I'm still here...you'll just have to come find me at Foodguides.com now!

The Honest Dietitian blog has been such a wonderful creative outlet for me over the years and it was 100% through and through written to be a space for me to come and just talk about what I love- food and nutrition. 

I have honestly (because that is my thing...honesty) been blessed to fall into a position where I am now able to write about food and nutrition as my actual everyday job. It is what I have always wanted out of my career. And without all of you who were here at the beginning of The Honest Dietitian- where I really found this passion for writing- I cannot thank you enough for supporting me as life happened and now I feel like I am truly where I am supposed to be.

This still will stay alive, because let's face it- my white chicken chili slaps. But if you want to read some really awesome nutrition information, please come check me out on Foodguides.com where we are building a community of both nutrition and health experts to provide information and resources for our community of acid reflux, GERD, and IBS sufferers out there. So much good stuff there! 

Again, you are all rockstars and I Love Ya 🙏❤️

Follow Us on Twitter @foodguideshelp & on Facebook @Foodguideshelp & on LinkedIn @Foodguides

Happiness in a Cup and some of the coolest gifts I've ever seen!

This has been the perfect year to indulge in tea, both hot and cold. I became a fan of Adagio Teas last year and I cannot wait to share with you some of the coolest products that I came across (had no idea they carried) but am now certainly a forever fan of theirs because of them! We are just going to start off with the fact that I do like to binge on some good film and shows now and again and one of my absolute favorites has been Game of Thrones. I mean...the season premiere is right around the corner. My Khal & I were so grateful for the Adagio Game of Tea Blends featuring the Drogon's Revenge when we were having some pollen issues these past weeks because not only was it delightful and tasty, but the gunpowder really made us feel like we were cured of our ailments and ready to take on Kings Landing! Okay, in all honesty, I am not sure if we could taste gunpowder...but the tea does taste seriously good.

Other fandom and novely blends that I was so excited to try were the Zodiac Blends including the Taurus Tea which my daughter just loved since it was her birthday last month. My personal favorite was the Malory Archer blend and the Cthulhu found in the Fandom Sets and Fandom Samplers.

Updates in the life of a PhD student...mom...wife...friend...blogger...

Hello Everyone!

After many unexpected set-backs, I am now in the thick of my dissertation work for my PhD. My data collection has started for my PhD dissertation project & it has brought forth many feelings. Many, many feelings. This whole process has been a little bit of a rollercoaster. Someday I will share with you all the story of how I became a Dietitian but in a nutshell, I am non-traditional student. I have been a parent the entire time I have pursued my education. I received my Associate of Science  & Bachelor of Science & Dietetic Internship to become a Registered Dietitian from the time my oldest daughter was 1 1/2 years old until she was 8. I had my second daughter during that time and she was 3 1/2 when I finished the DI and became a RD. The internship counted towards half of a Master of Arts degree in Dietetics, so I finished that. And I thought I as finished.

Happy New Year! Resolution Ideas from The Honest Dietitian

2017 has arrived. I am sure many of you have been bombarded by ads and commercials from companies hoping to monetize on the "New Year, New You" hope and drive that comes with the annual dropping of the ball. I know there are also many people out there who will tell you that making resolutions is useless and will just set you up for failure. I am not one of those people.

I think making an effort to make any positive changes in your life is absolutely fantastic. I think it is wonderful no matter what time of the year you do it! New Year's is just that time of year when people take a minute to think about themselves and what they would like to accomplish for the upcoming 365 days and believe me...I am a firm believer that people (including myself) do not take enough time to really sit and ponder what we can do to make ourselves better. We often put to much pressure on ourselves trying to do things to make things better for other people, but can forget that we need goals, hope, and certainly attention and love for ourselves from ourselves.

Make Lunchtime Interesting Again! Healthy And Delicious Ideas To Take To Work

I don’t know about you, but I always get stuck in a routine for work. I make the same old lunches, week in, week out. And I think it’s the same for a lot of people. After all, it can be a challenge to think of new ideas that will rock your world. And at the same time, will keep you healthy and full until dinner. Therefore, here are some healthy and delicious ideas to make lunchtime enjoyable again.

Go for a berry and chicken salad

A salad is often a healthy choice if you are looking for something tasty for your lunch. But a plain chicken salad can get boring after a few days. To make it more interesting, you should add some type of fruit. Some juicy berries will tickle your taste buds and give the salad some extra flavor. And as well as this, it helps you achieve your five-a-day which is always a bonus! You can find some great recipes for berry and chicken salad on http://www.womenshealthmag.com/food/lunch-ideas/slide/3. And remember it can be any berry you like; strawberries are a top choice as they make it tastier and are full of antioxidants!

