Conversations With Anne Elizabeth

Conversation 105:  The Story, Journey and Passion of Anita Davila, RD2Be “I feel like students want to connect. We want to network, we want to find some inspiration and so I feel like Dietetics Practice Groups (DPG’s) recognize that more and more. Students are important and we have to consider how we can support them and value them as members in the field.” - Anita Davila, RD2Be Today’s conversation is with Anita Davila, an RD2Be who has been on a different road to becoming a Registered Dietitian and has a passion for integrative nutrition. Anita has such a unique story story on her journey to becoming a Registered Dietitian. She started out with many interests when she decided to go to college, landing on a nursing degree. While she was doing her prerequisites, she took a nutrition class and it was exactly what she has been looking for all along. Anita has put her family first along her journey and has found ways for her to stay active in the dietetics community through the DPG Dietitians in Integrative and

Conversation 104:  The Story, Journey and Passion of Tonya Huenink, RD, LD “While I was working in different settings, so many people said “I will eat what you tell me to.” I realized I am passionate about families eating together and I do think I have the knowledge and the resources to help people with this.” - Tonya Huenink, RD, LD Today’s conversation is with Tonya Huenink, a registered dietitian who has worked in all areas of dietetics and has started her own meal planning business called Meal Squeeze. Tonya is native to my favorite state of Iowa and at one point worked for the same company as I did. Throughout her adventures as a Registered Dietitian, she has worked in many different areas of dietetics including clinical, outpatient, food service and school nutrition. Tonya has developed a passion over the years for equipping families of all sizes to sit down for a balanced meal together which has lead to her creating her own business. Not only is this meal planning service great for families but it is a

Conversation 103:  The Story, Journey and Passion of Stephanie Miezin, MS, RD “You just have to go for it. You never know when you’re not going to have time or when something happens. You’ll regret it if you don’t go for it. Work for what you want.” - Stephanie Miezin, MS, RD Today’s conversation is with Stephanie Miezen, a registered dietitian who has found joy in combining culinary and sports nutrition into working for Team USA. I found Stephanie on Instagram with a photo that caught my eye in one of my favorite cities, Colorado Springs. Then I started to look more at her feed and it is filled with amazing food photos, easy nutrition information for fueling your body and video with culinary tips from her kitchen. After making one of her recipes for dates and almond butter that she had posted, she was in Korea for the Olympics with Team USA. Stephanie has had some amazing experiences so far in culinary and sports nutrition, including traveling abroad a few times to share her expertise. I know you will enjoy

Conversation 102:  Top 5 in 5: Up Close and Personal Conversation with Anne Elizabeth Each week, I put out my Weekly Wisdom Blog which includes my Top 5 Nutrition Noshes: my Weekly Wisdom, my Weekly Conversations, my Weekly Hellyeah, my Weekly Kick Ass Jams  and What I Love Right Now. At the end of each month, I want to get more up close and personal with you all on the other side of the airwaves. I will be recapping my crazy, delicious and random #hellyeah adventures in my  Top 5 in 5. November kicks off the holiday madness and I am chatting with you about being grateful and thankful all year long, while embracing the #hellyeah. Connect and let me know what you think by emailing me or connecting with me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter   www.anneelizabethrd.com Copyright © 2018 OPI & AEHC Song: One Of These Days Artist: The Gemini www.thegeminimusic.com Music used by permission. All rights received. © ASCAP OrtmanMusic --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/anneelizabethrd/message

Conversation 101:  Cocktails and Conversation with Carrie Moody I feel every great conversation is had over a meal or a cocktail (or mocktail if you choose). These conversations take on their own life and travel into unique directions, which is what truly matters. Periodically, I will putting on my party pants, pouring myself something refreshing to drink and inviting a guest to just see where the words take us. In this episode of Cocktails and Conversations, I invited back one of my favorite guests, Carrie Moody. You may remember this beauty from Episode 72. This fun loving, meal prepping, dancing queen and I chat about “all the things and all the feels” as the holidays approach. Cheers!    www.anneelizabethrd.com Copyright © 2018 OPI & AEHC Song: One Of These Days Artist: The Gemini www.thegeminimusic.com Music used by permission. All rights received. © ASCAP OrtmanMusic --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/anneelizabethrd/message

