The Life & Times of a Dietetic Intern

taking some time...

2011-08-31T13:23:00.000-04:00

Hello All,

The other blog that I started not too long ago has been taking down. I have decided to take a break from blogging and may return one day, but who knows. I'm ging to leave this blog up because so that future dietetic interns may read it (I still get the occassional email from an intern, so there's hope that some still find this blog to be relevant). I still plan to read all your blogs, but for now, I will not be blogging.

~Jessica

new blog

2011-05-19T19:13:00.000-04:00

Hello all!

After a rather long absence from the blogging world...I am restarting. You can find my blog by clicking here. I hope that you'll come join me in my new blog world!

~Jessica

I PASSED!!!!

2010-12-05T16:47:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday of this past week, I completed the final step in my quest to become a Registered Dietitian. I took the exam and PASSED!! Let me tell you, passing that test was a huge relief. I spent DAYS studying and was so nervous before the test that I felt sick...but I passed!! I left the testing center, skipped across the parking lot, hopped in my car, gave a squeal of joy, and proceeded to call/text everyone and update my facebook status with the good news.

To future RD test takers - I recommend getting a study guide!! It was a HUGE help!!

the new waldorf salad

2010-11-28T09:54:00.000-05:00

The salad that I made for Thanksgiving contained walnuts and apples; in my book, these two ingredients make anything delicious. The salad was very good.

Ingredients
-8 cups torn, mixed salad greens
-2 stalks celery, thinly sliced (I didn't use celery but it would be good in the salad)
-1 gala apple, thinly sliced
-1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
-1/2 cup creamy poppyseed dressing

Directions
-combine all ingredients and serve immediately

Makes 8, 1-cup servings; 130 calories, 9 g of carbohydrate, 2 g of fiber, 10 g of fat, and 2 g of protein.

**Recipe is courtesy of Kraft. For full recipe, click here.

thanksgiving food

2010-11-26T17:51:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving is quite possibly one of my favorite holidays. Who doesn't love a holiday where you get to eat some of the best foods?!?! This year, the boy and I celebrated Thanksgiving together...just the two of us. We cooked and ate a delicious meal.

The menu:

new waldorf salad*

ham

turkey

mashed potatoes

sweet potato bake*

peas

cranberry jelly

stuffing

(I'll be sharing the recipe I used for items with a *.)

We have tons of leftovers and I don't mind; Thanksgiving food is delicious!!

turkey talk

2010-11-22T19:39:00.000-05:00

With Thanksgiving just days away, I figured now would be a good time to share an article that I wrote with you all. I wrote this article for a newsletter for work; enjoy!

Turkey Talk

Buying your bird:

• Allow about 1 pound of turkey per person. Having 10 people over? You’ll need a 10 pound turkey.

• Want to purchase a fresh turkey? Pick it up 1‐2 days before you plan to cook it.

• If you buy a frozen turkey, keep it frozen until you’re ready to thaw it. Frozen turkeys can be kept frozen indefinitely; it’s recommended to cook within a year for best quality. Do NOT purchase a fresh pre‐stuffed turkey.

Thawing a frozen turkey:

• In the refrigerator: Keep the turkey in its original wrapper and place on a tray to catch any juices. Allow 24 hours in the refrigerator for every 4‐5 pounds of turkey. Once thawed, it may be kept for 1‐2 days before cooking.

• In cold water: Make sure that the turkey is wrapped securely. Submerge the turkey in cold tap water. Allow 30 minutes of submerged time per pound of turkey. Change the tap water every 30 minutes.

Cooking the turkey:

• It is not recommended to cook a turkey at temperatures below 325° F.

• Cook your turkey until it reaches an internal temperature of 165° F; temperature can be checked using a food thermometer. Reminder: Remove the giblets package before cooking.

Storing leftovers:

• Turkey should not be left at room temperature for more than 2 hours.

• Cut into small pieces and refrigerate in shallow, covered containers for quicker cooling time. Use within 3‐4 days.

Broccoli Salad

2010-10-27T10:22:00.000-04:00

This was a super yummy side dish and an excellent way to get in some vegetables. I started with a recipe from Kraft Foods but made some adjustments. (Click here for the original recipe.)

Ingredients

-7 cups fresh broccoli florets
-6 slices fully cooked bacon, cut/chopped into bite-sized pieces
-3/4 cup raisins
-1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
-1 cup walnut pieces
-1 1/2 cup coleslaw dressing

Directions

Combine all ingredients, except dressing, in a large bowl. Add dressing and toss salad. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes; toss again before serving.

meet my smoker

2010-10-25T11:59:00.002-04:00

My new favorite kitchen gadget!

Stovetop smoker with pork tenderloin...ready to be smoked!

First dinner out of smoker: hickory smoked pork tenderloin with vaunted vinegar sauce, broccoli salad, and baked potato. Recipes for the vinegar sauce and broccoli salad to come soon! The boy loved every bit of it...as did I (even the cat got ahold of some pork and ate it right up)!!

Product Review: Stovetop Smoker

2010-10-24T10:41:00.002-04:00

Recently, I mentioned that CSN Stores offered me the opportunity to review an item from one of their stores. I selected the Cameron's Stovetop Smoker from Grill Goods.

My smoker arrived via UPS and I was super excited. I opened the box and found a beautiful stainless steel contraption. The smoker came with instructions, recipes, and wood chips. I have hickory, cherry, alder, and oak wood chips. The smoker is primarily for smoking smaller items, you definitely couldn't put a whole hog in there. It's perfect for pork loin. However, the instructions do give tips for smoking larger items...you make a tin foil tent.

Now, when I told some colleagues that I was getting a stove top smoker they asked me what I was planning to do with all that smoke in the kitchen. This hadn't even occurred to me and I am happy to report that it wasn't an issue. The smoker is designed to keep the smoke inside the unit. A little bit leaks out but not much. The smoker also doesn't use a lot of wood chips. I kept the kitchen window open just in case and everything went perfectly.

I just smoked a pork loin and it was delicious! I would definitely recommend this smoker to any city slickers out there looking for some homemade BBQ flavor. My next experiment will be smoking a pork butt and making shredded BBQ.

CSN Stores was great. The shopping and checkout process was super easy. My product arrived quite quickly. I'll definitely be using CSN Stores again.

Star Rating: for the smoker - 5 out or 5; for CSN Stores - 5 out of 5

**This review was made possible by CSN Stores. No compensation was received other than the product. All opinions expressed are the opinions of myself and not those of anyone else.

louis, louis, louis...vuitton

2010-10-22T11:28:00.000-04:00

Dear Bloggy Friends,

Please allow me the opportunity to take this moment and do a little bragging! I was recently had the wonderful good fortune of being caller 105 for a local radio stations contest. This contest is known as Pick Your Purse. Being caller 105 allowed me to pick the fabulous purse of my choosing and I selected a BEAUTIFUL Louis Vuitton!

Lots of Love!!

BBQ Stuffed Potatoes

2010-10-21T12:10:00.000-04:00

Cooking Light is quickly becoming my new favorite go-to place for recipes. They have a 5 Ingredient Cookbook that may be my new love. This little dish is from Cooking Light and is only 5 ingredients (most of which I already had around the house).

BBQ Stuffed Potatoes (get recipe here)

When I first put everything together, I was a bit apprehensive. I wasn't sure if this would be any good. Well...it was surprisingly yummy! It's definitely going into my arsenal of quick recipes!

update, update

2010-10-20T13:39:00.000-04:00

Hello, hello!

I am becoming such a slack blogger…but I guess, I already know what my New Year’s resolution is going to be: better blogging! Since I’m such a slacker, I guess it’s time for a life update. We’ll start with work…

Work has been fantastic. I’m still getting into the swing of things but I’m slowly getting used to having two offices and having a job. I have to admit that after doing the internship for 10 months, it’s rather nice to be getting a paycheck. My work calendar has been filling up…I’ve actually started putting stuff in my 2011 calendar…crazy! I’ve had multiple meetings with various individuals from my counties, been a vendor at 2 health fairs with more coming in November, joined another professional organization (the Family and Consumer Sciences Association), started working with the value-added center that will be coming to Orange County in the future, taught a ServSafe class, and more. I’m crazy busy but I love my job.

I can’t wait until next year! In 2011, I’m going to kick-off the year with an Eat Smart, Move More, Weigh Less program in both counties. I’m going to do a food preservation program when canning season approaches; and I’ve got more things up my sleeve to plan.

On the personal life front: things are good! The boy and I have been to several college football games. We went to NCSU v. WCU with a group of friends, UNC vs. ECU where we were the only UNC people tailgating with a bunch of pirates, and we went to the NCSU v. Boston College game where we had fantastic seats! In November, the boy’s parents are coming down and we’re going to the UNC v. Virginia Tech game.

I think that’s all for now!

health fair pictures

2010-10-19T11:09:00.000-04:00

Here's a picture of the booth that I set up at one of the health fairs. A big thanks to General Mills for providing some fantastic cereals for me to give out.

Catfish with Cilantro-Chipotle Rice

2010-10-13T10:47:00.000-04:00

This is a spicy little dish that I made a while back. I loved it! If you like spicy and are looking for something different this is the dish for you. The recipe can be found here; from Cooking Light.

stove top smoker

2010-10-12T14:01:00.000-04:00

CSN Stores recently contacted me with an super exciting opportunity. They are going to let me review an item from one of their stores. CSN Stores has over 200 stores; this means that they have everything that your little heart could imagine. From bed sets to home decor to kitchen stuff...they've got it all!

For Christmas last year, I received a cook book called Smoke & Spice. I've been itching to try some of the recipes in this book. In order to try them I needed to get myself a smoker; while perusing the book I discovered that there are stove-top smokers and have been searching for one every since. CSN Stores has a stove-top smoker that I would love to try out and review. Keep you eyes peeled for the review...it's coming soon!!!

working hard for the money

2010-10-10T18:45:00.000-04:00

I still don't feel like I've gotten into the whole swing of things with work yet. Having two offices is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.

Things are starting to pick up at work. I've got several health fairs to attend over the next couple of months. I just finished teaching a ServSafe food safety certification workshop. I am now a certified instructor for Eat Smart, Move More, Weigh Less; which is a weight loss program that I plan to being in the beginning of 2011. I have meetings, meetings, meetings!!

I'll post some pictures of my health fair setup soon; I go to my first one tomorrow!

Restaurant Review: Tupelo's (Hillsborough, NC)

2010-09-28T11:25:00.000-04:00

My job has taken me to a new town. This means that there are new restaurants to try. I recently tried a little place in downtown Hillsborough called Tupelo’s. It was delicious (and no relation to Tupelo Honey Café in Asheville).

I had the pomegranate glazed chicken sandwich. I had no idea what to expect from this sandwich because I’ve never had anything with pomegranate. The chicken was glazed with a pomegranate molasses. It came topped with goat cheese, mango ketchup, lettuce, and tomato; all served on a kaiser roll. It was delicious. The pomegranate flavor mixed with the goat cheese and mango ketchup was absolutely wonderful. The goat cheese offset all of the sweetness from the mango and pomegranate with just the right amount of bitter.

