the home stretch

So since this blog is primarily a way for me to chronicle my journey of being a college student and such, I figured I should maybe do a quick little post to talk about this last semester and how crazy that is and what things are looking like!

Well so far, it’s been pretty fab I’m not even going to lie. Due to how I was admitted into the Coordinated Program, my last semester was terrible full of three different clinical rotations, meaning that this semester I only have one!! ONE, y’all!! There is a light at the end of the tunnel, trust me.

I also completely got super lucky and all of my actual classes are online this semester. Two of them are like über non-stressful, which leaves me with Microbiology but that will be fine and I’m just truckin through. For the month of February I will have my last clinical rotation which will be at a Nursing Home that is 1 1/2 hours away from me. Doesn’t sound too great, but I’m anxious to begin. I’m kind of of the mindset that I can do anything for 4 weeks, which is so true! Also, I do like clinical dietetics and I know that I can do it well. I’m not stressed at all about not being able to perform the job, because I’ve done it before… a lot. Plus old people are great, and I’m excited to be around them and make them happy (ie. milkshakes??!). I’ve also heard that my preceptor is really great… so I’m just ready to get that rolling.

So since I’ve been waiting for that the begin… I’ve really just been relaxing and enjoying actually having free time! Being able to like…read for fun is amazing. Actually getting adequate sleep and being able to exercise and cook and have time to watch the Today show while eating a balanced breakfast makes me SO happy. Really though, coffee+breakfast+the today show is the key to starting a good day. That plus spending quality time with Jesus.

I really am loving it because I know this is so unlike “the real world”, so I’m fully soaking in my last few months as a college student (minus the month of February).

In other news…

I’ve been volunteering with precious little kids at an after school community program with a group of my fellow Coordinated Program girls. We’re eventually going to get to teach them nutrition lessons and let them make healthy snacks, which is just so fun! They are hilarious and truly brighten my week.

I ate some bugs last week. No seriously, I was in a meeting and one of our professors came in with some little baggies of bugs and made us eat them. They’re actually a good source of protein apparently. I had the chili-lime cricket, and it wasn’t bad at all!

I’m going home this weekend to catch the beginning of Mardi Gras! I was trying to think of some way I could health-ify King Cake… but thats super hard. Give me some more time and I’m sure I’ll come up with something!

-leah

book review – il faut des rites

As mentioned before, I recently read Mireille Guiliano’s “French Women Don’t Get Fat”. This post begins a series to highlight some key lessons that I drew from reading the book!

{awesome hand lettering seen above}    {floral “will you be my bridesmaid” card download}

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One of my favorite chapters in the book is entitled “Il faut des rites”, which translates to “we need rituals” (shout-out to my three years of French in high school! Je m’appelle Léa). The chapter was all about how habits are necessary and healthy, and I completely agree! I’ll be the first to admit that I am such a creature of habit. Anyone who really knows me can attest to that after observing my nightly before-bed ritual.

Anyway, Mireille focuses on how we have so easily lost the habits and rituals that come with mealtime, and how this negatively impacts us in a myriad of ways. She speaks to how Americans have lost the beauty and tradition of a proper meal, and how this has led to overeating, obesity, and general unhappiness.

Three meals a day is truly needed. And I’m a firm believer that even that is not enough, and snacks are absolutely needed to provide our bodies with the energy we need and to keep our blood sugars (and therefore, moods) stable without causing the body havoc. I was pleased to learn that I have already recognized some of the topics she spoke about in my own life. For example, in the mornings I always take time to eat a real breakfast. I can 100% tell a complete difference in my day/body/moods/feelings/energy when I eat breakfast compared to when I don’t. Same for lunch, this girls NEEDS her protein and carbs and fat at lunchtime. People who can toss a granola bar down and call it a meal honestly amaze me because I’m not entirely sure how you don’t have an emotional meltdown midday. So many of us have let busyness and school and all these tasks ruin our chances of having true meals, and it’s not good for us.

Rising levels of obesity directly correspond with the lack of mealtimes, and the easy availability of fast-food just thrives on how we have given into our hectic lifestyles. Taking it to dinner, there are even studies which prove that children who are in families that don’t eat dinner together at the dining table are more likely to be obese later on in life.

Super interesting summary of the study here.

Abstract of a similar study with outstanding results, here.

