Austin is here!!

Yay! my brother came for a little visit to the Sunshine State! We picked him up at the airport yesterday and already gave him the tour of base & went to the Naval Aviation Museum!

We are soo excited to finally get to show him around our new home!

More to come...

Hind Sight Is 20/20

Each semester has its own characteristics that distinguish it from being just like the one before it. Whether it be classes, organizational involvement or friendships, something or several things always define my semester and reflecting on each 4 month period offers perspective and guidance for things I involve myself in during the next. My top priority this past semester was spending time with my boyfriend, and now fiancé, Ben. We are getting married in July and have one more semester of school to go before we graduate in August. Looking back, I wouldn't trade our time or re-shift priorities to make someone else or something more important than him. For this next semester however, I will say that I am going to strive to continue to give myself ample time to study and to prepare for classes. I will have to fight the distractions of wedding planning and my fiancé in order to finish my schooling with the same fervor and degree of excellence that I maintained before I met Ben or got engaged. Having recognized and verbalized this desire to finish well in school and the distractions that could hinder it from being realized, I will be much more aware of how I spend my time and allocate time for studying.

Nutrition Internships: The Pressure to be RD

The program to become a Registered Dietitian (RD) in the United States is very rigorous and in some ways limited. The entire nation has only one "matching" program that places you in a dietetic internship based off of your preference and qualifications. Some people are not even matched to an internship and are left to apply again the following year. Although the program for the dietetic internships is extensive and very practical, I do think that there are some serious limitations on students wanting to become a RD. First of all, there is only one method in which to become a Registered dietitian. A student must complete a bachelor's degree in Nutrition from an accredited CADE school, then apply and do an internship after they graduate that serves as a practicum. I don't like that there is only one way by which to become a RD because the internships are not incorporated into the bachelor's degree and require extra schooling after one has graduated. The internships are like 8 to 5 jobs, yet most do not pay. I also think the program is limited because the ability to become a RD is controlled almost completely by CADE requirements and by the American Dietetic Association. I know there are many positive aspects to having it under one organization and for having the internship occur after one finishes their bachelor's degree, however I think that at there should be one or two alternative routes available for those seeking to become Registered Dietitians.

A Tangled Mess

Tomorrow my roommate will be turning 22. Our close friend planned a surprise party for her at midnight tonight and wanted all of her roommates to come. I love my roommate, and I love my friend, but I mentioned that I might not be able to come because I needed to write a paper. I thought this would be an understood and excused reason for missing the nights festivities, but apparently I really hurt my friend's feelings by telling her I wasn't going to go. I am not skipping out because I don't love my roommate or don't care for my friend, its simply that I have way too much to do this week and don't know if I can get it all done, especially if I don't have a little bit of sleep in between the madness. At first I was frustrated that my friend was upset with me for not coming. I thought, but why? Doesn't she understand the huge pressure I am under this week? And then I realized, that's the problem. I never clearly communicated to her what the pressures were that I was feeling and what all the compounding factors added up to, that made me need to skip out on this party. Because I didn't communicate well with my friend, her feelings were hurt at my seemingly insensitive response and in return I was hurt that she would harbor harsh feelings toward me for not going when I had legitimate reasons to forgo my invitation. Oh how important it is to be clear and honest in communication!

Taking Things Into My Own Hands

Food Service Systems Management is not necessarily the most appealing title for a Nutrition class, at least, not in my opinion. However, hiding behind the technical title is a jewel of a class which I hope to enroll in for the summer session. This course is a mega-course that requires much time and effort. Upon completion of the class a student will receive 5 credit hours for the class! Food Service Systems Management was developed to provide students with knowledge of the principles of food service management that are used in preparing and serving food. The course has an emphasis on menu planning, quality control, purchasing, equipment, layout and design. The extreme amount of cooperation and time required for the class allows for the student to actually apply basic food service management principles from financial planning to personnel issues. Unlike many courses, this one is not based solely in textbook knowledge, but actually provides time and the necessary mentoring for application of textbook concepts. In consideration of this, I hope to gain experiential knowledge about the food service industry from this course. I am confident that this will take place as I have heard from classes in the past that a large portion of the class is dedicated to a semester long project to plan, market and prepare a formal dinner for the nutrition faculty and their guests. I have already taken classes on food handling that will equip me with formidable knowledge of food safety in the area of food preparation. However, I believe that this class will offer many opportunities for growth in areas of nutrition that I have never explored, of actually planning and marketing a function and managing the personnel and budget, while providing guests with palatable and healthful foods. With the prior knowledge I have of this course, I can only look forward to the opportunity to engage in such an interactive class and wait expectantly for the challenging environment it will involve.

Açaí Berry: The New Superfood?

The Açaí berry is found on a palm tree unique to the rainforest of the Amazon. It is a small berry that tastes like a mix of berries and chocolate that has the potential to become a dominant force in the area of nutrition. This small berry is packed with vital nutrients, varying from supercharged antioxidants to amino acids and fatty acids. Açaí trumps other antioxidant rich plants, being at least 10 times higher in antioxidants than other foods rich in these age-fighting compounds. It also contains a high amount of fiber and good fat lending to a healthy heart, and is seasoned with an ample amount of amino acids which are helpful for muscle contraction and regeneration. This berry is still not widely known in the United States, but has popped up in supermarkets across the US in the form of different juices and purees. It is my desire that this berry become more widely known and consumed across our culture because I believe that it could incredibly enhance the nutrient content of people's diets across the US. Within the realm of nutrition, it is vital that registered dieticians and other nutrition professionals assist in making this berry available and its health benefits known to the American population as a whole in order to better combat the nutrition related diseases that plague our population.

Nutrition and Technology

In the future of our field, the most anticipated technology of the day as applied to nutrition will be the rise of individualized nutritional advised based on one's genes. Can you imagine, nutrition advice that is no longer based solely on one's gender, height, weight, age and physical activity? Better yet, one that is tailored completely to the individual based on their DNA! Genetics is the greatest upcoming force in nutrition, and a valuable one at that. With the help of genetics, the world of nutrition and dietetics will be able to climb to unthinkable heights in the areas of preventative and disease related nutritional therapy! People who are pre-disposed genetically for different diseases will be able to use preventative nutritional therapy to combat the onset of the disease years before its possible onset! This technology would not only be beneficial for the overall wellness of society, but also for the economic state of our health care as Medicare costs would go down as a result of such preventative medicine and nutritional therapy. The difficulty of such advanced technology would be in making it available to the population as a whole. The use of such machinery is very expensive and challenges could arise in making it affordable for most Americans. The technology is wonderful, but without being made easily accessible to most, its purpose would not be realized and its function would become practically useless.