This was a wonderful little place for lunch. I’ll definitely be back to try more!

oh me, oh my...

2010-09-17T09:31:00.001-04:00

I apologize (again) for my blogging absence. Figuring out this whole work/life balance thing is quite difficult! I’ve been on the job for a little over a month now and I’m still working of finding that groove.

I have several things that I need to blog about and I hope to get to them this weekend. The boy is out of town so I have the house to myself!

activia desserts...what!?!?!

2010-09-01T19:00:00.000-04:00

I'm sure that you've seen the Activia commercials...you know, the Activia Lady? Well, now Activia has a line of desserty yogurts. It's yogurt with a "rich, deserty taste."

I enjoy Activia's regular line of yogurts and can't wait to try this new line. Get a $1 off coupon by clicking here.

bad blogger, bad

2010-09-01T11:43:00.002-04:00

I apologize for my absence. I’m such a terrible blogger! Between starting a new job and it being recruitment season (I still volunteer with my sorority from college), I’m doing good to keep my head on straight.

Here are a few quick updates:

The job is going wonderfully. I am enjoying both the counties that I am covering. I have a 3-day training/orientation next week and hope to begin planning some programs shortly after that! I’ve met a lot of wonderful people. The wheels in my head are already turning as to what I want to do and where.

I still haven’t sat for the RD exam. I’m aiming for the end of November for this. I took a month of from school-related stuff after I finished my thesis and will begin studying soon (tomorrow). I will be an RD soon!

The days are flying by! The boy and I have several friends coming into town this weekend for the WCU vs. NC State football game. He and I went to WCU and my little brother just started at NC State. I’ve got my WCU shirt ready (although, I may pack a red shirt just in case!).

Hope all is well out there in bloggy-land!

it's a egg-y world out there

2010-08-24T11:15:00.000-04:00

Eggs are big in the news lately and unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know why! Over 380 million eggs have been recalled due to salmonella concerns. You can click here to be taken to an FDA website that walks you through seeing if your eggs have been recalled. I checked mine and we’re all good.

Here are some other tips to keep yourself from getting sick
-get rid of eggs that are dirty or cracked
-keep eggs refrigerated
-don’t eat raw or undercooked eggs or dishes that contain raw or undercooked eggs

the job

2010-08-15T09:30:00.000-04:00

I started my job on Wednesday. It's quite exciting to work after not being able to have a job last year and several years of only working part time. I am a Family & Consumer Sciences Area Agent with North Carolina Cooperative Extension. I'll be conducting food safety and nutrition education programming for the people of Alamance and Orange counties.

I'm quite excited about this job. It was my #1 choice during my interview process. I can't wait to start putting together the programs that I want to do!

Right now, I'm just going through all of the stuff that's in my offices. I have an office in each county and more stuff than I know what to do with!

I'm sure that there will be many more posts about the job as I get further into it!

peaches, peaches, peaches

2010-08-10T10:10:00.000-04:00

August is National Peach Month!!

One large peach will provide you with 19% of your vitamin C for the day, 11% of your vitamin A, and 10% of your potassium. You'll also get 3 grams of fiber per peach.

Go out and enjoy some peaches!!

ServSafe

2010-08-07T12:52:00.000-04:00

As part of my future job (which I will divulge all detail about it as soon as it is official and I have signed paperwork), I was asked to be able to teach ServSafe classes. Therefore, I went through the process to become a Certified ServSafe Instructor and Registered Exam Proctor.

ServSafe offers food safety training. It is administered by the National Restaurant Association.

I will be educating the likes of lots of people in food safety!! Pretty crazy, huh?!?!

Jessica Oswald, MS

2010-08-05T17:52:00.000-04:00

Yes...those are letters behind my name. My graduate education is complete. I successfully defended my thesis. I'm currently in the process of publishing myself; printing, signing, bounding! I have a Master of Science in Nutrition from Meredith College.

My thesis is a few more than 70 numbered pages. I had it printed front and back, to save a few trees. And it is DONE...this is such a wonderful feeling!!!

Pretty soon, I'll be adding a few more letters to that with RD, LDN!!

Happy National Watermelon Day!

2010-08-03T18:41:00.000-04:00

Today is National Watermelon Day!

Watermelon is a summer necessity. It's a good source of vitamins A and C, fiber, potassium, and it contains lycopene. Watermelon can also help you stay hydrated since it's 90% water.

So head to the store and grab a watermelon!!

I gotta job, I gotta job, I gotta job...hey, hey, hey, hey

2010-08-02T16:50:00.000-04:00

(sung to the tune of: I gotta a nickel, I gotta nickel, I gotta nickel, hey, hey, hey, hey)

More details to come soon....but I am 99% sure that I will be gainfully employed in a few week. Offer details are being worked on right now!!

YIPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

vacation - day 2 - dinner out

2010-07-27T10:30:00.000-04:00

For dinner, on day 2, my little group headed off to a Mexican restaurant. We were in a section of the country, the Southwest, which is expected to have good Mexican food. We tested the theory. (I apologize for not taking any pictures; I wish I would've.)

The concierge suggested a place called Padre's. Padre's dubs its' food as "modern mexican cuisine." We started with the guacamole. The waited brought us guacamole, two different salsas, and loads of chips. The salsas, we'll call the red salsa and green salsa, were something else. Red salsa just about lit me on fire. I consider myself to be someone who likes "hot" food, but we don't get that "hot" in North Carolina.

For my meal, I got the Mexico City Fajitas. It was a close call between the fajitas and the Obama Burrito, but in the end, I had to go with the the fajitas. They were great! However, when I get fajitas in NC, they come with three little tortillas; these fajitas came with one great big tortilla. I wasn't entirely sure what to do about this. I ended up tearing up the gigantic tortilla to make smaller tortillas. It was interesting.

The wait staff was great and they came to get us when our town car returned to take us back to the Biltmore. Overall, a great dining experience. And...Mexican in the Southwest was everything I thought it would be; delicious and much spicier!

vacation - day 2

2010-07-26T18:30:00.000-04:00

Day 2 of my sort-of-vacation included attending a business session (one for sorority business and one for sorority foundation business). Lunch was, once again, excellent. And...for dinner, we went out!

For day 2's lunch, the alumnae went one way and the young women who were still in college went another. We, the alumnae, got to eat a delicious lunch of chicken parmesan and fettuccini with cannoli's for dessert. (The collegiate women had pizza.) Lunch was very satisfying. The cannolli's were wonderful, I had two (don't judge, you would've too).

There wasn't a speaker. We just got to sit around and chit-chat.

For dinner, the girls and I left the resort and went to a Mexican restaurant...more to come about that meal in another post!

food consumption in America

2010-07-24T13:45:00.000-04:00

Every year the average American eats:

31.4 lbs of cheese
60.4 lbs of chicken
273.2 lbs of fruit
600.5 lbs of dairy (not including cheese)
53 gallons of soda
29 lbs of french fries

See more here.

Show Us Your Life - Grilled Bruschetta Chicken

2010-07-23T19:42:00.000-04:00

This week on Show Us Your Life Friday at Kelly's Korner the topic is favorite grilling recipes. Here's a recipe that I've tried before and loved. I can't wait to try it again!

I got the idea for this dinner from Stacey Snacks. Basically, you take some grilled chicken and top it with a basic bruschetta mixture. Stacey Snacks provides a great bruschetta recipe and that's what I used.

Ingredients (makes 2 servings)

-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders

-8 plum tomatoes, diced

-2 cloves of garlic, minced

-1/4 cup red onion, minced

-3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

-3 tbsp olive oil

-kosher salt

Directions

-heat grill to medium-high heat; grill chicken until cooked throughly

-meanwhile, add tomatoes, garlic, red onion, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil; mix together; add salt to taste (a few shakes was enough for me)

-place grilled chicken on a plate and top with tomato mixture

-enjoy!

This was delicious. I really liked the flavor that the balsamic vinegar gave to the chicken.

vacation - day 1

2010-07-23T14:39:00.000-04:00

The trip that I took to Phoenix was for a sorority convention...imagine 500 women gathered in one spot, for one purpose...it's a pretty neat experience. I joined a sorority while in college, loved it, and have continued to stay involved as an alumnae volunteer. Being an alumnae volunteer is how I wound up at convention. This was my second trip to a convention; the first was in Orlando, this one was in Phoenix, and in two years, I'll be at convention in San Antonio.

Anywho...the food is always amazing at convention. On the first full day of convention, lunch was by the far the best part of the day. This lunch was the foundation luncheon and there was a guest speaker. The guest speaker was Victoria Alexander (pen name of Chery Griffin). She is a member of my sorority and she writes historical romance novels. We all received a book hers, The Virgin's Secret. I don't read romance novels but my mom does and she was thrilled; I gave her the book.

When I sat down at the table and saw the "racy" cover of the book, the first thought through my head was - what in the world is foundation doing. It turned out to be a great talk. Chery is a wonderful speaker and she spoke about why she writes fiction; the title of her talk was "Why Fiction is Almost Always Better Than Real Life." She had me laughing so hard at times that I was in tears. She gave out some pieces of advice, for instance "just because people look like they're dead, they're not necessarily dead, you should always check." With this piece of advice she told a story about how she was giving a talk to an elderly population and they closed their eyes; well, she thought that had died but continued on with her talk not knowing what else to do. Turned out, they just liked to listen with their eyes closed. I almost fell out my chair from laughing!

Another little tidbit that was included in the talk was about how in her books a man named Chuck dies. Chuck also happens to be her husbands name! She says that by killing a Chuck in most of her books it keeps her husband on her toes and keeps the marriage fresh. Once again, lots of giggles!

The highlight of lunch in the food department was dessert, white cheesecake with chocolate sauce. Yummy, yummy, in my little tummy. It was the creamiest cheesecake that I have ever had.

nightmare of a plane trip

2010-07-22T20:05:00.000-04:00

Last week, I went to Phoenix, AZ (yes, I know...I'm a little behind on blogging). My trip was great...getting there was a slight nightmare.

Around 9 pm on the day before my jet plane was scheduled to take off, I checked my itinerary only to be greeted by a lot of red. My flight was CANCELLED!!! The original plan was to take off from Raleigh around 6:30 am, go through Cincinnati and arrive in Phoenix around 11:30 am (Phoenix time). Things obviously didn't go as scheduled. Instead of those travel arrangements, I ended up leaving Raleigh at 7:30 am. The next stop was Boston. Then an ~~unplanned~~ unknown to me but clearly planned stop in Minneapolis and then to Phoenix. I arrived in Phoenix around 5 pm (Phoenix time), only 5 and 1/2 hours past my original time.

All, I can say...is thank goodness my bags arrived. I was sure that they wouldn't because in Minneapolis we were first told that all passengers going to Phoenix could stay on the plane...then 2 minutes later, the flight attendant informed us that she just found out that the plane would not be going to Phoenix and we need to get off and head to another gate that was clear on the other side of the airport.

