Picture this: You and your family are attending a celebration such as a child’s birthday party, a graduation or a holiday event. Someone leans over to you and says, “Look at these kids just bouncing off the walls! They are on a sugar high!” This is one of the most common misperceptions I hear about food – especially when it comes to children. Both sugar and food colors have, undeservedly, become common scapegoats for hyperactivity (and sometimes just energetic behavior) in kids.

I was having lunch with a friend last week and she told me she was avoiding MSG.  When I asked her why, she mentioned that she had read about it on the Internet. That was a big red flag. Obviously, not all information on the web is accurate or science-based.  I’m always trying to stay current with the latest science on food and nutrition topics, so I went home and looked for info on MSG from credible sources, like the FDA. That’s when I learned some surprising, and sometimes overlooked, facts about MSG.

July may be “National Ice Cream Month,” but in my house, every month is Ice Cream Month! It is my family’s all-time favorite treat. I think it must be genetic. It is our “go-to” dessert every chance we get. Concerns about adding extra sugar and fat to the diet keep some people from enjoying their ice cream. Combine those with some of the food ingredient fears I’ve been seeing on the Internet, and ice cream could (undeservedly) be placed off-limits. Don’t get me wrong, I won’t lose any sleep if some people choose not to eat ice cream. But I do get upset when I think that people are making food and nutrition decisions based on fear, not facts.

When I was 43 years old, I started running as a midlife “experiment.” I ran seven 5K races that summer. That led to a few 10Ks and a 15K over the next couple of years. Finally, I completed a sprint triathlon right before my 46th birthday.

More than 20 years ago I became a dietitian because I wanted to help people make informed food decisions and avoid being taken advantage of by the media, marketers and fearmongers. That underlying motivation for me is stronger today than ever. As a self-proclaimed “dietitian enthusiast,” my vision is to hear more dietitian voices ‘out there’ so that credible, meaningful nutrition information and advice dominates the conversation – not oversimplified, sensationalized, fear-provoking misinformation from celebrities and other “experts”.  

Summer has finally arrived, and along with it comes a few things I’ve been eagerly anticipating. My dreams of warmer weather, outdoor activities and summertime celebrations have come true.

If you know me, you know I’m a “Dietitian Enthusiast“! I’m also a huge fan of Diabetes Educators and Extension Specialists. That’s why I’ve devoted my Sound Bites business to empowering and educating dietitians, diabetes educators and extension specialists on boosting their communication skills so that we can get more credible voices out there and take back the nutrition conversation from fearmongers and celebrity “experts”. But I want to do so much more! That’s why I’ve applied for a $100,000 grant from Chase to help support my mission and vision to provide consistent, credible and compelling nutrition and health information to the public so they can disregard the misinformation that leads to confusion, frustration, and inaction, and instead be empowered to make their own well-informed decision based on facts, not fear. This might be a long shot, but you have to aim high, right? My application won’t even be considered if I don’t get at least 250 VOTES by June 19th! Wouldn’t it be great if I could hire a…

I’m getting ready to do a 30 Day Protein Challenge and I’m inviting you to join me! Why a Protein Challenge? Do you know how much protein you’re getting day to day? Do you know if it is enough to support healthy muscle maintenance and to prevent age-related muscle loss? Did you know that age-related muscle loss can begin at a much younger age than you might think? Are you like most people who tend to have a “skewed” intake of protein throughout the day – in other words, not much at breakfast and most of it at dinnertime? Do you know what foods in your diet are providing protein and how much they provide? Do you know what sources are considered high quality protein?

PROLOGUE: When I created my Guilt-Free RD name and tagline, and started sharing my philosophy, I received overwhelmingly positive feedback from other RDs and I knew I’d struck a cord with like-minded dietitians. That sparked an idea for a new way to interview, share and promote dietitians, their brands and their services. My traditional dietitian interviews are longer and more focused on sharing communications tips and tricks as well as the interviewee’s career journey. In contrast, these interviews will be shorter and more focused on the RD’s food philosophy and services. I hope you enjoy them and will contact me to share YOUR food philosophy!

To the tune of Iggy Azalea’s song “Fancy”: I’m so FNCE You already know Went to Atlanta For the Conference and Expo I’m so FNCE with all my CEUs Hire a Dietitian Like you know you should…. Well, I’m so FNCE….that I’m fashionably late for a FNCE recap….but just in time for National Nutrition Month (March) and National RD Day (March 11th – although every day is RD Day to me)! Yes, that’s how I roll!!

PROLOGUE: I first heard about Dayle Hayes, and the important work she’s doing in schools, when I worked for the dairy council. Although my position was not focused on school programs, the dairy council has a long history of championing school nutrition, so many of my colleagues were conducting innovative and impactful programs in the school arena. I’ve been watching her from the sidelines ever since and am thrilled to finally interview her and share some of the exciting work she’s doing in nutrition communications.

(In part one and part two of this blog post I share my story about why I signed up for a triathlon and what I experienced during training.) Finally! It was race day! I could hardly believe it. All my hard work was about to pay off – at least that’s what I was hoping. My husband and I arrived at 0-dark-thirty to set up. I was so relieved to find out that Lake Michigan was 54 degrees and pretty calm which meant the swim would not be cancelled. I never thought I would say this but I felt lucky to get the chance to swim in 54 degree water!

PROLOGUE: When I created my Guilt-Free RD name and tagline, and started sharing my philosophy, I received overwhelmingly positive feedback from other RDs and I knew I’d struck a cord with like-minded dietitians. That sparked an idea for a new way to interview, share and promote dietitians, their brands and their services. My traditional dietitian interviews are longer and more focused on sharing communications tips and tricks as well as the interviewee’s career journey. In contrast, these interviews will be shorter and more focused on the RD’s food philosophy and services. I hope you enjoy them and will contact me to share YOUR food philosophy!

PROLOGUE: When I created my Guilt-Free RD name and tagline, and started sharing my philosophy, I received overwhelmingly positive feedback from other RDs and I knew I’d struck a cord with like-minded dietitians. That sparked an idea for a new way to interview, share and promote dietitians, their brands and their services. My traditional dietitian interviews are longer and more focused on sharing communications tips and tricks as well as the interviewee’s career journey. In contrast, these interviews will be shorter and more focused on the RD’s food philosophy and services. I hope you enjoy them and will contact me to share YOUR food philosophy!

In part one of this post I explained how my midlife experiment of running led me to sign up for a triathlon. My midlife experiment was about to become a lot more interesting. The type of triathlon I signed up for was a “sprint” triathlon which means the race would consist of a 500 meter swim, a 20K bike ride and a 5K run. I talked to everyone I knew who had done a triathlon and collected training tips. I’m not a strong swimmer so the first thing I did was begin taking lessons. I also got up at 5 am two days a week for open water swimming and brick training.