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

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

Creation. Creating. Being creative. It can be a monster, it can be a big shiny gift with a beautiful red bow, it can be something you never imagined causing you a fierce aching in the depths of your soul. 

It can be whatever you want it to be. If it nourishes you, gives you joy in the end and finds connections you never dreamed of, it is worth the reward and it is worth the pain. 

Don't stop. Never stop. It is who you are. It is who you always will be. 

AE 

Wisdom Wednesday

Words of Wisdom at its finest. Taking inventory for whom my Cinco de Mayo will be celebrated with. You better like tacos as much as I do! 

AE

Wisdom Wednesday

When you take a step back and look at what has happened and what is currently happening in your life, are you satisfied with it all? 

Or do you deserve so much more? 

Maybe it is not about "deserving." Maybe it's about believing in "so much more." We do not deserve a thing in life, good or bad. We create our lives and we either let things continue the way they are or we make the decision to change them. 

Be the change in your life, you will recognize when you can have so much more. 

AE 

Wisdom Wednesday

There are just days a person feels defeated. You try your hardest, do your best, and feel good about how things are going. For some reason, there are just some people who feel the need to remind you it's not enough. And it will never be enough. There will always be the naysayers, the ones who break you down instead of build you up. There will always be the ones who are on the same team but don't want to be good teammates. Guess what teammates? Thumbs up, still alive and moving forward. 

Hope they can keep up with you! 

AE

Wisdom Wednesday

Sometimes easier said than done but working hard on things that are just not meant to be is telling you something. Put your energy into the things that are working, things you love and are passionate about. Those things will never feel forced or feel like work. Put your energy into you! 

Wisdom Wednesday

It is easier to hang onto negative things that have happened in your life then to let them go. The only person you're hurting is yourself. When you keep looking back, when you keep go over those things in your head, it overtakes your heart and soul. Do not let negativity take up space in your life. Face forward, look ahead and not for one second peek over your shoulder.  It is behind you for a reason. 

Wisdom Wednesday

I believe actions carry more strength, emotion, and meaning than any combination of words. There are two reasons I tend to not verbally express myself in a situation: it does not mean anything to me or it means everything to me. When it does not mean anything, it does not use anymore of my time or take up space in my life. If it means everything, I cannot put into words what I am feeling because it has so much life in my world. I will show you exactly what it is by what I do. Actions are priceless and unforgettable, words can be frivolous and forgettable. Pay attention. 

Passion

When I think about passion, I think about interests. Everyone has different interests and that is very special. When I was younger, I didn't really understand how special it was. I would get annoyed or I didn't try to understand this uniqueness because it did not match my own interests. As I am starting to understand my own passions, I better understand the passions of others. 

If it is something that holds you, keeps you purposeful, keeps you excited, keeps you feeling alive...it is something you should never let go of, no matter the opinions of others.

 

I think of my sister, everyday, but especially today. She LOVES the Broncos and everything sports. She was so passionate about her favorite teams and it was something she stayed true to and interested in. As her sister, who really was not into sports, I never understood how she felt. Now I do more than ever. She never waivered from her favorite teams and always made time to watch their games.  Sports kept her interested, inspired and feeling alive. I love this about her. 

Are you living your passion? Do you wake up each day staying true to yourself? 

This is one of my favorite TED talks about passion. It's worth a watch just to think about your own life and where you are.  http://youtu.be/rH0AlC2TbR8

Whenever I feel like I am losing sight of my passions, I think about my sister. She reminds me everyday to stay focused and passionate about my life because that's how she lived hers. 

Take your own interests, stay with them, stay passionate and be the biggest fan of the most important thing in this world, you. 

Go Broncos! 

Wisdom Wednesday

Thinking tropical today and I will be a pineapple. I think I will have some for lunch...

Wisdom Wednesday

I am pretty sure the word "crazy" has come up many of times in conversations discussing me and I am very ok with that. I embrace a little crazy on occasion and I embrace passion a little bit more. To be crazy passionate about someone and something, keeps your soul alive and keeps you living a true and authentic life.  You need to have both, passion for someone and something to keep your authenticity balanced and complete. Give each equal attention, so the passion flourishes in both, so you can fully live and love your bat-shit passionate life. 

Wisdom Wednesday

There are always options. Endless, tireless, unlimited amount of options for everything in life. But when you are always out searching and going through every option, you're possibly taking yourself away from what the true priorities are in your life. The biggest one being yourself. What exactly are you traveling this earth searching for? Are you keeping yourself the priority?  Are you traveling away or traveling closer to what you already know and what you want? 

Wisdom Wednesday

I sure do! Are you being your most genuine self? If not, time for a makeover. When you're not being genuine to yourself and to others, you're not living truth. Genuine people not only radiate in personal relationships but in professional relationships too and intuitive people pick up on it. Everyone is going to love you being genuine...everyone is going to love the real you. 

Wisdom Wednesday

Right now, in this moment, be happy. Be thankful. Be grateful. This moment is yours and you will never have it again. It might not be exciting or eventful but it's happening.  It might be as simple as seeing a full moon before you fall asleep or hearing your favorite song on the radio. Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, never let a day go by that you don't experience being happy. 

Wisdom Wednesday

Be the person who smiles and says hello to everyone you pass, thank people for being kind, provide praise to those that are helpful, send a random note of kindness in the mail or over text, be a good listener instead of thinking of what you want to say, treat others exactly how you like to be treated. This is the way to keep positivity in your life and everyone around you, without much effort. 

Wisdom Wednesday

On this day, August 26th, 1977, the world became a much more vibrant and crazy place. Virgil and Cindy Orso welcomed a baby girl, Carlena into this world. 

18 years ago, my life became a much more vibrant and crazy place. I was so lucky to cross paths with this amazing woman and develop one my most important and endearing friendships. 

Happy Birthday to the woman in my life who has been there through a novel of memories and I am so excited to write many more novels with you! 

Wisdom Wednesday

Breaking news!!! Well not so much. I wish we could outrun our food intake, don't you?  Exercise is just an insurance policy to provide balance, increase your muscle mass and metabolism and strengthen your most important muscle, your heart. It will not compensate for eating well. Your tummy is not a garbage can, so stop putting trash in it. You will be amazed if you start eating more healthful at how you feel and how your body looks. 

Wisdom Wednesday

We all have goals and things we want to accomplish, but what are you actually doing about them?  Are you coming home after work and sitting on the couch thinking you should be doing something? Yes, we need time to relax after a busy day at work but what if you spent an hour on something you really want to accomplish everyday outside of the normal routine of life? Don't set goals and dream about them, set goals and knock them out. Whether it's a book you want to read, a project you want to complete or a new skill you want to develop. Set goals, crush them and then set new ones to keep living and growing. 

Wisdom Wednesday

 

Are you trying to do something everyday that makes you happy?  Or do you go through the required motions of each day and as you're lying in bed reflecting on the day, you can't think of one thing that gave you a moment of happiness?  Each day needs to have a moment of happiness for you. Life is too short not to experience that feeling each and every day. 

Tomorrow night, make sure when you take that time to reflect on your day, you can identify your happiness of the day. And make sure to make it a habit to experience that everyday, for the rest of your life.