Also, thank goodness for the free diet coke on the flight!!

back in town...

2010-07-19T12:07:00.000-04:00

Hello, hello, hello!!

I'm back...from where, you might ask (since I completely didn't post where I went). Phoenix, Arizona!!! I went to Phoenix for several days for a sorority convention. I can't wait to post some pictures and share some of the amazing food that I had.

Give me some time to get unpacked and get my life together but posts to come about my trip soon!!!

new (furry) addition to the family

2010-07-07T13:46:00.000-04:00

This is Iggy! He is the latest furry addition to the family.

The boy and I have banned ourselves from going near pet stores. We walk in for treats and a few other pet necessities...we walk out with a kitten. Iggy is a little over 3 months old and he is a bundle of energy.

We have other cats and they're not exactly thrilled about their new friend. Cats are very territorial animals so the new-friend-introduction-process isn't always a fun one. There's been lots of hissing and a few growls going on around here. Iggy is completely oblivious to it all and just having a grand ol' time!!

Isn't he cute!?!?!?!

alzheimer's disease

2010-07-06T07:33:00.000-04:00

Over the holiday weekend, I went to a family reunion in Max Meadows, Virginia. This was an extended, extended, extended family reunion. I didn't know over half of the people there but I was related to every single one of them. At this reunion, I got see my grandmother and grandaddy. I don't see them very often so this was a nice treat.

Over the past few years, age has been catching up to my grandaddy. He has been diagnosed with dementia and it has progressed into Alzheimer's disease. Last time that I was able to visit with him, he remembered me and he remembered my boyfriend; he also remembered who my boyfriend worked for. At this time, it seemed that his short-term memory was going. This time, I'm pretty sure that he didn't recognize me. It was so sad!

I gave my grandmother some resources about Alzheimer's...hopefully, they'll help her out! Some of the resources dealt with food and meal times. As dementia progresses, mealtimes and eating can become more of a struggle. Individual's with Alzheimer's may have a poor appetite, may not be interested in food, or the individual may have forgotten if he/she ate. Here are some tips on making mealtimes and eating easier when working with an individuals who has Alzheimer's:

-have regular meal and snack times (and stick to them)
-serve meals in a quiet location with few distractions (turn off the TV, keep the table setting simple)
-allow plenty of time for eating
-serve 1-2 foods at a time
-be flexible when it comes to food preferences
-make sure that food is easily recognizable on the plate (try a solid, bright-colored plate)
-expect frustration (limit this by making the most of the individual's abilities; allow them to use a spoon if needed or fingers)
-don't worry about being neat (just worry about making sure that the person is getting good nutrition)
-eat together (make eating an enjoyable experience)

***Tips from the Alzheimer's Association and MayoClinic.

when it rains...it pours...

2010-07-03T20:03:00.000-04:00

literally...in my dining room!!

This, my friends, happened to me. I was using our upstairs bathroom to take a bath; the upstairs bathroom is my bathroom...when all of a sudden, the boy starts yelling at me to get the **beep** out the bath and that we have a leak!! And...whooo-eeee...he wasn't getting. We had a leak!!!

There was water leaking into a lighting fixture and water coming out of the ceiling and water was puddling up in the ceiling. We had buckets everywhere. We had to poke holes in the ceiling to relieve pressure and keep the ceiling from crashing down. We emptied the bathtub by hand, throwing buckets of water out the window. I was in full panic mode; thank goodness the boy kept a level head.

Today...the water has stopped dripping. We have a gaping hole in the ceiling from taking down the damaged sheet rock and insulation and trying to diagnose the problem. The problem is with the overflow drain in the bathtub. We think we can fix it ourselves...PHEW!!

Starting to take down the ceiling to fix the leak!

It's been an eventful weekend so far...and with this massive hole in the ceiling, I need a xanax!!

diagnosis: writer's block

2010-07-01T11:55:00.000-04:00

Part of my life is trying to finish up graduate school. I have been in some form of higher education since 2001 (with a 1 year break in there somewhere) and, to be quite frank, I'm ready to be done with text books. The only thing standing between me and getting out, is my thesis. I've been working on it forever. The data has been collected. The literature review section is in the editing stage, as is the methods section and results section.

But...the discussion section and I are NOT seeing eye to eye! It took me two days to get an introduction paragraph out and now I have developed a full fledged case of writer's block. Everything that I need and want to put down on paper is my head...when I try to type it, it comes out as gobble-dy-gook! This is unacceptable!!! I've gotten a few paragraphs past the introduction but I'm nowhere near where I should be!

Any cures out there for writer's block?

Here's my school history: UNC-Wilmington (2001-2002), Western Carolina University (2002-2006), Meredith College (2007-present); next steps = big girl job!

cupcake vs. cupcake...it's cupcakes at war!!

2010-06-30T15:55:00.000-04:00

In the Food Network's Cupcake Wars, 4 ~~cupcakeries~~ cupcake bakeries compete to become the ultimate cupcake bakery. The winner gets $10,000 and gets to showcase his or her cupcakes at the winning gig. I watched last night's episode and I'm hooked. I do love a good show about cupcakes.

On last night's episode the contestants had to impress the guest judge, who just happened to be Chef Duff from Ace of Cakes. The winner gets to have his/her cupcakes and cupcake display featured at the party for Ace of Cakes 100th episode. It was so much fun watching the ~~cupcakers~~ bakers turn their cupcakes into Duff-inspired creations!

If you're a lover of cakes in little cup form, I highly suggest that you tune into Cupcake Wars. I've already got my DVR set!

**Photo courtesy of Food Network Cupcake Wars website.

tired of yogurt & granola...me too!!

2010-06-29T09:47:00.000-04:00

Yogurt is best with a little crunch to it...and let's be honest...riding the granola & yogurt train can get a little old. Here's another method for adding that crunch to your yogurt and bringing out your inner kid. Put some teddy grahams in your granola. It's quite delicious and a little fun!

I also added several good shakes of cinnamon to this vanilla yogurt-based concoction. YUMMY!

intolerant to lactose.......NOOOOOOO!!!!

2010-06-28T11:54:00.000-04:00

I have recently self-diagnosed myself as lactose intolerant. How did I come about this diagnosis? Well, for starters, after drinking a glass of milk my stomach feels like it is going to explode! There's nausea and bloating and general discomfort involved.

At the beginning of my self-diagnosis, I was devastated...no more cheese!!!!!!! Then I did a little searching and discovered that I can eat cheese. Most people who are lactose intolerant can tolerate less than 10 grams of lactose. This means that I can still have cheddar cheese (my favorite), swiss cheese, bleu cheese, and parmesan cheese; there's less than 2 grams of lactose per 1 ounce of each of these cheeses.

I also discovered Lactaid. These actually work! They taste like chalk but the chalk taste only lasts for a little while.

Here's some more information on the amount of lactose in certain foods:

-cream cheese, 1 gram of lactose per 1 ounce

-ice cream, 6 grams per 1/2 cup

-milk, 11 grams per 1 cup

-low-fat yogurt, 5 grams per 1 cup

For more information, click here or here.

Quick & Easy Lunch

2010-06-22T15:57:00.000-04:00

This little number has become my favorite lunch lately. It's easy, only require 4 ingredients, and it tasty!

Black Bean Wrap-ups

Ingredients

-2 6-inch flour tortillas

-shredded cheese (as much as you'd like, I typically use around 3 tb)

-1/4 cup black beans; drained and rinsed

-salsa

Directions

-lay both tortillas on a plate, sprinkle cheese down the middle

-cover cheese with black beans, approximately half on each tortilla

-microwave until cheese is melted (approximately 30 seconds)

-top with salsa

-roll up and enjoy!

Nutrition Stats: 425 calories, 22 grams of protein, 10 grams of fat, 65 grams of carbohydrate, and 12 grams of fiber

Pair with a piece of fruit and you've got yourself a good little lunch!

nutella obsessed

2010-06-21T11:33:00.000-04:00

It's official! I am obsessed with nutella! I put nutella on just about everything...nutella on a piece of toast for breakfast, nutella with a chopped up apple for a snack, nutella with vanilla wafers for dessert. YUMMY!!! I've just discovered all the nutella recipes and can't wait for the opportunity to try some of the cupcake recipes.

hazards of being an intern

2010-06-20T10:37:00.000-04:00

Being a dietetic intern for the past 10 months, wasn't nice to my waist line. For 4 weeks, I ate whatever was being prepared in the nursing home and a lot of stuff was deep fried. For 11 weeks, I ate hospital food. For 8 weeks, I ate at a university cafeteria. And...let's just say that a lot of meals included dessert (I have a bit of a sweet tooth).

A lot of the time I was so tired by the time that I got home that I didn't even want to cook (so we went out) and let's not even get into how little my butt was in the gym! Some of my fellow interns were motivated enough to go to they gym before they went to their rotation, not me, that would've meet waking up at 5 am and I am not a morning person.

So I've gained a few pounds, I suppose a few pounds is just a hazard of being an intern...but it's time to get rid of them. I have the time to eat right and I have the time to get to the gym, for now; I'm going to take full advantage.

Here's to hoping that the internship pounds melt away!

French Toast

2010-06-18T18:59:00.000-04:00

I'm not one to make something that I don't have a recipe for or something that I've never made before; but, the boy wanted french toast and I thought, "okay, let's try it!" My mom always makes french toast when she comes to visit so I've at least seen someone else make it but I never participated in the process. I was pretty much flying blind with this one.

I looked to see if Kraft Foods could provide with a recipe. I found some guidance but no one recipe; there were some member recipes and the one's that looked at all had some common themes. I settled for a combining a couple of recipes.

Ingredients (makes approximately 4 pieces of french toast)
-3 eggs
-1/8 cup of milk
-a healthy dash of cinnamon
-bread (we only had a whole wheat bread)
-powdered sugar
-syrup

Directions
-mix eggs, milk, and cinnamon in a bowl; once throughly mixed, pour about 1/4 of the mixture on a plate
-dip a piece of bread in the mixture
-put bread in a pan and brown both sides; pull it out and place on plate when it looks good to you
-top with powdered sugar and syrup

Dipping the bread in egg mixture took some practice. On my first try, I covered the bread in too much egg and ended up with a lot of fried egg on one side; still tasted pretty good. I will say that next time that I make french toast, I will use a different bread; it was good on the whole wheat bread but would be way yummier on an "unhealthier" bread.

Tomato Grower of the Year

2010-06-16T10:26:00.000-04:00

Well...maybe not, but I'm pretty darn proud of myself. Mater is flourishing!! I've already plucked 2 tomatoes and they've been gobbled up. There are at least 20 tomatoes currently growing; with one about ready to be plucked! I'm going to have loads of fresh tomatoes. YUMMY!!

Random Acts of Kindness

2010-06-04T14:36:00.000-04:00

This week's Show Us Your Life Friday is all about random acts of kindness and I have to say that I have been fortunate enough to be very familiar with random acts of kindness. Over the past 10 months, I have been on the receiving end and the giving end of multiple random acts of kindness. It's hard being an unpaid intern but many of these definitely made life a lot easier. Here's a list of a few of the things that I have experienced.

