Top 'o the morning to you (well afternoon now :)

This morning I had my favorite breakfast, and by favorite I mean I eat it everyday as long as it's available. That breakfast would be oatmeal! Oatmeal really is the ideal breakfast food, in one 1/2c. serving it packs in protein and fiber to help keep you full until lunchtime. Plus, studies also show that oatmeal may help to lower cholesterol and help to promote a healthy heart. So seriously, you can't go wrong with oats.

Now there are numerous ways to make oatmeal because you can basically add any toppings you like. My favorite combination is 1/2c . oatmeal, 1c. skim milk, 2tbsp. crushed walnuts, and 1/4c. frozen or fresh blueberries. I also usually add a pinch of vanilla abstract and a tsp. of sugar. Yum, simply delicious! If I had to live off one food it would probably be oatmeal.

If you want to find a new combination for your oatmeal or need new suggestions this site has plenty :http://www.quakeroats.com/cooking-and-recipes/content/quaker-instant-oats.aspx#/ideas

Enjoy!

Yoga

Tonight I went to my weekly yoga class and I am now feeling a lot more relaxed. Yoga is great for stretching the muscles and stress relief, which being a graduate student I sometimes have too much of, so yoga tends to be good for me. I definitely recommend trying to find a class in your area to test out. And what makes the class good is the instructor. If they send out a positive, relaxing vibe then you are more likely to enjoy the class. So test out a few until you find one that suits you. So my healthy advice for the day, try yoga, or find something else that keeps your head clear in this busy world.

On a side note, after class there was something scurrying in the parking lot. My friend thought it was a cat, but I thought I knew better so I proclaimed it was a skunk. Well now we both wanted to figure out what this thing was. So after getting in the car, I hunted it down in the parking lot. Turns out it was a big 'ol 'possum. I guess you never know what you'll find in a parking lot :)

The Start of the Blog

Today has been proclaimed Registered Dietitians’ day by Pennsylvania State Governor Ed Rendell. That’s pretty cool. It means my state is acknowledging the work that RDs do. So I think today is a good day to start my blog on my journey to be a registered dietitian myself. If people are starting to recognize the dietitian field, then I need to start fulfilling my obligations as a future dietitian. I recently got accepted in to my school’s coordinated dietetic internship program. This means that next year I will be able to start my internship. I’m pretty excited for it! I am also working on my master’s degree in nutrition as well. This is my first year of graduate school and I must say, I finally found a field of work I am passionate about. So this blog will be where I share my passion. I plan to provide insight on what is happening in the dietetic field, on interesting tidbits I acquire on nutrition and fitness (I have been an athlete my whole life so I like to keep up on the fitness end as well as nutrition, I like to promote an overall healthy lifestyle. ) , and on recipes that I have created, modified, or are too delicious to keep to myself.

So before I close for today, I will leave my first tip: The weather is starting to warm up, get outside and go for a walk! Not only will 20-30 minutes outside in the sun provide you with enough vitamin D to meet the RDA (recommended dietary allowance) but 20-30 minutes of walking will burn 100-150 calories. Plus, sunshine and exercise are natural endorphin boosters, so you they are guaranteed to brighten your mood :)