


11.16.2014

Week in Review


The week started out with serving breakfast to the veterans in our community. Such a fun day at work!  We served over 600 people that morning and it was awesome to see this sign filled with stars of where they all served. Always a humbling day and this girl was filled with gratitude for them all.


Chef Stacey and I had a little cooking class for fun and different dinner ideas. We had a great group of ladies that joined us and the food was delish. 



Spinach Artichoke Salmon.


They made one of my favorite Chef Stacey recipes, Pizza Stuffed Mushrooms.


Check out the video at the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvQZYx4DBZw&list=UUsmwo9grv25f6hT7CipnI9A

or if you just want the recipe, we have provided that as well below!  Enjoy!

Pizza Stuffed Mushrooms

4 Portabella mushrooms, stemmed and cleaned
1/2 c. Balsamic or Italian dressing
1 lb. Turkey Sausage
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1/2 c. Zucchini, diced
1/2 c. Green Pepper, diced
2 cloves, minced
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 c. Marinara
1/3 c. Parmesan, shredded
1/2 c. Mozzarella, shredded

Coat the mushrooms in dressing, and set aside.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large skillet over medium heat cook sausage for 3 minutes.  Add in the olive oil, zucchini, green peppers, and garlic until meat is thoroughly cooked about 7 more minutes, until there is no pink.  Drain meat, if needed, and add the marinara, italian seasoning, and parmesan cheese to the meat mixture.  Take one mushroom and stuff each one with 1/2 c. of meat mixture and cook in the oven for 10 minutes.  Take the mushrooms out and top with the mozzarella cheese.  Place back in the oven to melt cheese for about 6-10 minutes. 


I ended the week at Wright Elementary delivering another fun Pick a Better Snack lesson on cranberries. I had they try them raw and saw the best sour cranberry faces. A few of them liked it so much they wanted seconds, which I was shocked and excited about. 

It's been a whirlwind of month so far, let's hope this week is a little more calm :).