1) Free food: Many of my rotation sites were kind enough to let me eat while I was there without paying a dime out of pocket. This helped out in so many ways; I didn't have to get up early to pack a lunch and I didn't have to dish out any money that I didn't have for lunch. One of my sites, was even willing to feed breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This was definitely a very appreciated act of kindness and eased the pain of not receiving a pay check.

2) Smiles: I think that a simple smile can be the best kindness that one can give or receive. I loved it when my patients were smiling and I always did my best to keep a smile on my face. One patient told me that I made her day by coming to talk to her and by having a smile on my face; she said that she felt better just by seeing someone smiling. A simple smile can go a long way.

3) At the beginning of my internship, I had to go shopping for some dress clothes. The woman in front of me tried to use a coupon but she didn't have any items that were valid; she handed the coupon to me and I got a lot of my stuff for a lot cheaper than it would've been. She didn't need the coupon and she was willing to let someone else use it; this was a wonderful and completely unexpected act of kindness.

4) Time: This is another random act of kindness that I have grown to appreciate. All of my preceptors took time out of their busy schedule to teach me and guide me and I will be a wonderful dietitian because of them. Time is something that I have also given over the course of this internship; I once gave an elderly woman 45 minutes of a busy day to answer all of her questions about food safety. I gave my preceptors whatever time they needed of me to get the job done and I gave my time to multiple organizations and volunteer opportunities. Time should always be given without expecting anything in return; if you don't expect to benefit from giving up your time, you will be rewarded.

5) Handwritten cards: In this day and age, everything is electronic! Sending a handwritten card to say thank you or just because can go a long way. I send my grandparents a card every once in awhile just to keep them up to speed with what's going on in my life. I sent thank you cards all the time, the latest one was to my dietetic internship director to thank you for making the past year an enjoyable one and for working with me when things got tough! Sending a card only takes a few minutes but I know it's greatly appreciated!

This are just a few of the random acts of kindness that I experienced during my dietetic internship. I hope to be able to either continue doing each act or to be able to return each act in some way in the future.

Restaurant Review: The Raleigh Times Bar

2010-06-02T09:06:00.000-04:00

The boy and I recently tried out a new place that wasn't on my restaurant list (but it is now). We went to The Raleigh Times Bar. We'd both always seen people standing outside of this establishment and figured that it was more of a bar but discovered that it also has great food!

We walked in and I was a it confused; no hostess stand but it was crowded. We found ourselves a table near a large window and were immediately given menus. The beer/wine menu had more choices than the food menu...heaven for any beer lover. The boy ordered a PBR, it was on draft and only $2 for 20 ounces. I'm not much of a beer drinker but I decided to try the Scrimshaw Pilsner, it was really good.

We ordered the guacamole for starters. It was delicious. I've recently discovered a love for guacamole and this was one was perfect. They put the pico de gallo right on top of guac!

For the meal, I got the crunchy chicken tacos. They came with refried black beans. The meal was great. All the flavors on the chicken tacos mixed together perfectly and the refried black beans were an interesting and delicious addition. The boy got the grilled cheddar, avocado, and tomato sandwich. He said it was very good.

I really like the Raleigh Times. The service was fantastic. The walls were decorated with old newspapers. The atmosphere reminded me very much of home-home, Asheville. I think we'll go back here sometime soon!

Finally Eligible

2010-06-01T16:10:00.000-04:00

I know I said that I was DONE a few days ago but that was just DONE with rotation sites, now I am officially DONE! Monday was the Dietetic Internship Completion Ceremony. My internship class and their families were all present as each intern gave a short speech and received a certificate. Today, we had a luncheon for our preceptors. Four of my preceptors were present at the luncheon; two from clinical, one from public health, and one from community. It was nice to see all of them!

Now, my concentration (and the them of this blog) will shift from rotation sites to job hunting and studying for the exam! Let's hope that I find a job quickly and that I pass the exam on the first try!!

Enrichment: Week 4

2010-05-30T10:36:00.000-04:00

My last week as an intern was a good week. I taught a nutrition group class. My topic was food challenges. I had a couple of worksheets for everyone to fill out; the first was a food preference list and the second was a worksheet in which a plan could be made to conquer the challenge food. I also had the opportunity to go on a restaurant outing with the patients as the dietitian. This was a really cool experience and definitely boosted my confidence in working with eating disorder patients.

What I learned this week:

No matter how much one purges the body will do everything it can to hold onto 1200 calories; 1200 is the bare minimum amount of calories that the body needs for basic function. From this information it almost seems like there is a survival mechanism that the body uses to make sure that it at least gets the amount of calories it needs to continue basic organ function. If laxatives are abused the body appears to retain 90% of the calories consumed and the body will retain 100% of calories consumed from diuretic abuse.

I'm sad that this enrichment is over. It was very interesting and I definitely think that this is an area in which I would like to specialize.

Meredith College Dietetic Internship Class of 2009-2010

2010-05-29T10:15:00.000-04:00

I've spent the past 10 months as an unpaid dietetic intern with these lovely ladies!!

DONE

2010-05-28T22:13:00.000-04:00

My internship is over! I finished my final day at my enrichment at 4 today. I have a lot of mixed emotions about this; sadness, happiness, anxiety, calm! Monday is the completion ceremony!

In the meantime, I've had 3 job interviews and have another on Thursday! Keep your fingers and toes crossed that someone wants to hire me soon.

The Home Stretch!!!

2010-05-24T08:42:00.000-04:00

I'm in the home stretch with this internship thing! My last day as an intern in Friday, May 28th. My completion ceremony in on Monday, May 31st. There a bunch of emotions going through me right now; happy, sad, excited, scared, unsure, thrilled, etc...

Keep you fingers and toes crossed for me that I figure out what to say during my "two minutes of fame" at my completion ceremony (all the interns have to say a little something) and that I find a job quickly!!

Enrichment: Week 3

2010-05-22T12:45:00.000-04:00

There's only one week of my internship left. I've been on one job interview and have 2 more coming up in the near future. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and am SO excited. My enrichment is still going wonderfully. My preceptor is wonderful; she's so knowledgeable and clearly loves her job!

Over the past week at my enrichment, I've had the opportunity to observe some other group sessions. I sat is on an art therapy class; this was very interesting. The art therapist told me that the eating disorder population tend to be very creative because they often have difficulties expressing themselves verbally. I sat in on a couple of groups lead by the staff therapist including a body image group. Sitting in on these groups adds so much to my learning about the depth of eating disorders. During my last week, I'll be sitting in on several more groups.

I also watched a documentary about eating disorders this week; Thin. This movie follows four women through treatment at The Renfrew Center in Florida. The movie shows that all eating disorder patients are different and that their struggles to recovery are each unique. It shows the struggles that many face with insurance companies not covering treatment and it provides one with a better understanding to the complexity of eating disorders.

I worked on a few projects for my preceptor including creating some new meal cards and I, of course, learned all sorts of new stuff. For instance, if a patient's potassium level is high it means that he/she has been purging by vomiting and if it is low it means that he/she has been purging through laxative use.

Snacks...A New Fave!!!

2010-05-19T10:21:00.001-04:00

Nutella and vanilla wafers...crunchy, creamy, chocolate-y, smooth, cookie, and YUMMY!!

Enrichment: Week 2

2010-05-17T15:31:00.000-04:00

Two weeks down and only two more weeks to go!! I finally got a job interview (keep your fingers crossed for me) and I'm LOVING my enrichment. I've gotten my hands a "little bit dirtier" over the past week and I've picked up a few projects.

I've been working with the residents on their meals and food choices. I've observed many different aspects. I've continued to learn a lot, there are times that my poor little brain is on overload. I've taken on some of the work that the dietitian does, just little things like checking behind the residents when they plan out their meals or checking to make sure that their weights are doing well. I've also had the opportunity to observe new patient intake.

The projects that I will be working on include planning a nutrition group class and updating the food exchanges list that each resident receives. I'm excited about both of these!

This week, I discovered that many times an anorexic will claim to be a vegetarian; however, this is sometimes just a way for the patient to eliminate food groups. If the patient says that he/she is a vegetarian it is important to figure out what he/she is using to meet protein needs. If he/she is getting appropriate alternate sources of protein, then being a vegetarian isn’t the eating disorder speaking; otherwise, it is the eating disorder kicking in. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being a vegetarian but one who is a vegetarian needs to be sure to meet his/her nutritional needs.

An Intern's Favorite Books!

2010-05-14T14:02:00.000-04:00

The topic for this week's Show Us Your Life is favorite books and/or favorite children's books.

As an intern there isn't much time for reading (unless, textbooks count). But...from time to time, I do manage to squeeze in a few good books. Here are some of my recent faves:

Naturally Thin; by Bethenny Frankel

I'm currently reading this one and am enjoying it so far. It's got a lot of good common sense tips! I need to try some of the recipes in this book.

The Swan Thieves; by Elizabeth Kostova

I just finished this one and absolutely loved it. It's a novel that you slowly sink into; it isn't the quick page turner that some other books can be but there's always enough going to keep you intrigued. Kostova's other novel, The Historian, is also an excellent read.

Slow Food Nation; by Carlo Petrini

Petrini's ideas and philosophies are fascinating! This isn't a book that will scare you away from eating a certain food; it's good book about how food should be produced in a sustainable manner, why the farmers and others who produce food should be treated fairly, and why food should be healthful and delicious.

The Lost Symbol; by Dan Brown

Loved it! Quite a page turner...I couldn't put it down! I've read several of Dan Brown's book and have enjoyed them all.

Some of my other favorites (and books read before I started my internship) include the Harry Potter series (JK Rowling), Water for Elephants (Sara Gruen), The Tender Bar (JR Moehringer), Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom), and Dewey (Vicki Myron).

As an intern, my favorite book is a little reference book known as Food-Medication Interactions. I have used this book on multiple occasions and will continue to do so. It's a great little pocket guide for any dietitian or dietetic intern.

**All pictures courtesy of Barnes & Noble or Amazon.

Enrichment: Week 1

2010-05-11T12:01:00.000-04:00

I have survived my first week at my enrichment rotation and I am enjoying it quite a bit. My current, and last, rotation is at an eating disorder treatment center. I'm working with the dietitian at this center. During this first week, I have spent most of my time observing and I have learned quite a bit. For instance, I learned about urea cycle disorders: I did some more googling at home the day after I was told about urea cycle disorders and here's what I found out:

A urea cycle disorder is a genetic disorder that is caused by a deficiency of an enzyme that is part of the urea cycle. The urea cycle is responsible for removing ammonia from the blood stream. It is believed that approximately 20% of deaths from sudden infant death syndrome can be attributed to urea cycle disorders. The incidence of these disorders is believed to be 1:10,000. An ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency is the most common type of urea cycle disorder. It is thought that some eating disorders, specifically anorexia, can trigger urea cycle disorders if they do not present at infancy.