Conversation 100:  The Story, Journey and Passion of Sam Osterhaus, MPH, RD, LD “I really thought long and hard about what I wanted to do next. It was a lot of self reflection and thinking about setting myself up for what will happen in the next 10-20 years. Having that honest conversation with myself and also talking to some of the people who know you best to get their outside opinions. Sometimes it’s nice to hear. You may not recognize your own passions right away, but if you talk about something all the time, people start to notice.” - Sam Osterhaus, MPH, RD, LD Today’s conversation is with Sam Osterhaus, a registered dietitian and food lover who just recently took a leap of faith in her career, started a new job and is living out her passion for public health. Sam is the type of person you want to hang out with all the time because of her energy and maybe her awesome skills creating some delicious dishes in the kitchen. Sam had a great start to her career working in corporate wellness and foodservice, but

Conversation 99:  The Story, Journey and Passion of Caroline Weeks, RDN “I always think out of the box and I always think big. I do feel like I can be detailed-oriented  but I always think bigger picture. I am a concept person, I am an idea person and I love visual art, I love musical art and I am inspired by art. I think having a creative mindset and being able to think outside of the box and collaborate with other has really helped me in dietetics.” - Caroline Weeks, RDN Today’s conversation is with Caroline Weeks, a Registered Dietitian who discovered dietetics through a unique journey while studying music performance. Caroline and I met through the Iowa Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics when she joined our team of media spokespersons. When we met, I knew this dietitian was going to be a mover and shaker in our profession. It was great to have this conversation with her because of how she discovered dietetics mid way through her college career, while she was studying music performance as a classically tra

Conversation 98:  Top 5 in 5: Up Close and Personal Conversation with Anne Elizabeth Each week, I put out my Weekly Wisdom Blog which includes my Top 5 Nutrition Noshes: my Weekly Wisdom, my Weekly Conversations, my Weekly Hellyeah, my Weekly Kick Ass Jams  and What I Love Right Now. At the end of each month, I want to get more up close and personal with you all on the other side of the airwaves. I will be recapping my crazy, delicious and random #hellyeah adventures in my  Top 5 in 5. This month, I’m sharing with you why I didn’t attend FNCE and some random thoughts on human connection. ow Connect and let me know what you think by emailing me or connecting with me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter   www.anneelizabethrd.com Copyright © 2018 OPI & AEHC Song: One Of These Days Artist: The Gemini www.thegeminimusic.com Music used by permission. All rights received. © ASCAP OrtmanMusic --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/anneelizabethrd/message

Conversation 97:  The Story, Journey and Passion of Andres Ayesta, MS, RD “There are definitely areas of nutrition that are kind of gray because it goes against the grain of what we’ve always been taught. But I am open. What makes me different or unique as a dietitian is I always follow a neutral approach. I’m not a fanatic. I’m not a cult follower. I’m not a person that if I follow keto that is what I preach and push. Everybody has a different approach to health.” - Andres Ayesta, MS, RD Today’s conversation is with Andres Ayesta, a registered dietitian who fell into dietetics by chance and is currently specializing in nutrition education for athletes and running his own private practice. I was graciously introduced to Andres through Libby, a mutual dietitian friend, because of his very unique journey into the field of dietetics as well as his insane hustle and work ethic. Andres has had a winding road to becoming a dietitian but has the most sincere passion for our profession. What I enjoy most is his video

Conversation 96:  The Story, Journey and Passion of Melissa Joy Dobbins, MS, RDN, CDE “Education is communication. This is why I love doing communication coaching, media training, speaker training and any kind of nutrition communications training for dietitians. We’re all communicators because we’re educators. There are ways to take your skills to the next level and to hone those skills by being more compelling, concise and to be a better you by elevating the visibility and image of a dietitian, while helping the public get credible information.” - Melissa Joy Dobbins, MS, RDN, CDE Today’s conversation is with Melissa Joy Dobbins, also known as the Guilt-Free RD®, who has a passion for education through good communication of sound science, smart nutrition and good food. When I transitioned from a clinical dietitian to a retail dietitian, there was a very new and unknown aspect of my job I was completely unfamiliar with and that was media. I remember when I learned I was going to provide nutrition communicatio

