Dietitian, Mom & Triathlete: 2011

Friday, December 30, 2011

Top Lily Pics of 2011

Wow has our little angel changed over the last 12 months. I was looking through all of our albums and decided to post my favorites of 2011. xoxo- Dana

Happy New Year - here's to an even better 2012!

Thursday, December 29, 2011

What does a Dietitian give her loved ones for Christmas?

Healthy gift baskets! I used to bake with my mom and grandma during the holidays and I loved the idea of making gifts for family and friends. This year I wanted it to be 100% healthy so I decided to channel my creative energy into another Christmas project...healthy gift baskets! (These could double as New Year gifts too)

I went down to the Dekalb Farmer's market and loaded up on items that people typically do not have on their grocery list. The farmer's market is a great place to buy in bulk without breaking the bank. Here is what I picked up....

California organic almond flour- can be used in low carb pancakes, muffins, bread, etc. It is a great source of healthy fats
Philippines organic coconut flour- can also be used in low carb baked goods. Coconut has numerous health benefits including high potassium levels.
Organic whole wheat pastry flour - great high fiber alternative to the low nutrient enriched bleached flour, but be careful because this does contain gluten.
Raw pumpkin seeds- can be thrown into granola or Greek yogurt for heart healthy fats
Australian Chia seeds- add to smoothies for heart healthy omegas
Aluminium free baking powder (in case you did not know that most mainstream baking powders contain toxic aluminum)
Stevia drops- all natural, non-calorie sweetener great for baking and replacing sugar in most recipes
Blackstrap molasses- great for baking and avoid processed sweeteners

Then some of my favorite supplements that I threw into the baskets in addition to the above....

DaVinchi Spectra Reds and Greens- great source of antioxidants- can be added to water or smoothies
Relora-plex, natural herb shown to reduce cortisol levels and belly fat (Douglas Labs)

Finished the baskets off with my favorite hand written recipes containing all of the healthy goods!

There is nothing like giving a loved one the gift of health :-)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Dana

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Ben's graduation GSU 2011

Graduating from college is one of the life milestones I just expected to do growing up, my husband definitely did not have it as easy as I did. This explains the tears in my eyes and my parent's eyes as he moved his tassel to the other side of his cap. His college journey was definitely not as easy as mine! I was fortunate enough to graduate from high school and head right off to college (University of North Florida) after high school. I had support both emotionally and financially from my family and looking back I definitely took that for granted. My husband, Ben served our country for 7 years in the military right out of high school and he had the boys during that time too. He always knew that he wanted to go back to school but with a family and financial obligations he knew it was going to be a huge struggle. As soon as I finished my internship at Emory and was established in my career it was Ben's turn and he went back to school to obtain his college education. It was not easy, he worked full time and went to school full time, during some of our major life moments including the birth of Lily last year and our wedding!

To my husband and hero, I am so proud of you babe!