I'll be sharing more of my new knowledge on various subjects as my time at this rotation continues! Only, 20 days (including) weekends left!

Restaurant Review: Top of the Hill

2010-05-09T13:59:00.000-04:00

Top of the Hill Restaurant and Brewery is an institution within itself in the town of Chapel Hill. Situated on the third floor of a building that's at the the corner of Franklin St. and Columbia St, the restaurant features killer views of Chapel Hill, handcrafted beer, and amazing food.

On a recent visit, I had the Arizona Chicken; "gemelli pasta with roasted chicken, black beans, roasted corn, & chipotle cream sauce topped with scallions, tomatoes, & white cheddar cheese." Delicious! I wasn't sure what to expect but it was a perfect dish. The chicken was tender, shredded into small pieces and tossed in with the pasta. It was a little spicy but perfectly palatable!

I've been to Top of the Hill a couple of times before this trip; mostly before UNC football games. I'm not much of a beer drinker but I do enjoy the Old Well White on these occasions.

Top of the Hill is called Top-O by the locals and college students and while I've never seen it not busy, the service is always excellent. I'm sure that I'll be back to Top-O more than once in the future.

Maters growing...

2010-05-08T10:41:00.000-04:00

well...maters!!

The first little signs of my own tomatoes have sprouted and I'm thrilled. Thrilled for multiple reasons...
(1) My lack of a green thumb has not killed mater!
(2) I'm going to have fresh tomatoes soon.
(3) I might try some more plants!

Prepping for the Internship

2010-05-05T09:28:00.001-04:00

Recently, I received an e-mail from a soon-to-be-dietetic-intern and she had a request for advice on prepping for the internship. After reading this e-mail, I thought, what a great blog post topic. So here it is!

My internship preparation begin with the purchasing of several books; keep in mind that it had been 3 years since I was in undergrad and I didn't have any books! I had to buy Krause's Food, Nutrition, and Diet Therapy; Food-Medication Interactions; the IDNT Reference Manual; Nutrition and Diagnosis Related Care; and Medical Terminology: A Programmed Systems Approach. I used all of these books over the course of my internship, the book that I used the most was definitely the food-med interactions book.

Surprisingly, I didn't really use old class notes that much. I used them a bit, mainly medical nutrition therapy, over the summer to complete some of the clinical modules. Speaking, of clinical modules: over the summer, my intern class received 12 modules. The modules were a bunch of worksheets with questions for us to answer and some tasks to complete. The questions had to be answered before orientation in August and the tasks were to be completed while during the clinical rotation. The module topics were: renal, diabetes, pediatric, cardiology, general medicine, GI and surgery, liver, neurology, nutrition support, oncology and HIV, psychiatry, and pulmonary. Completing these modules was a daunting task; group work was allowed and that made things a lot less scary! Also, I used my ServSafe book during my foodservice rotation.

I also prepared myself a little cheat book. The cheat book is a little notebook full of notecards that I purchased at an office supply store. My little cheat book has a variety of formulas, facts, conversions, etc. in it. This book was a great help during clinical. It was good for those moments when I just couldn't remember the conversion and it was a way for me to measure my progress; I was so proud of myself when I didn't have to take my cheat book out anymore!

The only other thing that I did to prepare myself for the internship was a bit of mental prep. I'd heard some not-so-good stories about the internship so I prepared myself to be able to "roll with the punches" no matter what happened. I was also dreading the fact that I was paying to work for free so I just made the decision to make the best of every day and always start the day off with a smile; it really is that simple!

If you're a future intern and have any questions or would like to see any of the my materials, contact me! I have electronic copies of just about everything.

Current and past interns: how did you prepare for your internship?

Job Hunting Stinks!!

2010-05-04T13:23:00.000-04:00

Looking for a job is NOT fun! Especially when you're not hearing anything back from anyone. It's quite frustrating because not everyone understands this internship (especially those in HR offices); so my resumes and several of my fellow interns' resumes aren't even making it past the HR offices of places.

I'm trying to keep my head up and I'm trying to stay positive...but this stinks! I have broadened my horizons from the Raleigh area to several other locations. I do have a possible part-time job lined up just in case but I'd really like to find something full-time!

Up Next: Enrichments

2010-05-03T10:21:00.000-04:00

All of the interns are heading off to enrichments. Some of us are staying in Raleigh and others are heading to different areas. One intern is off to DC, another to Pennsylvania, and another to Denver. Interns will be working in private practice, school nutrition, bariatric surgery, eating disorders, public policy, wellness, and more.

Only 4 weeks left!!

School Nutrition Project

2010-05-02T13:20:00.000-04:00

Elementary schoolers are a handful! I have spent the past two-and-a-half days teaching the health education class in a local elementary school. This has been an ongoing project in the internship; this year interns were required to complete a business plan. My intern class worked on the business plan together and our plan was for a company that went into schools and taught nutrition classes. We put the business plan into action this past week.

Each class began with a discussion of the food guide pyramid. Then we split into three groups for the activities. One activity was a sugar rush relay; we talked to kids about high sugar, low sugar, natural sugar, refined sugar, etc. Then the kids split into two teams and did a relay race that involved putting packages of food into the appropriate high sugar or low sugar bin. Another activity was a pack your own lunch activity; in this activity, we talked to kids about how to pack a healthy lunch. They packed their own lunch using food models and then we all discussed the choices that they made. The third activity was a physical activity game; here the kids were quizzed on nutrition facts and whomever got the right answer got to roll the activity dice.

It was a lot of fun and a different experience. I was amazed at how much the kids already knew. I hope they carry the knowledge that they had and that they gained on into their adult years!

Long Term Care: DONE

2010-04-29T10:15:00.001-04:00

I spent Monday and Tuesday at a long term care facility (nursing home) that took me three minutes to drive too. The drive was great!

Long term care (LTC) was an interesting experience. I spent my two days working on a project for the facility; I reviewed the dietary section on the care plans for all the residents on one of the floors. Phewie! I also shadowed the dietitian as she went to see residents and helped out in the dining rooms.

A 2-day rotation was interesting and a little short. There really wasn't enough time for me to get a good handle on things and it would've been nice to have the time to get some real hands-on experience seeing residents and charting; but there wasn't enough time for me to learn the facilities methods and protocols. I'm thankful that I also did 4 weeks at another nursing home that gave me a little more experience working in a long term care facility.

Only 4 weeks and 2 days left...my school nutrition rotation finishes up on Friday and I start my enrichment on Monday!!!

McDonald's and Apples?!?!?!

2010-04-28T08:03:00.000-04:00

When you hear the word McDonald's, you think hamburgers and french fries, right? Well, start thinking apples! McDonald's was a sponsor of the NCDA Annual Meeting that I recently attended. Shock, I know!

Why on earth would a bunch of dietitians let McDonald's sponsor an event?!?! I thought the same thing and then I was even more shocked when I discovered the Mickey D's was sponsoring one of the snack breaks. What good McDonald's possibly bring that a bunch of health-freakish people eat?

Well....(drum roll please)...on day 1, McDonald's provided their Fruit & Walnut salad. It was quite good. I'd definitely recommend it for a little afternoon snacks. On day 2, they brought their apple dippers. Dipping apples in caramel sauce...YUMMY! I'm excited that McDonald's has got some fruit on their menus.

Dessert Review: Henry's Gelato

2010-04-27T10:52:00.000-04:00

I have been waiting on this place to open up since I first saw the sign go up! When I discovered that is was open, I practically forced the boy to take me. Henry's Gelato is a new store front in the new section of North Hills.

Gelato is an Italian-style ice cream. At Henry's the gelato is made with flavoring and bases from Europe and some local ingredients when they can. Gelato has less air mixed in making it creamier than ice cream. Some of the flavors are dairy based, these contain 4-7% fat (about 2/3 less than ice cream); the fruit flavors have less than 1 gram of fat.

During our trip to Henry's we selected the vanilla and dark chocolate flavors. It absolutely "hit the spot." I've always been an ice cream lover. Recently, I've discovered frozen custard but I must admit that gelato is my new favorite treat. I'm positive that I will be a regular at Henry's! (It's a good thing that I've started Zumba...hehe!)

Bakery Review: Cafe Carolina

2010-04-26T11:44:00.000-04:00

I heart cupcakes! It's so nice to have a little treat that's already portioned out because, let's face it, if I have to cut my own piece of cake...it will be WAY to big. Recently, I ventured into Cafe Carolina and discovered that they have cupcakes.

I selected a chocolate cupcake with blue icing; the Cafe Blue Cupcake. It was excellent. The cupcakes are moist and perfectly chocolate, I tasted a few little bits of chocolate in mine. The cupcake doesn't have an icing mountain on top and it isn't too sugary-sweet. If you like cupcakes but don't like getting the from cupcake shops because of all the icing, then Cafe Carolina's cupcakes are perfect for you.

I'll definitely be visiting Cafe Carolina again; they had some yummy looking sandwiches and soups too!

NCDA Annual Meeting: Tuesday

2010-04-25T15:42:00.000-04:00

Tuesday was big day at the NCDA Annual Meeting because I presented my poster and I won some items in the silent auctions!! I also attended several sessions.

The first session that I attended was on public policy; this session went over how as a dietitian and ADA member, one can get involved in public policy. After that session, I went to collect my silent auction winnings. The silent auction benefited the NCDA Foundation. I won a basket full of goodies that came with two camping chairs and a little cooler/stool. I also won grilling utensils for the boy. With all of this I donated around $25 to the NCDA Foundation.

The next session that I attended was the luncheon session. Dayle Hayes was the speaker. Dayle is dedicated to improving school nutrition. Become a fan of her Facebook page: School Meals That Rock.

My last session of the day was side effects from chemotherapy and how to nutritionally manage them. It's so interesting how in some cases, it's not necessarily about eating healthy but more about just making sure that the patient is getting enough calories in any way, shape, or form.

The NCDA Meeting was good; it was a nice stepping stone to getting back into the internship swing...especially after being off for several weeks!

NCDA Annual Meeting: Monday

2010-04-21T14:20:00.000-04:00

For the past two days, I have been at the NCDA Annual Meeting. It's been a jam-packed two days! I attended several different educational sessions, assisted at the NCDA Marketing Booth, and presented a poster.

The annual meeting started on Sunday with some optional sessions. My attendance began Monday morning with a wonderful continental breakfast provided at the meeting; scrambled eggs, a banana, a blueberry muffin, and coffee! Monday opened with a presentation by the ADA President, Jessie Pavlinac. I'd had one opportunity to see Jessie speak at the national conference so this was another great opportunity; she has an amazing presence and is so enthusiastic. From there, I headed to my first session; Disordered Eating and Neurochemistry: How Much is in Your Head? I'm very interested in working with eating disorders so this was a great session...plus, my enrichment rotation preceptor was the presenter!

After that, I went to volunteer for an hour at the marketing booth. Here I helped people sign up for the "Find A Registered Dietitian" feature on the ADA website. Click here and then click "Find A Registered Dietitian" if you'd like to find one close to you.

