Top 5 Nutrition Noshes and Weekly Wisdom

Nutrition Nosh One. Wisdom.

I appreciate my Mom so very much. I appreciate all Moms very much. I cannot imagine how hard it is to be a Mom. Just think of the journey. No journey is the same and no journey is easy. No child is easy. In my eyes, it is the most difficult and challenging job on the market. I know my Mom has had her struggles and I also know she has had many joys. I know I might have been one of her biggest struggles and I hope one of her biggest joys. There is nothing I can do to repay my Mom for all she has done. She has comforted my tears and fears, kept me safe and alive, kept me fed with good nutrition and food, and hugged me when I wasn't so huggable. I know I was (and maybe still am on occasion) a pain in the ass sometimes, but I also know I am loved so very unconditionally. That is the beauty of our relationship. One we only share. I am so glad she chose me to be her daughter and I am so glad she was chosen to be my Mom. 

Nutrition Nosh Two. Weekly Conversation.

My conversation today is with my beautiful Mom, Ruth.  

I was excited to sit down today with my Mom on Mother’s Day, which is a very special day. I always go back and see her every year and just celebrate her being my Mom. In a conversation a couple of months ago, my mom made the sweet comment that she was the “original dietitian.” That is when the light bulb went off and I thought it would be a great idea to do a special Mother’s Day podcast with my Mom (and hopefully more). My Mom is great and I love her with all my heart. She really is the inspiration of me becoming a dietitian and I am very thankful.

Please click here to enjoy my very special conversation with my Mom this past Mother’s Day

Nutrition Nosh Three. Week in Review. 

May is the start of warmer weather here in Iowa. We start to shed some layers of clothing, but sometimes a little too soon. I was fortunate to attend an event put on by the Iowa Food and Family Project with these lovely ladies, Paige and Anne. We started the day bright and early at 4:30 am without realizing how cold it was outside. While we shared information about local food products, we snuggled and drank a lot of coffee. The event's focus was centered around the local farms and food the great state of Iowa has.  We even had the privilege to meet the new Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Purduehttps://www.usda.gov/. To make the day even more fun, we partnered with the guys behind Tres Mentes Salsa, a delicious and local salsa made right here in Des Moines. If you haven't tried their salsa, you are missing out!  I always have a container of their medium salsa in my fridge for to use as salad dressing, tacos and a great topper for baked proteins. 

An exciting year of FNCE is approaching in October and I am still trying to figure out if I am going to attend this year. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is celebrating 100 years in their hometown, Chicago. It is very close to me this year, so I will be considering it pretty hard. I know it will be the most exciting one yet to see where our profession is headed in the next 100 years. 

I enjoyed a lovely breakfast at my favorite local spot, Cozy Cafe. I can walk to it from my house, so it balances out my latte and enormously delicious portion of hash browns. The food here is homemade, fresh and yummy. You should see their selection of homemade pies and muffins. I am pretty confident a plateful of hash browns and a latte are the way to go for breakfast. Top that off with great company and conversation and I am in weekend heaven. 

On Mother's Day, I jotted home to spend the day with my special lady. We really didn't have anything planned so that lead to opening up a bag of Cheetos (which is one of my Mom's and I favorite crunchy snacks). If I haven't shared this before, I like to eat Cheetos with a fork. It prevents the orange, cheesy finger madness and I also can't overdue it on those crunchy suckers. They best part about my weird fork-eating Cheetos habit, is my friends know me so well, they send me pictures of others doing the same thing!  My friends Carlena and Jenny both send me pictures of their littles munching down our favorite snack with a fork. If anyone else shares in this ritual, send me pictures please. I would love to see them!

We did eat something else besides Cheetos. I was trying to think of something easy and fun for a sweet treat for Mom and Gramma on Mother's Day. A yogurt parfait kept coming to mind, but I wanted to mix it up. As I was contemplating a change of dessert and wandering through the ice-cream aisle, I spotted the waffle cones and bowls. What a perfect vessel for a yogurt parfait!  It was fancy, fun, easy and delicious. 

Mother's Day Parfait

Serves 4

4 - 5.3 ounce containers of Dannon Vanilla Light and Fit Greek Yogurt

2 large prepared blueberry muffins, cut into cubes and divided

1 cup of granola, divided

2 cups of fresh fruit, diced and divided

4 waffle bowls

1. Place divided blueberry muffin in each bowl. 

2. Top with container of yogurt.

3. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of granola on top of yogurt.