Conversation 95:  The Story, Journey and Passion of Danielle Bertiger, RD2Be “I think eating disorders are on the rise. The narrative that every girl should hate their body is totally false and I think that college campuses are a good place to address that. We can use groupthink and friends influencing friends in a positive way instead of the negative way that seems to be happening.” - Danielle Bertiger, RD2Be Today’s conversation is with Danielle Bertiger, a communications expert who fell into health coaching, fitness and food and is now on her way to a masters in Nutrition Communications and her RD. From time to time, I always love to podcast with future dietitians and Danielle was a great person to meet. She shares her personal story of falling into the food and fitness world while working after she complete her undergraduate degree in communications. During that time she decided to become a health coach, found a passion for food and recipe creation and also pursuing her certification in group fitness clas

Conversation 94:  The Story, Journey and Passion of Jill Coleman, Founder of JillFit “Really it comes down to trusting yourself. Whatever you are trying to do; whether it’s to eat better, to try to transform the way your body looks, trying to be consistent in the gym, building an online business, trying to cultivate your relationships, do personal development work, it all comes down to a level of self trust.” - Jill Coleman Today’s conversation is with Jill Coleman, a fitness expert who is living her best life all through her passion for coaching in the areas of mindset, body and business. In the midst of my dietitian career, I did what we all sometimes do, take a step back from all the things we learn and see what other approaches are out there to best help our clients. During my research, a website called Metabolic Effect caught my eye, in which Jill Coleman was a co-founder with a degree in exercise science and masters in human nutrition.  Her contributions to this site lead me to (a slight girl crush) and

Conversation 93:  Top 5 in 5: Up Close and Personal Conversation with Anne Elizabeth Each week, I put out my Weekly Wisdom Blog which includes my Top 5 Inspirational Nutrition Noshes: Wisdom, Weekly Conversations, Weekly Inspiration, Weekly Music Inspiration and What I Love Right Now. At the end of each month, I want to get more up close and personal with you all on the other side of the airwaves. I will be recapping my crazy, delicious and random #hellyeah adventures in my  Top 5 in 5. September is one of my favorite months because I have been enjoying being home, spending time working on all things me and looking forward to fall. Connect and let me know what you think by emailing me or connecting with me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter  www.anneelizabethrd.com Copyright © 2018 OPI & AEHC Song: One Of These Days Artist: The Gemini www.thegeminimusic.com Music used by permission. All rights received. © ASCAP OrtmanMusic --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/anneelizabethrd/message

Conversation 92:  The Story, Journey and Passion of Amy Myrdal Miller, RD “I have done a lot of really uncomfortable things and have been really stressed at times. But I’ve had success (in my business) and that has allowed me to say yes to the next scary request or demand, in some cases. I keep building on that and keep refining where I use my time, passion and energy for things that are going to have the most impact.” - Amy Myrdal Miller, RD Today’s conversation is with Amy Myrdal Miller, a registered dietitian who through a variety of professional experiences, always comes back to her roots of being a farmer’s daughter. When I was at FNCE a few years ago, I had the privilege to be there on behalf of Kids Eat Right. On one of the days, I was assigned to work the KER booth, it was “Meet Your Farmer Day” with Amy being the featured farmer. I briefly was able to chat with her in between the numerous other conversations she was having. I was newer to FNCE and I knew Amy has made a path for herself in our profess

Conversation 91:  The Story, Journey and Passion of Chef Jen Plaggemars, RD “I don’t ever want my job to feel like a chore. I want to actually enjoy it. I’ve finally gotten to the point where that is ok. You can make events on your calendar better because you’re not rushing.” - Chef Jen Plaggemars, RD Today’s conversation is with Jen Plaggemars, a registered dietitian who fulfilled a dream to go back to culinary school and become a chef. Do you ever scroll through social media to find a recipe for something but you’re not quite sure what that something is?  Then you come across photos that start to make you hungry and you must know what the recipe is? Insert Chef Jen. Jen and I worked for the same company for few years, but we really didn’t know each other until I saw a photo of these gorgeous fried plantain chips with a chipotle pineapple guacamole dip and I wanted, no...needed, to be her friend.  She is a dietitian and is now following a dream of being a personal chef and has created a pretty delicious life