Next, I headed to another session; Food and Nutrition Trends for 2010. Some of the current trends are local and sustainable, going back to basics, fresh foods, low sodium, and artisan. This was an interesting session but not my last session of the day. My last session was Effective Food and Nutrition Communication in a New Era of Dietary Guidance. The most interesting thing about this session was learning about the organization that the presenter works for; she works for the International Food Information Council. You can check them out here and I highly recommend doing so, there's a lot of interesting information on their site.

Tuesday's highlights to come soon. I didn't want to make this post too long!

Internship Happenings

2010-04-12T20:45:00.001-04:00

I have been rotation site free for 2 full weeks and they have absolutely flown by. I'm pretty sure that I've been keeping myself busy but I don't really remember what I've been doing. Here's what I know I have accomplished:

1) I got to go to Asheville for 4 whole days!
2) Studying; this has taken up a lot of time. I've been looking over notes and modules and other resources.
3) Notecards, notecards, and more notecards. This goes along with studying but you should see the amount of notecards I have made; it's slightly ridiculous.

**the notecard stack...and I'm not done yet, there's still one more section to finish!**

4) I've made an appointment to meet with a statistician for my thesis.
5) I volunteered at the Less Fork, More Foot 5k that my local dietetic association organized.
6) Worked on my renal rotation stuff.
7) I made my poster and handout for the NCDA Annual Meeting.
8) I've applied to at least 10 jobs; anybody out there need a dietitian!?!?

I still need to work on my thesis (anybody out there wanna do this for me?), complete my renal module stuff, and get ready for my enrichment rotation.

There are only 48 days of this internship left!! EEEEKKKKK!!

Bakery Review: The Cupcake Shoppe Bakery

2010-04-08T13:20:00.000-04:00

I made a GREAT score on a practice RD exam in class the other day, so I decided to reward myself with a little trip to The Cupcake Shoppe. It was a beautiful day and this was a great little side trip to a super cute bakery.

*the window of The Cupcake Shoppe*

The cupcakes all have delightful names: Cookie Monster, Plain Jane, You Mocha Me Crazy, What's Up Doc, Pretty in Pink, and more. The bakery also has a flavor of the week cupcake. On my visit, I select Mint Condition and the flavor of the week which was Pineapple Cherry.

*my cupcakes all wrapped up and ready to go home*

These cupcakes were YUMMY! The cupcakes were light a fluffy; they practically melted in your mouth. Mint Condition was chocolate cupcake with mint buttercream frosting and topped with a little piece of an Andes mint chocolate. I'm not usually a fan of buttercream frostings because they are super sweet but this one wasn't, maybe it was the mint flavor. The Pineapple Cherry had little bits of pineapple baked into the cupcake, this was nice little surprise.

*yummy goodness...Mint Condition on the left and Pineapple Cherry on the right*

I enjoyed both cupcakes (a little too much) and can't wait for a return visit!

You can follow The Cupcake Shoppe Bakery on Facebook, click here or on Twitter at @bakeshopgirl.

My New Favorite Grocery Store

2010-04-07T17:58:00.000-04:00

Trader Joe's!!! I'm super late on this discovery but, boy, am I glad that I have recently figured out what a wonderful place Trader Joe's is.

I took a trip to Trader Joe's after class (it wasn't crowded at all). I picked up just a few things...a couple of dinner items, ice cream bars, and some beautiful gerber daisies. One of the dinner items was an immediate need as I didn't know what to do for dinner; the boy is conducting a seminar for work, so I was all alone for dinner.

My dinner selection: Trader Ming's Citrus Glazed Chicken with Rice and Toasted Cashews

It was easy to make and I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. (I haven't had much luck with out-of-the-bag-dinners in the past.) It was a little spicy and a little sweet. The chicken was tender. The rice was perfect. I can't wait to try more Trader Joe's dinners!!

Mater Update

2010-04-06T20:51:00.000-04:00

I am quite pleased to report that is has been over a week and Mater is still alive. I have not killed him nor have the cats tried to eat him!

Mater has grown quite a bit and recently had to be given a stake to grow tall and straight. I'm going to get some potting soil this week; Mater needs a newer and bigger home.

Mater has been spending the days outdoors in the sunshine and coming in at night. I am horrified to to say that Mater has an outdoor enemy. This evening, I stepped outside to bring Mater in and found a bunny rabbit lurking awfully close; I'm convinced that Mr. Bunny had his chompers set on Mater!!

Only 60-or-so more days and I will be eating tomatoes that I grew!!

**See first Mater post here.

Restaurant Review: Lexington Avenue Brewery

2010-04-05T20:16:00.000-04:00

This weekend, while in Asheville, I had the opportunity to try a new restaurant. We (the boy, his mom, his sister, and I) went to the Lexington Avenue Brewery; they call it The Lab for short.

The view was great, the food was good, the services was okay. We sat on the patio and a great view of a downtown Asheville street. It was a beautiful day. The restaurant is also very neat. The bar is nicely sized and the beer tanks are bathed in ever-changing, colored lights.

For starters, we ordered onion straws (I'm not sure if that's there exact name). These were fantastic. What really made them was the dip. It was quite yummy. For my meal, I had the Grilled Chicken and Brie sandwich; it came with fries. The sandwich was delicious. If you're a fan of brie, you'll enjoy this sandwich. The sauce on the sandwich had a different taste but it made the sandwich a delightful meal. The fries could've been a bit crisper but they were okay.

The service was not good. We sat for several minutes before anyone greeted us. My drink was not refilled in a timely manner. We went back later that evening for drinks with friends and the service still wasn't good. We asked the bartender to close out and she walked away only to never come back; thank goodness that someone else came by about 10 minutes later!

The beer is also pretty good. I'm not a huge beer drinker but the beer that I had was pretty tasty; it was the White Ale. I won't completely write the Lab off but I think I'll stick to just going there for a few drinks and some appetizers with friends.

Match Day

2010-04-05T08:46:00.000-04:00

Today is the DAY!! Future interns get their matches today. Good luck to them all!

I have to say that I am quite jealous of this intern class. They get their results a lot earlier, by both day and time, than I got my results. They will find out today at 6 pm CDT (that's 7 pm EST) if and to what school they have been matched. I didn't find out until 12 am CDT (that's 1 am EST) on April 20th.

I remember the day well. I didn't have anything to do the next day so I decided to stay up to check my match. Well, I forgot that it was in CDT and not EST so I tried to check it at midnight my time. No luck. I waited an hour and tried again only to find that everyone else in the world was trying to check theirs and the system was backed up. I couldn't check my match. Time to freak out a little bit. I tried to check it for at least 30 minutes before I finally gave up and tried to go to sleep. I woke up around 3 am and went to try again. I logged in, waited as the screen loaded, and watched as "Meredith College" appeared on my screen. YAY!!!! I woke up boy to tell him and then went to sleep with a big smile on my face!!

I hope that there are lots of interns out there who get matched today; although, my heart sinks knowing that there are lots who won't.

Restaurant Review: Blue Ridge Dining Room @ The Grove Park Inn

2010-04-03T22:56:00.002-04:00

Yesterday morning, the family and I headed to The Grove Park Inn for a birthday breakfast. The birthday girl was my grandmother. The breakfast was buffet style and it was wonderful.

They say that you eat more at buffet's and I must admit, that I definitely ate more at this breakfast than any other breakfast. It was hard to resist all the delicious food and I didn't even bother to come up with a game plan (I'm on vacation)!.

I started with a tomato, bacon, and cheese omelet. These were made to order and the chef could flip them in the air (I want to learn to do this but am afraid that I will end up with a pile of eggs on the stove). After the omelet, I added some fresh fruit and southern style grits and sausage and baked apples. I ate every bite and went back for more!

My second trip was smaller than my first. I had oatmeal with brown sugar and cinnamon mixed in, some more fresh fruit, and a couple of pieces of bacon. To drink, I had fresh squeezed orange juice.

All of this was eaten on the terrace where I could look out a picture window and see the downtown Asheville skyline and the Blue Ridge mountains. This was a great view to accompany an amazing breakfast!!

An Intern's Gotta Be ORGANIZED!!!

2010-04-02T12:39:00.001-04:00

This week's Show Us Your Life is about organization tips. For all you future dietetic interns out there, you have got to be organized!! And, I have a few tips for you (I also have some pictures but I can't find my camera cord, so I will post those later.)

Here are my organization tips for dietetic interns:

1) Keep a calendar and write everything in it! My calendar is on my iPhone. I use my calendar to keep up with how many hours I work each day, any tasks that I've been asked to do, my class schedule, anything extra that it's internship oriented. My calendar has my entire life it and it is absolutely necessary!

2) Notebooks, notebooks, notebooks! In my internship, we have to turn in a notebook after each rotation. My notebooks are super organized because I use them during the rotation. Dividers have become my best friend, especially the one's with pockets!

3) Speaking of dividers...I would definitely recommend the ones with pockets. These come in particularly handy because you will want to collect "stuff" from your sites. I have a TON of handouts and other things from my sites that have been useful even after I left the site.

4) If your internship has modules for you to complete, carry them with you to the appropriate rotations. Some preceptors will ask to see them and sometimes preceptors have to sign off as you've done things.

5) Do whatever you have to do to look like the most organized person in the world. At one of my sites, I was with an intern from a different school and she was not organized. When our preceptor would ask for things, I would immediately flip to the correct tab and pull it out. She would have to look through stacks of papers before she could find things. This would always hold things up and I always felt embarrassed for her.

Organization is key to surviving and staying sane during the internship!!

Rotation Wrap-Up

2010-04-01T08:57:00.000-04:00

My foodservice/community rotation is officially complete. This rotation was a whirlwind. I learned and did so much during the entire thing. My preceptor was awesome. She never once made me feel stupid and always had confidence in me. She was an absolute wealth of knowledge in numerous areas and she was a lot of fun to work with. She enjoyed her job and that had a huge impact on the experience that I had!

Here's a quick rundown of everything that I did while at this rotation:
-counseled patients
-developed handouts
-created posters
-presented to groups
-analyzed foods and recipes
-taste-tested foods
-went to food shows
-worked on my financial module
-and so much more!!

Now, I've got some time off. I need to work on my dialysis stuff, work on my thesis, work on my poster for the NCDA meeting, and finish up some notebooks. I hope that I can be productive and not turn into a bum!!

Presenting at the NCDA!!!

2010-03-31T11:54:00.000-04:00

I've been accepted to present a poster at the North Carolina Dietetic Association 77th Annual Meeting!! This is great and it will look AWESOME on my resume. Submitting this abstract was a class assignment. I'm kind of shocked that my abstract was accepted because I didn't think it was all that good.

Here's the abstract that I submitted:

DEVELOPMENT OF A PROTOCOL FOR AN EATING DISORDER TREATMENT TEAM ON A UNIVERSITY CAMPUS

Eating disorders are more common than Alzheimer’s disease. As many as 10 million people are suffering with an eating disorder, compared to 4 million who are suffering with Alzheimer’s disease. Among adolescents between the ages of 15 – 19, the ages from high school to early college, eating disorders are the third most common chronic illness. Early identification and treatment of disordered eating is key to the patient making significant improvements and recovery.

