About

Welcome to Nutritious Eats! My name is Melanie. I am a food loving, health promoting, wife and mother of 4 wonderful children. My passion for food and good health led me to my career as a Registered Dietitian but my love for food led me to the kitchen.

Here is my sweet family

I grew up watching my mom throw together a full course meal effortlessly. I come from a Greek and Brazilian background and was raised eating a flavorful, Mediterranean style diet……we always made room for occasional treats though!

My philosophy is to eat healthy, whole foods, exercise regularly and allow yourself indulgences for your favorites. I truly believe in the motto “all foods fit”. I hope this blog leads you to delicious, healthy recipes and helpful cooking and nutrition tips. Although I read cookbooks like novels and have a binder full of “recipes to try”, I also love creating my own recipes. Nutritious Eats will include both original recipes as well as recipe reviews. Nothing beats a recipe recommended from a friend!

I graduated from the University of Texas with a BS in Nutrition and obtained my Masters degree in Nutrition from Boston University. I stuck around Boston in order to complete my Dietetic Internship at Newton Wellesley Hospital and then moved all around the US and now reside in Washington state Louisiana. My travels and experiences living in so many different cities definitely inspires me to cook. My 10+ years of experience as a Registered Dietitian includes a bit of clinic and prenatal nutrition and a lot of wellness and weight loss. I believe in individualized, evidence based care designed to fit your life. One size does not fit all when it comes to coaching in lifestyle changes.

In addition to eating healthy, the general health of me and my family is extremely important to me. My husband and I actually enjoy exercising and you can find me doing anything from running to dancing, to yoga. Challenge me with a good workout and I am a happy girl.

People always ask me if I eat healthy and the answer is yes, most of the time! I truly love healthy foods, they just have to be flavorful! I am also a sucker for fried chicken and french fries (and dessert). I am not perfect when it comes to my diet, but I try my best to buy and cook with minimally processed, whole, natural foods.

I eat a heavy plant based diet, so you will see a lot of vegetarian recipes on this site, but I do enjoy chicken, fish, seafood and burgers on occasion.

As I mentioned, all foods fit into a healthy lifestyle so although this site is about healthy food and nutrition I will also post some “splurge worthy” recipes…..you know like mac and cheese and cupcakes! I truly hope you enjoy this blog as much as I do!

More about my philosophy on food:

• Buy organic food when you can. Here is a link to the top foods to buy organic. Also a pdf file that you can print out and take to the store to remind you of the dirty dozen.
• Cook at home when ever possible. I try to follow this rule: eat at home all week (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and on the weekends dine out one meal a day if desired. Everyone needs a break from cooking but let’s be honest, you will never get as healthy of a diet by eating out.
• Learn how to read a food label. The ingredient lists tells you a lot if you just look at it!
• It’s better to eat a little of the real stuff than a lot of the reduced fat stuff (which is usually packed with more sodium, sugar and/or additives).
• Eat fruits and vegetables EVERY day and preferably with each meal. Check out My Pyramid to find out more about your individualized serving needs.
• Aim to exercise everyday and if you end up skipping a few you will still be at an impressive 4-5 days a week.
• Try a new recipe each week- get one from the internet, pull out a cookbook, search a blog, just make it a goal.
• Buy as little processed foods as possible and try it homemade instead. You can do it!! I am here to help!

 

What to know more about me? 

Hometown? San Antonio, Texas. Go Spurs!

Favorite cuisine? Mexican, Italian, Sushi (there is no way I can narrow that down any more)

Favorite vegetable? A big ol’ salad (cheated on that answer because it’s more than one)

Favorite dessert? Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies or homemade ice cream

Favorite condiment? Hot sauce for sure. I’ve got about 5 in my fridge now.

Camera used? A Nikon D90 with a 50 mm 1. 8 lens. I am in need of an upgrade!

Hobbies? I love reading, photography, cooking. Let’s be honest, this blog is one big hobby!

Hot or the cold weather? A little of both. I grew up in Texas so I can handle the heat, but I do love the cold weather, preferably no colder than 40 degrees though or then I don’t like it so much.

Mountains or beaches? Both! I lived in Hawaii for 2 years so am in love with the beaches and mountains there. However, the forests and mountains of the Pacific Northwest are gorgeous.

Favorite kitchen tool? My KitchenAid mixer stand

Morning or night person? Night. I can’t stand waking up early.

Coffee or tea? Coffee all the way (but I have to drink it before noon or I can’t sleep).

Favorite place to live? Hawaii

 

Thanks for stopping by, come back and visit soon!