Make a sweet potato and orange soup

A lot of people stick to boring tomato or chicken noodle soup for work. After all, it’s easy to make, and it’s warming during the colder months. But after a few weeks of tomato or chicken noodle soup, it can be rather dull. Not only this, but you are missing out on a chance to have more nutrients during the day. After all, you can add plenty of fruit and vegetables to soup. Therefore, it’s time to be more adventurous with your soup. You should consider going for something a lot more exciting such as a sweet potato and orange combination. Not only will it taste amazing, but they are such healthy essentials you should add to your day. In fact, sweet potato is a superfood which can help us to live longer! If you struggle to chop it up, you might want to look into getting a santoku knife. That way, you can quickly prepare the ingredients ready for the soup! You can find them on sites similar to http://www.cutitfine.com/santoku-knife-reviews/. And remember to get plenty of containers out when you are making the soup. After all, you can freeze them and then just take them out when you need to!

2016 The Honest Dietitian Gift Guide for Your Foodies & FitFam

GIFTS YOUR FITFAM & FOODIES WILL LOVE!

~**Half-Moon Yoga Products**~ 

Foodie, Fitfam, and all of your loved ones can benefit from the products at Half-Moon Yoga. You will find so many ways to give the gift of relaxation and strength to your loved ones. Here are some of my favorites:

The Hot & Cold Therapy Pillow with Lavender: THIS is the perfect gift for anyone who suffers from headaches or head/neck tension. You can heat it up in the microwave (what I prefer to put over my shoulders to relief tension) or you can put it in the freezer to get cold (what I prefer when I am suffering from migraines to put over my eyes). The lavender scent is divine and it was certainly a lot bigger than I expected, which was fantastic. If your MOM does not have one of these, get her one too. Get the therapy pillow here

The Om Zafus Meditation Cushion: This is a travel-sized meditation cushion that I have really come to love because not only is it comfortable to sit on for meditating or slowing down for a moment, it has helped me to stay tall and provide support for maintaining good posture during all of the driving I have been doing. There are so many great patterns, this is truly a wonderful gift.  Get your Om Zafus here

Mat Cleaner for your Yogis: I had no idea this stuff existed but I am so incredibly happy that I have it now. If you have anyone in your life who does yoga, or works with a fitness mat...get them some of this mat cleaner! It is made with natural ingredients to keep your mat healthy and it comes in a variety of different scents (I love the French Lavender) or unscented too! Get your mat clean here!

~**Artisana Organic**~

If you want to send the gift of high quality food items to your loved ones this holiday season, check out the entire catalog over at Artisana Organics.  I have loved the coconut butter, raw sesame seed tahini, and the cocoa hazelnut spread. All of their products are amazing and delicious! Give this to a foodie in your life and sit back to watch the magic happen. Hopefully, they will share in what they create! Get these goodies here

~**Adagio Teas**~

CHOCOLATE CHIP TEA!!! Seriously, the dessert teas from Adagio are unbelievable! I have sampled so many of the flavors and I am just smitten with the selection. Sometimes we just need to satisfy our sweet tooth without any calories and this is where it’s at. Get this for all of your fitfam & foodies out there.  In addition to the chocolate chip tea, I recommend the golden monkey, thai chai,
candy cane, and probably my favorite new tea: honeybush chocolate tea. Click here to get your tea!

10 Surprising Foods with Health Benefits

If you are anything like me, you are alway on the lookout for foods which are going to pack a punch. The fact is, it can be all too easy to get into the old routines of eating. Part of the problem for many people is that they have forgotten how to branch out. This might sometimes be because they don’t think that those other foods can really bring any benefit. Often, however, it is the case that foods provide you with many benefits which you don’t necessarily consider. Often, common everyday foods which we overlook are actually packed full of goodness. At other times, they simply provide a little boost which you might not have been aware of. In this article, we are going to take a look at some surprising health benefits of various foods. Hopefully, this will encourage you to bring in a little more variety into your diet. Let’s take a look.

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Chocolate

We all know that chocolate is delicious, but those who are nutritionally minded will usually shun it from their everyday diet. It’s true that you don’t want to include too much chocolate in your diet, of course. However, that doesn’t mean that it is all bad news. In fact, chocolate does have a couple of positive points which are worth considering. Dark chocolate in particular has the advantage of being full of antioxidants, while this is less true of milk or white chocolate. It is also good for your circulation, so long as you keep the amount down to a minimum. And if that wasn’t enough, it has been shown to reduce the risk of stroke. What’s more, taken in the right quantities, it can actually reduce your cholesterol as well. It’s starting to look like chocolate just might be your best friend!

Popcorn

This one might seem a little shocking, but bear in mind that we are talking here about popcorn without the added salt and sugar. Cinema popcorn is unlikely to be any good for you at all. But take away the toppings and you are left with a surprisingly healthy snack. Plain popcorn includes whole grain, fiber and antioxidants, and as such is likely to work wonders on your system. Next time you are looking for a snack, popcorn is likely to be a much more healthy alternative to crisps, for example. What’s more, it also happens to be cheap when bought in bulk wholesale. This is a whole new side to popcorn which we just haven’t seen before. Of course, as with anything, there is such a thing as overdoing it. But for the occasional snack, you could do much worse than grabbing some plain popcorn.

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