College life can bring about behaviors that are associated with eating disorders. There is an interaction between the developmental essence of eating disorders and the college experience. Counseling centers on university campuses are struggling to treat the number of students who are struggling with an eating disorder and this number only continues to grow. In order to combat this rising issue, many university campuses are establishing Eating Disorder Treatment Teams (EDTT) and are protocols for such teams.

One North Carolina campus is currently in the process of developing an EDTT. This has presented the opportunity to assess EDTT protocols from a variety of campuses. While reviewing various protocols, it has been noted that many include similar key aspects. It is important that these key aspects be included in the development of new protocols in order to assure that the protocol is comprehensive.

Tomato Sandwiches

2010-03-30T08:26:00.001-04:00

When I was little, my mom used to make tomato sandwiches during summers for lunch. I've recently discovered this little treat thanks to trips to the Farmer's Market. There's nothing like a tomato sandwich made from homemade sourdough bread and fresh, local tomatoes.

Making a tomato sandwich:

1) Slice two thick pieces of sourdough bread and several thin slices of tomato.

2) Spread a thin layer of mayo on both pieces of bread.

3) Layer the tomatoes on one slice and top with the other.

4) Cut in half.

5) Enjoy!

Meet Mater

2010-03-28T10:36:00.001-04:00

I've tried my hand at making food; now I'm going to try my hand at growing food.

Meet Mater. Mater is the little tomato plant that I purchased at the Farmers' Market. In about 3 months, Mater will provide me with beautiful, ripe, red tomatoes (hopefully). I do not know if I have a green thumb or not, so we're going to find out. The boy thinks that I'm slightly crazy but I think that I'm in for a little adventure.

Any tips on growing tomatoes? Mater is a patio tomato plant. My biggest fear (besides killing Mater myself) is that my cats will eat Mater. Mater is going to live in the kitchen window for a little while; soon, Mater will travel back and forth between the sunny back patio and the kitchen window.

I'm thinking of also trying some herbs; I saw a cute little rosemary plant sitting next to Mater. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

The Farmers' Market is a Little Slice of Heaven

2010-03-27T20:35:00.000-04:00

I've made two recent trips to the Farmers' Market recently and I must say that the Farmers' Market is quite a happy place. Walking up and down the aisles, seeing all the fruits and vegetables, all the different colors, and knowing that you're supporting a local farmer is such a wonderful experience. I also love the fact that I can walk in with $20 and come out with so much delicious food.

Here's a picture from the first of my two trips. With my $20, I got a jar of grape jelly, a pound of barbecue, a 1/2 gallon of apple cider, a tomato, 2 onions, a loaf of sourdough bread, and a little jar of apple butter. Every bit of it was delicious!!

On the second of my two trips, I went with my mom. She loved it! (My parents were up for the weekend because they brought my little brother to an open house at NC State. He'll be attending college there next year.) Mom walked around and around and around. She's going home with lots of delicious goodies. On this trip, I got another loaf of sourdough bread, 2 tomatoes, a tomato plant (more to come about that later), and I split a bag of Pink Lady apples with the momma!

I'm going to try to make it to the Farmers' Market on a regular basis; hopefully, once every other week.

Tea Time

2010-03-23T10:34:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, I went to an afternoon tea with some friends. This has become an annual event and it's always so much fun. Each year, we get dressed up and put on our pearls and head to the Carolina Inn for tea.

The Carolina Inn is a historic hotel located in the heart of Chapel Hill. It's a gorgeous location and has been the spot for our afternoon tea for the past three years.

I'm not a big tea drinker but I always go to this little event. I try at least one tea and then munch on all the little treats. There are tea sandwiches, chocolate dipped strawberries, and scones. This time we had four different teas to choose from; I sampled the the Southern Pecan. It was quite good!

This is what the place setting looked like when we arrived. No two place setting matched; it was very cute and perfect for our little group.

Yummy treats!! I ate every bite.

A delicious blueberry scone with fresh lemon curd, English devonshire cream, and jam.

Look at the elephant teapot. I wanted to bring him home!

I can't wait for tea next year!

Rolling With The PUNCHES!!!

2010-03-22T15:13:00.000-04:00

In a post not too long ago (click here), I wrote about one of my rotation sites canceling. Well, this rotation site was my dialysis site and my internship director hasn't had much luck finding a new site for me. We're going to Plan B!

Plan B involves some self-study. If need be, an intern is allowed to have some self-study as part of the program. It can't be a huge chunk so thank goodness it was my dialysis rotation that cancelled and not clinical. I'm going to do some case studies, watch some movies, make an educational handout, and do some research. I think that I may learn quite a bit this way! I'm also very excited about how the timing of all of this!

Since my dialysis rotation cancelled, I basically have the month of April off. I'm going to buckle down and try to find a job. I've got all this time to go on interviews so I'm going to take advantage of it. Any suggestions from current RDs on where to look because I'm clueless!!

I heart Food Shows

2010-03-20T10:24:00.000-04:00

There are times when being an intern has some great benefits; this week and next week are perfect examples of this!

Over the past week, I had the opportunity to attend a food show and attend a crepe tasting. How could I possibly resist! The food show was an opportunity for my rotation site to see items that they could place on their fall menu. Here are a few of my favorites from the show:

-jack & blue cheese sticks - they were an interesting twist on a cheese stick; try to imagine monterey jack cheese and blue cheese fried in a slightly spicy (buffalo) breading; quite yummy!

-crystal light - I'm already a big fan of crystal light!

-an oreo whip cream topping - oreos and whip cream, what more could you ask for?

-V8 Fusion, pomegranate and blueberry flavor - wasn't a strongly flavored as I expected and quite good!

-spicy boneless chicken wings - they were baked and quite good!

-southwest corn chowder soup from Blount - so yummy!!

I brought home quite a few items to try that I will have to update you all on as I break into them. I've got

a small bag of Simply Chex Hot n' Spicy, a small bag of Pepperidge Farm Baked Naturals Cheese Crisp, and a bag of those mini pancakes that you can throw in the microwave.

I also got the opportunity to give my opinion on whether or not the dining halls should run crepes at a meal. In order to give an accurate opinion, we had to do a taste testing. The verdict - yummy! My favorite was topped with strawberries!

Next week, I get to go to another food show that is going to be all foods from the Carolina's. I'm quite excited about this food show!

Being an intern has it's good days and bad days; lately, I'm having more good days than bad! Yay!!

FIBER...it does a body good!!

2010-03-18T10:25:00.000-04:00

At my current rotation site one of the tasks that I have to complete is to design a handout for counseling purposes. I decided to create a handout on fiber. The fiber handouts that the dietitian currently has are not that great and I'm a big fan of fiber so designing a handout on fiber was perfect! My handout is done and I am going to share the information from handout with you all. (Keep in mind, my actual handout is very pretty and colorful; this is just the information from the handout.)

FIBER

It does a body good!

What is Fiber?

-Fiber is a type of carbohydrate that cannot be digested.
-Fiber is an important part of the daily diet.
-Fiber is best known for its role in moving food through the body efficiently.
-Fiber can be found in all plants that are eaten.

How Much Fiber do I Need?

The average person needs 25-35 grams of fiber per day. Most only get 15-20 grams of fiber. It's also important to make sure that you get plenty of fluids with fiber; drink LOTS of water.

What are the Health Benefits of Fiber?

-Fiber may reduce the risk of various disease; including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, constipation, high cholesterol, and digestive problems.
-Fiber also plays a role in preventing weight gain and may help with weight loss.

Tips for Getting in Your Fiber.

1) Switch to whole grains by choosing items that say whole wheat.
2) Start your day with a high fiber cereal.
3) Eat fruit at every meal.
4) Choose high fiber snacks like whole grain crackers, dried fruit, and nuts.
5) Eat more beans, peas, and lentils.

I also included some good sources of fiber that were tailored to my rotation site but I can share a few without giving away my site.

-1 Medium Apple/1 cup Strawberries/1 Medium Banana = 3 grams of fiber
-1 cup Multigrain Cheerios = 3 grams of fiber
-1 cup Whole Wheat Pasta = 6 grams of fiber
-1 Medium Pear = 6 grams of fiber
-1 cup Raisin Bran = 7 grams of fiber

Make sure you get your fiber today!

Giving up ALL starches! Seriously!!!!

2010-03-16T22:32:00.000-04:00

So...the boy and I finally got rid of our old gym memberships and joined a gym on our side of town. We are now proud members of Gold's. In order to get our key tags we had to go to a personal training session. As I was talking to the person trainer, he informed me that I need to give up all starches. WHAT?!?!?!?!

We proceeded to get into an argument. Giving up ALL starches goes against everything that I have ever been taught. Now, I do think that there is such a thing as too much starch and I know that I don't eat too much starch. I almost always stick to the proper serving size (spaghetti is a weakness). I also believe in the healthy vs. not-so-healthy starches. The majority, if not all, of the starches that I eat are the healthy ones; whole grain bread, brown rice, sweet potatoes, etc.

Also, I would like to add that for someone trying to lose large amounts of weight, giving up some starches might help...but for someone like me, who just needs to get back into the swing of working out and drop a few pounds that have been internship induced, giving up all starches isn't the answer.

What are your thoughts on this? Should someone give up ALL starches?

Intern Life Update

2010-03-14T16:57:00.000-04:00

The weeks keep flying by! For all you future interns out there; I hope that your weeks are flying by as well. I know its extremely hard to play the waiting game between now and Match Day, but hang in there!

Over the past couple of weeks, my internship has continued to keep me busy. At my current rotation, I've been working on lots of projects (menu audits, menu planning, protocol development, etc...), I've been seeing clients, and I've been taste testing lots of food! I'm only at this rotation for 2 more weeks. I'll be sad to go but happy to move one step closer to the end.

On a down note: One of my future rotation sites has had to cancel. This isn't a common occurrence but it happens from time to time. One girl had her clinical site say that they couldn't take her anymore; she found a new site but I'm glad that I wasn't in her shoes. Thank goodness, that my internship director is awesome! She's working on finding me a new site and has a plan B up her sleeve if we need to use it.

Class is still busy. We're starting to take practice RD exams. Fingers crossed that I do okay on them!!

I've only got 77 days left!!!

3 Favorite Charities

2010-03-12T19:42:00.002-05:00

I love participating in Show Us Your Life Friday from Kelly's Korner. I like this week in particular because although this blog is about my internship experience I can show you all that I still have time to do things outside of my internship. Read on for my 3 favorite charities:

1) Lupus Foundation of America

Last year, the boy and I walked in the Lupus Foundation of America's Walk for Lupus Now here in Raleigh. We decided to make this an annual event. We walk for his sister. She was diagnosed with lupus early in 2005 and it has affected many aspects of her life. Lupus is a chronic, inflammatory disease that occurs when the body's immune system attacks its own tissues and organs; it is an autoimmune disease. Lupus can affect many different body systems including joints, kidneys, blood cells, heart, and lungs. This years walk is taking place on April 25th. If you'd like to help me support this very important and, surprisingly, unknown cause, click here.