4. Top with 1/2 cup of your favorite fresh fruit. 

Nutrition Nosh Four. Workout Playlist of the Week. 

Of course it is Mom inspired!  Dance party in the living room anyone? 

Click here for some fun songs you probably haven't heard but I know you will like!

Nutrition Nosh Five. What I Love Right Now.

Well hello there. 

If you have ever had a morning flight on United Airlines and are in need of much needed travel nutrition, you may have encountered one of these tasty treats. Insert Stroopwafels. Until recently, I have only had them when I was traveling. After posting a picture of a recent Stroopwafel flight on my Instagram, I received confirmation of Stroopwafel retail spottings across Des Moines.  One of those locations was less than 1/2 mile from my house. Since they appear to be infiltrating Walgreens, if you haven't had one of these Dutch delicacies, you must give them a try. (Are you picking up on the waffle obsession this week?). There are many different brands out there, so I cannot speak to any other brand or flavor but the original from Daelamans. My favorite way to enjoy is to place one of the toasted waffles filled with caramel, cinnamon and real bourbon vanilla on top of a piping hot cup of coffee. The waffle and caramel inside starts to soften and the sweetness pairs perfectly with the bitterness of the coffee. I obviously stocked up on a few that day of discovery. Then I went online and realized there is chocolate ones, bags of mini ones and I can even get them by the case. I might be in a little trouble!

~AE

Wisdom Wednesday

As I sit here trying to motivate myself to get out of bed and head to the gym, I take a quick gander at this quote. There are many definitions to what healthy means. 

Where are you on your health and wellness journey? What does it mean to you? 

Wherever you are do not compare yourself to anyone. It is about how you feel, changes you want to make and the steps you make to get there, no matter how big or small. 

Make the journey exactly what you want it to be and need it to be. 

AE

Wisdom Wednesday

We have the ability to design what greatness looks like in our own lives. We are the only ones who can draw up the blueprint but a little guidance from others who also believe in your greatness can help move the pen. 

Guide the pen of someone who your heart beats for. You are part of their blueprint to greatness because they have part of yours. 

AE

Wisdom Wednesday

Recently, I heard someone talk about chaos. Most of us define chaos as disorder and mass confusion. But the person speaking really resonated with me on his definition: chaos means and brings     progress, ideas, strength and power. We all have chaos in our lives, both definitions. What we do and learn from it is how we differ. Chaos forces us to grow, learn, and expand our hearts to reach a new level that would have not been achievable without it. Next time you feel out of control or feel chaos taking over, just know it is creating something new and powerful inside of you. 

Wisdom Wednesday

I always think I am old, but I couldn't resist sharing this little nugget of wisdom. I know, age is just a number. I was just taken back a little when I read the truth in this statement. I am everything I fear and everything I wish, all on the same day. Remember the days of longing to be older? And now how we wish for our younger days? No matter what you wish for in matter in time, just make sure each year you live, each trip your life takes around the sun, make it count because your youth and your maturity are battling it out at the same time, while your mind and heart are trying to keep up. 

Wisdom Wednesday

We tend to focus on the negatives whenever we ask ourselves "what if?"  Every bad scenario we could possibly think of comes to mind that we really never allow ourselves to let in positives. We could fall, it could not work out, but I would bet if we let ourselves, we would fly. We would soar, to places we never thought we would or do things we never thought we would do. So next time you ask yourself "what if" (and never stop asking what if)  just believe that you might just take off and reach things you never thought you could. 

Wisdom Wednesday

Reminds me of my mom and something she would say so today I am just going to be lovely. 

Wisdom Wednesday

I have a lot of roots and I have a lot of branches.  I have a few that are very close on each end that I connect with on a daily basis. The others....not so much. I am the person I am today because of the strong roots and the sturdy branches on my tree of life. So today, I am going to work on keeping myself connected to my "tree." It won't be every day, probably not every week, but at least once a year, I will take the time to be grateful, humble and connected to the people who have helped me grow and flourish. 

Wisdom Wednesday

The future. It is coming but we have no idea what it will be. That drives me crazy. I wish I could know how things will turn out. It is hard to live in the present but very necessary. Each decision we make, each task we do, each thought we have right here, right now, may turn into the future we hope for. It could also turn into the future we never dreamed of. I don't know what tomorrow will bring, all I know is I can choose what happens during my day today and be hopeful for what my future self will be and will be thankful for. Time to go do something.