Conversation 90:  The Story, Journey and Passion of Dr. Maree Ferguson, Founder-Dietitian Connection “Seeing young dietitians succeed is why I love my job and I am passionate about dietitians.  I love seeing young dietitians thrive and be successful in whatever their passions and dreams are. If we can do this through Dietitian Connection and help one dietitian, I’d be very happy.” - Dr. Maree Ferguson Today’s conversation is with Dr. Maree Ferguson, a visionary and leader in the field of dietetics who created Dietitian Connection for dietitians to feel supported along their professional journey. I truly believe in being in the right place at the right time, which is exactly where I met Maree. Maree and I were doing a mini expo at the Nutrition Entrepreneurs DPG meeting at FNCE last year and I was so interested in the work she is doing. She has created an international resource to help dietitians live out their dreams in their careers with support and guidance. Her extensive education and work experience makes

Conversation 89:  Top 5 in 5: Up Close and Personal Conversation with Anne Elizabeth Each week, I put out my Weekly Wisdom Blog which includes my Top 5 Nutrition Noshes: Wisdom, Weekly Conversations, Week of Inspiration, Weekly Music Playlist and What I Love Right Now. At the end of each month, I want to get more up close and personal with you all on the other side of the airwaves. I will be recapping my crazy, delicious and random as hell adventures-as well as having a conversation with you all on this side of the mic. It’s my Top 5 in 5. It’s been a hot minute since I have been home (lil g is constantly reminding me of my absence) so let’s end the summer talking about the importance of being inspired. Connect and let me know what you think by emailing me or connecting with me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter www.anneelizabethrd.com Copyright © 2018 OPI & AEHC Song: One Of These Days Artist: The Gemini www.thegeminimusic.com Music used by permission. All rights received. © ASCAP OrtmanMusic ---

Conversation 88:  The Story, Journey and Passion of Nikki Azzara, Founder/CEO P.S. Snacks “There is a certain discipline that is required of entrepreneurs. I’d like to think it’s in my nature. No one ever taught me how to work from home or set a schedule. I really believe that it is very much a passion-driven venture that I’m running. I genuinely enjoy what I am doing, every single day. ” - Nikki Azzara, Founder/CEO P.S. Snacks Today’s conversation is with Nikki Azzara, an entrepreneur with a sweet tooth who created better-for-you snacks in her college dorm room. Just like me, you may have seen photos of P.S. Snacks on social media which is the cookie and brownie dough you can eat made from chickpeas. I was curious about these snacks for my own personal use and after reaching out to the company, I received an email from the Founder herself. After exchanging a few emails, I knew I wanted to get to know Nikki a little better. This woman has such an extreme passion for her business as well as creating a product

onversation 87:  The Story, Journey and Passion of Dr. Claudia T. Felty “I love dessert, but there are so many things I thought I really really liked, but now I’m discovering this is too sweet for me. I can’t eat any more of this and that doesn’t happen unless you remove all the restrictions. I’m married, so we eat meals together.  Removing the stress from when he asks if we can we do pizza tonight and I don’t need to have a meltdown anymore. It gives you so much empathy in which I think is so important living this experience, being a recovered calorie counter, getting rid of my activity trackers and just having the freedom to eat the food that I want and how much my body says I should have. Having the ability to do that and be able to teach someone else to do that who is struggling, it is so powerful. ” - Dr. Claudia T. Felty Today’s conversation is with Dr. Claudia, a recovered calorie counter, dessert loving dietitian, educator, and dog mom who dreams big without diets. A couple of years ago, I met Claudia

Conversation 86:  The Story, Journey and Passion of Mary Purdy, MS, RDN “I have always loved food and I’ve always loved nutrition. The idea of being able to make a living helping people realize the potential of food to prevent, address and potentially reverse chronic illness was a total joy to discover.” - Mary Purdy, MS, RDN Today’s conversation is with Mary Purdy, a registered dietitian, speaker, writer, video star and  host of Mary’s Nutrition Show. Over a year ago, I watched a video of a dietitian in a beautiful red dress dancing in the kitchen with leafy greens and kissing an onion. I knew in that moment I needed to meet this person and was thrilled when I was introduced to Mary through a previous guest, Krista Ulatowski. Mary has the most amazing energy and when I learned more about her unique journey, it is easy to understand how she is marrying all of her professional passions like the star that she is. Please enjoy my conversation with Mary. Connect with Mary at her website, subscribe to her YouTub