Here are some pictures from last year's walk.

2) American Dietetic Association (ADA)

As a dietetics student, it is important for me to support the ADA. I am not yet in a situation where I can support them financially (other than paying my yearly dues) but I do try to support their efforts in other ways. Whenever there is a "Call to Action," I respond in whatever way that I can; even if it's as simple as sending a letter to congressional representative. When I am able, I will support the ADA financially and I will also support the ADA by being a preceptor to interns as soon as I can. I am also a member of my state and local dietetic associations; I volunteer and attend meetings with these organizations whenever I can.

3) Phi Mu Foundation

I joined Phi Mu Fraternity in college and have stayed true to the pledge that I took during initiation. I am still involved with the organization as an alumnae volunteer and I give monetary donations to Phi Mu Foundation whenever I am able. Phi Mu was such a wonderful experience during my collegiate years that I want the organization to be around long enough to be a wonderful experience for others, including my little sister.

Through Phi Mu, I have had the opportunity to be involved with many other charities. These have included the Children's Miracle Network (this is Phi Mu's philanthropy), Habitat for Humanity, Relay for Life, and the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. I have continued to be involved in several of these other causes through Phi Mu. Being able to help others in just one of the many perks that being a "sorority girl" has offered me!

At times, it's hard to be an intern and have any sort of outside life. Participating in activities with these charities and organizations is something that makes me happy and it's a stress reliever. Continuing to participate in these different activities is something that I am grateful I have continued on with; they have often served as a stress reliever.

National Nutrition Month Event & Poster

2010-03-11T19:47:00.000-05:00

Check out the poster that I made for National Nutrition Month. The theme for the month is "Nutrition from the Ground Up" and my poster played off of that theme! This poster is currently displayed in the eating facility at my current rotation.

Also, to celebrate National Nutrition Month, I set up a little table one day this week. For my table, I decided to have several different fruits on display. People could come by the table, try at least four of the fruits and win a little prize. The fruits that were for tasting were:
-a pummelo (kind of like a sweeter version of a grapefruit)
-kiwi
-grapple (a grape flavored apple)
-mango
-papaya
-starfruit

My little table was a lot of fun. Several people stopped by and tasted fruits. The grapple was by far the winner in the most interesting category!

Today is...

2010-03-11T08:30:00.000-05:00

The month of March is jam packed! It's National Nutrition Month and here is World Kidney Day! (March is also National Kidney Month.)

The only kidney disease that I've ever had is kidney stones and I don't really consider mine to be a disease since it only happens every once in awhile. But...there are so many people out there that suffer from other kidney disease that are life changing. People with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have to follow a strict diet. They have to watch their protein, sodium, phosphorus, calcium, potassium, and fluid intake.

While I was in my clinical rotation, I would see a patient with kidney disease from time to time. After seeing that first patient I knew that I never wanted to be in that position. So...it's important to love your kidneys. Why and how do you do that?

Why love your kidneys?
-They filter 200 liters of blood each day and remove 2 liters of toxins, waste, and water.
-They regulate the body's water balance.
-They play a role in blood pressure regulation.
-They produce the active form of vitamin D.
-They produce the hormone that stimulate bone marrow to produce red blood cells.
-They keep blood minerals and electrolytes in balance.
-The regulate blood acid levels.
-They remove drugs from the blood.
-They retrieve essential nutrients so that they body can reabsorb them.

How to love your kidneys?
-Know the facts. Know what your kidneys do.
-Assess your risk. The 4 main risk factors of kidney disease are diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and a family history of kidney disease.
-Recognize symptoms. 8 possible symptoms include: fatigue, weakness; difficult, painful urination; foamy urine; pink, dark urine; puffy eyes; swollen face, hands, abdomen, ankles, feet; increased thirst; and increased need to urinate.
-Get tested. Talk to you doctor.
-Stay healthy. Eat a balanced diet. Exercise regularly. Control your weight. Quit smoking. Drink only in moderation. Stay hydrated.
-Learn more. This information and much more can be found on the National Kidney Foundation website.

Restaurant Review: Lotus Leaf Cafe....and lunch with some Dietitians!!

2010-02-28T17:49:00.000-05:00

So...I finished this post quite some time ago and completely forgot to hit the "publish post" button. Sorry!

On Saturday, I went to a lunch with my current preceptor, a few other dietitians, and some therapists. The lunch was for individuals who currently work with disordered eating patients. I'm definitely interested in working with eating disorders so this was a great opportunity for me to meet some people and hear about their careers. It was so interesting. These women have all been working with eating disorders for several years and they were each extremely encouraging with the fact that I have an interest in the area. It was also neat because I got to ask these women their opinions about the protocol that I am currently working on for my site (the protocol is about how to work with clients who have an eating disorder). I'm very happy that I got to go to this little luncheon.

The lunch was at The Lotus Leaf Cafe in Cary, NC. Lotus Leaf serves Thai and Vietnamese food. I've never really had this type of food so I was in for a little food adventure. I got the Pad Thai. It was yummy! Slightly sweet and perfect.

Lotus Leaf was a cute little restaurant. They had a nice outdoor seating area. The decor was neat. The service was great. I want to try to get the boy to go back with me!

National Nutrition Month

2010-02-28T16:40:00.000-05:00

March is National Nutrition Month!!

National Nutrition Month (NNM) began as National Nutrition Week in 1973. In 1980, it was upgraded to a month long event. It is a nutrition education and information campaign that is put on by the American Dietetic Association. NNM focuses on developing good eating and physical activity happens and the importance of making informed food choices.

Each year, NNM has a different theme. This year's theme is "Nutrition from the Group Up!" The key messages for this year are:
-Start with the basics. Emphasize foods from the ground (fruits, vegetables, and whole grains). Also, include low-fat/non-fat dairy, lean meats, poultry, fish, nuts, and beans.
-Make your calories count. Think "nutrient-rich" rather than good or bad. The majority of your food choices should be packed with vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Also, stay aware of portion sizes.
-Eat a variety of foods from all the food groups.
-Make the most of family meal times. Serve as a role model at these meals by showing good eating habits and eating new foods.
-Be physically active for at least 30 minutes every day.

Enjoy National Nutrition Month!

National Eating Disorders Awareness Week

2010-02-22T15:53:00.001-05:00

National Eating Disorders Awareness Week is this week; February 21st to the 27th. The aim of this week is to raise awareness of the dangers surrounding eating disorders and to promote the importance of early intervention and treatment. The ultimate goal of this week is to prevent eating disorders and body image issues and to reduce the stigma that surrounds eating disorders.

Eating Disorder Facts:
-As many as 10 million females and 1 millions males are struggling with an eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia.
-Millions more are struggling with binge eating disorder.
-Most fashion models are thinner than 98% of women.
-Most people with an eating disorder do not receive adequate care.
-Eating disorders are more common than Alzheimer's disease.

Eating disorders are a serious and life-threatening condition that can no longer be ignored. The theme for this year's awareness week is, "It's Time to Talk About It!" And it is! By being aware of eating disorders and not being afraid to talk about it, you may have a positive effect on someone, you may save someone's life!

**Facts and picture came from the National Eating Disorders Association.

And the WINNER is...

2010-02-20T13:57:00.002-05:00

Michele at The Story of Us!!!

I put everyone's entry into a hat, closed my eyes, shook the hat, and drew out a slip of paper. Congrats Michelle!! Send me your addy at jessicaaoswald@gmail.com and I'll get the book in the mail to you early next week!

LAST DAY...

2010-02-19T13:38:00.000-05:00

Today's the last day to enter the cookbook giveaway! Click HERE!!! I'm going to draw a winner around noon tomorrow...good luck to all!

Internship Update

2010-02-18T18:00:00.000-05:00

The end is near! I can see the light at the end of tunnel! I'm so close to being done and I can't believe it. I started out with 10 months of an internship in front of me and now I'm down to a little over 3 months left. Here's a little update of what's been going on in various aspects of my intern life:

In my current rotation:
I've been all over the place! I'm working on a protocol for working with clients with eating disorders. I've conducted menu audits on the different dining halls; making sure that they were serving what's on the menu. I've participated in catering events. I've made and hung up posters for National Eating Disorders Awareness week. I've worked on the allergen list for the dining halls. I've attended meetings. I've taught a class to a weight loss group. I've had a blast! My preceptor at this rotation is great!

In other intern events:
I'm having an intern get together at my house this Friday. The boy has kindly kicked himself out for the night!

I'm attending the North Carolina Dietetic Association meeting in April. I'm going to go to both days of the meeting, attend a networking dinner, and volunteer at the event.

I have 5 rotations left: the one I'm currently in, dialysis, long term care, school nutrition, and my enrichment.

Time is just whizzing by!!

V8 Splash

2010-02-17T20:18:00.001-05:00

Do you like Diet or Regular V8 Splash? Well, I have a bazillion coupons that I need to get rid of. The coupons are for "save $1 on TWO (2) Regular or Diet variety of V8 splash (46 oz. or larger).

Send me an e-mail at jessicaaoswald@gmail.com if you want some coupons! It's first come, first serve...but seriously, I think they sent me at least 100 so I'll send you 5-10 or whatever I grab to throw in the envelope. They don't expire until 7/31/10.

Competition and Program Shortage

2010-02-14T08:42:00.002-05:00

When I applied to the dietetic internship, I knew that that the entire process was extremely competitive but I had no idea exactly how competitive it was. I'd heard the "horror" stories about student who applied to several different programs and didn't get matched to any and I'd had friend who didn't get matched. While reading the Winter 2010 ADA Times I discovered just how lucky I was to be matched to a great program.

In this ADA Times there was an article titled, "Creating Our Competition: Why the Dietetics Internship Shortage Is as Important to Your Future as It Is to the Practitioners of Tomorrow." The article was about how there aren't enough dietetic internship spots for all of the students applying. For the round of application that I participated in there were 4,799 applicants. These applicants were competing for 2,531 dietetic internship spots and only 2,385 spots were filled. There were only spots for 53% of the applicants and only 50% of us actually got into an internship. This is ridiculous! Are other programs like this?

Supply and Demand for Dietetic Internships since 1993

***Picture courtesy of the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education. Click here.***

It's been this way for quite some time. For the 2008-2009 internship, 53% of those who applied were matched and 59% were matched the year before. The number of applicants has increased from 2,607 in 2003 to 4,499 in 2009 while the number of available internship spots has basically stayed the same (2,542 spots for 2003-2004 class and 2,531 spots for the 2009-2010 class).

I can't imagine what it would be like on matching day to log in and read that you haven't been matched. My heart sinks just thinking about it. Reading this article reaffirmed what I already knew: I'm extremely lucky and blessed to have been matched to the program that was my first choice. This article also reaffirmed something else for me; as soon as I am able I will be more than willing to take on interns!