Wisdom Wednesday

Do you say hello to each individual that you walk by during the day?  I never use to. My current job focuses a lot on being friendly and that involves greeting each individual you encounter during the day. And let me tell you, it is contagious, kind of like yawning. I find myself saying hello and smiling at everyone, I mean everyone, I brush by. Not only does it make me feel good to smile and say hello, but I hope it encourages others to pay it forward. Even if I don't feel like it or my day is not a smiley/hello kind of day, I still do. My hopes that my hello leads to a million more hellos or if all it does it makes that person feel good for 1 second, it was totally worth it. 

Wisdom Wednesday

I try to wake up each day with a positive attitude and state of mind. However, the day can sometimes go severely downhill fast. I keep this saying posted by my back door because it is the last thing I see before I leave my home and before my day starts.

No matter what the day brings, no matter how things may fall off course, I know, that upon reflection, the goods things that happened far out way the bad. I believe I am a good person, I believe I do good things and I will always find the good in each precious day of my life 

Wisdom Wednesday

How many times do you wish for something to happen or wish for something different to happen in your life? Do you take the time to realize what is going on right here, right now?  Do you take time to enjoy each day you have been given?  No matter if the day is good, bad, or so-so, it is happening. Whether you choose to enjoy and embrace it, well that's your decision. All I know is that I am going to enjoy each moment of each day.

Wisdom Wednesday

"And keep moving forward."  That is the key phrase in this Wisdom Wednesday quote. Each day is given to us to keep moving forward. I know I have struggles and I have set backs. When I feel myself stall and become stationary, that is when I get very unsettled. Start your day knowing you will propel through the day, doing the best you can and this is how you will become a winner. Be confident, be secure and be fearless. If anyone takes a swing, you know you can take it because YOU will move forward. 

Wisdom Wednesday

There is a woman in my life that has known me since my first breaths. She is the only woman on my maternal side with the same chestnut colored hair and shares so many similarities to my mother. I spent a lot of time with her in my younger years but over the past few decades our connection only lies in words. Somehow she just knows. She knows when I need encouragement, thoughtfulness, inspiration and just kindness. Somehow we have this connection that she feels and I feel. Thank you Aunt Norma for your words...your love....no matter how far apart or time in between, they always mean so much. 

Wisdom Wednesday

I have seen this numerous times and always stop, pause and ask myself the same question. The idea of failure holds us back from things we would like to achieve. This could be in anything we do; our jobs, love, financially, emotionally and physically. If we took the leap, if we took the chance and only knew we would be successful, we wouldn't pause and we would go for it. Each day is not a guarantee so there is no reason to ever worry about having regret. No matter what you attempt, you have already succeeded because you made the attempt. The attempt, no matter the outcome, is success. Never let failure come into the question. 

Wisdom Wednesday

There once was a girl who said "someday" a lot when it came to making things happen for herself. And then someday turned into Wednesdays and Sundays and Mondays. Somedays became a thing of the past. 

Waiting around for someday to produce any kind of results is not a plan. It is a procrastination. Whatever you want, whatever you need, whatever you want to attempt, whoever you want to be is out there, today, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday or Tuesday. But not someday. Pick a day and start making it happen. 

Wisdom Wednesday

Nothing beats a good workout. Nothing is more releasing than a good cry. Nothing is as therapeutic as a beautiful ocean and its calming waves. You have access to all 3, don't be afraid to use them. 

Wisdom Wednesday

There are 20 days until January 1st. The day where the majority of individuals vow to start resolutions. Why not start today? What are you waiting for?  A date is just a date and tomorrow is not a promise. Don't cheat yourself out of time by putting things off. Your goals are worth starting today.

Wisdom Wednesday

Sometimes it is easier to not say anything, agree with others and not speak up. But if you know how you feel, know the answer, have an opinion, share it. Life is too short to be an echo or live in silence. Life is too short to not hear and share your own voice. 

Wisdom Wednesday

Think of how many people you walk by, talk to, avoid eye contact with, judge or smile at each day. With every passing, every look, every encounter, are you being kind?  Think of what weighs on your heart each day and all of those individuals that have something weighing on theirs. Every moment we have with anyone during our day, is an opportunity to just be kind. Each of us is fighting a battle that no one else can understand but we can be compassionate, we can be kind. Make eye contact and smile at each person you pass by, it just might make the battle a little bit easier in that very moment.