Another interesting part of this chapter was when she brought up how the French present their food. Work with me here and visualize a plate of food that you get at a mediocre American pub-type restaurant. You see a really large burger off to one side of the plate, and the rest of the plate full of steak fries. Lets not even discuss or imagine where on the plate the pre-dinner loaf of bread would go. Now, visualize being on a fancy date at a really nice restaurant. You’re dressed all pretty and your waiter brings you your dish. Imagine a brown rice pilaf that is perfectly shaped and arranged in the center of the plate. There’s some stalks of asparagus laying over it, and theres a pretty piece of salmon laying ever so beautifully against the rice. Theres also probably some awesome sauce that is drizzles over the plate and you have to take a picture to instagram before eating it. Oh and don’t forget your pretty salad that came before the entrée and the dessert that will come after on a much smaller plate.

Okay – see the big difference?! Mireille discusses how it is so strange to her to have a plate completely full of food. To quote her, “The arrangement of a course in the center of the plate is part of French enjoyment. Changing plates not only compels you to concentrate on what you are enjoying at that moment, it slows the meal down…the faster you eat, the more you’ll need.” Ensue “aha moment”. Totally makes sense. It’s much more pleasurable to eat a meal slowly and to savor each part of the meal and truly appreciate it.

While reading that I also thought about how much I weirdly love certain dishes that I have. It really does make me happier to use certain dishes and mugs, and I have some bowls that I’m really obsessed with. I love using real dishes, and it honestly lifts my mood to take in each meal as an experience.

Another one of her awesome quotes – “If washing an extra plate seems a bother, how does it compare with getting fat?”

Dang.

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So I guess what I wanted to relay to y’all from this is to take the time to truly enjoy your meals. Make it a habit start eating a real breakfast or to pack a lunch that will make you happy in the middle of your workday (post on that coming soon!!)  Life is too short to just cram stuff down or skip meals or binge on crappy processed things. Food is one of the greatest joys of life… so I urge you to take at least one small step towards welcoming those traditions back into your life and truly enjoying your meals.

Tips for a jump-start:

• Buy some pretty dishes, and make it a point to eat at least one meal a day on them

  • My favorites

  • Some other pretties

• Wake up twenty minutes earlier and eat a real breakfast
• Begin to incorporate eating dinner at the table with the family, if at all possible
• Take some time at dinner to arrange your food on your plate in an aesthetically pleasing way

Yay for traditions!

-leah

new year, new thoughts

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me…one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:12-14

Hello! My Christmas break was such a busy blur of fun and family, that I literally didn’t open my laptop very much after my last posts. There was still lots of thinking and planning for upcoming blog posts, so I wasn’t completely unproductive. I took a complete mind break from thinking about school, I successfully avoided catching the flu despite my entire family having it, and I was able to spend an entire week with my best friends and stand beside them as one got married. Basically, it was really refreshing and great and I’m now fully recharged and ready for this next semester (aka last semester of undergrad)!!

Considering that I really enjoy writing things down and making lists, I love taking time each January to set some goals for my upcoming year. It’s nice to reflect on the past year, and be able to kind of decide where you’d like to change and reroute now. Here are my goals & dreams for 2015:

• To continually be walking heavenward. To deepen my relationship with Christ and allow my heart to be more like His.
• To force myself to get out of my comfort zone. I’ve heard it said that “the lust for comfort murders the passions of the soul.” Growth isn’t as abundant when you are constantly only doing what you’re perfectly comfortable with, so I’m going to get out of that.
• To be somebody who makes everybody feel like a somebody. I want to truly invest and invite others into my life. This is honestly hard for me because I’m one who really thrives in and enjoys alone time… but people are unable to see the Christ in me if I’m not sharing life with them. The past year was entirely too busy with school and work and clinicals, and I’m determined to make this year be different and to prioritize pouring into others.
• To graduate with my BS and to obtain my RD!!!!! Eeek!
• To really be me, and to be totally fine with it. I’m a girl who really likes to watch the news and crime shows and wear house slippers, who is truly an old soul that really enjoys browsing grocery stores for fun. And I’m really okay with everyone knowing that.
• To live to give more than I get. There is such joy in giving, and I want to tap into that more this year. I want to extend love.
• To focus on enjoying little things, rather than speedily passing by. I don’t want to skip painting my nails or forget to look outside into the pretty world while I’m driving somewhere.
• I want to learn to bake and decorate pretty cakes. I realize this is so opposite of me and what I believe haha. But I just think that little cakes are so pretty and I want to make them. I’ll probably attempt to health it up, but I really just enjoy cooking and creating and it’s kind of the perfect blend and I’ll likely end up just giving cakes to people. I don’t even really like cake… I just want to make them.

So thats where I’m at! What are your goals and hopes for this new year?

-leah

cliché kale chips

So yeah I do realize that kale chips are like the trendiest thing when it comes to eating real and healthily… but I think thats okay because sometimes I like clichés! I’m not all that original, and sometimes you just gotta give credit when something is awesome…  I mean everyone agrees for some reason, right?