Experiences to Last a Lifetime

Welp looks like this is going to be another lengthy update considering I am awful about updating! SO BUSY learning & experiencing. But I do think I fixed the comments so anyone can comment, give it a try & let me know if it is still not working. Anywho.. what have I been doing this past month... wellll first I had a rotation at St. Alexius New Start which is a bariatric surgery center. Cool experience & great preceptors there! For those of you who don't know bariatric surgery is a procedure where they either re-route or remove part of the stomach to make it MUCH small in size (about the size of a golf ball for an example). Obviously this greatly reduces the food these patients are able to eat so they can lose weight. But surgery is only a tool and it really requires huge changes in eating behavior & physical activity to be successful. The RD role for these patients is to make goals with them if they are on medically supervised diets before they are allowed to have surgery, make them aware of changes they will have to make before and after surgery, and then to follow-up with them to make sure they aren't having any complications and to provide advice and support post-surgery to help patients with adherence to lifestyle changes. The best part of this rotation was when I was able to watch 3 surgeries! I was all scrubbed up & right in the OR with the surgical team. I was a little woozy the first few minutes or so but once my senses adapted I was just fine. I saw two roux-en-y procedures; for this one they take part of the small intestine and fuze it with the upper part of the stomach while disconnecting the rest of the stomach. But they do leave it in, it just doesn't receive food anymore. Then I saw a sleeve gastrectomy where they completely cut off most of the stomach, staple what is left, and remove the excess. I got to inspect that removed stomach on a utensil table... cool. The most amazing part for me though was that these surgeons do everything from outside the body so the make a few small incisions on the stomach and place claw-like utensils through to do all of this rerouting & suturing... it is astounding how much skill these surgeons have.

So in between that rotation I attended FNCE (Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo) in Houston TX. Unfortunately I did not run into Walker (Texas Ranger) but I had a good time regardless. FNCE is hosted by the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics for RDs and students to attend a lot of lectures on various nutrition topics. An example of one I went to was about the relationship of physical activity and academic performance. It's cool to attend but as a student you tend to hear and study the current research so nothing seemed to new & innovative as far as lectures go. They also have an expo which is where a TON of vendors have booths displaying products and samples... yes FREE samples. So basically they give you this big tote and you walk around visiting these booths like Kraft and Cliff and they give you free samples of new products they have out. Its like trick-or-treating for RDs, no wonder they have it in October! I got so many interesting snacks... zucchini cookies, a billion soy-joy bars, some kitchen utensils, and I won a cookbook from the American Heart Association. Since I am a student I also got offers to free software for life and educational handouts on a variety of products. I had some sort of stomach virus while I was there so some of it was miserable but I had a fun experience nonetheless. I even got to grab lunch with a friend from undergrad & my undergrad program director. It's always nice to catch up. :)

Ok so the past few weeks I was interning at Lindenwood University Athletic Department. My favorite rotation thus far! I was really nervous for this rotation because even though my passion is sports nutrition it is definitely an area where I lack experience. My preceptor was great though so I got to do a variety of things instead of just individual counseling. I did do that with some wrestlers but I also taught some nutrition-related classes and created a nutrition education session for the rugby team. After lecturing the rugby team we had a Q&A session & I was surprised at how comfortable at was & how well I was able to answer their questions. It gave me a big boost of confidence which is something I have been lacking since beginning my internship. I really valued my two weeks there & learned what professional skills I need to continue to work on and hopefully can improve over my next few rotations.

Also while I was at Lindenwood I created an educational display about nutrition for performance recovery and made trail mix energy bites for the athletes to sample. They were a big hit! Obviously they were highly nutritious providing a great balance of carbohydrate, protein, and antioxidants to restore muscle glycogen and reduce stress on their bodies after training. Now they are packed with calories so they are probably not the best snack for those trying to lose weight but they're great for moms who have kids in sports because they store in the fridge for about two weeks! Below is the recipe but first some pictures. :)

on the bus to FNCE!

texas BBQ

what the typical lecture looked like

the FNCE expo

when you're in Texas look behind you ...

Zeke missed me while I was gone

filling = butter, brown sugar, chopped walnuts. fill bottom of crockpot with apple juice. cook on low for about 3 hours

educational display

this is the park where i run every Saturday (slowly working up to 9-10 miles)

needless to say fall is the best time of year for running!

20 minutes of brushing .. defeat. 

mom's home-made birthday gift this year :)

Trail Mix Energy Bites . 

oh & Colin & I carved some pumpkies; jack skellington & oogie boogie

Recipe for Trail Mix Energy Bites

Ingredients:

1/2 T vanilla extract

-        ½ c. peanut butter

-        ½ c. chocolate chips

-        ½ c. almonds

-        ½ c. chopped pretzels

-        1/3 c. honey

-        1/3 c. raisins or dried berries

-        1 c. rice puff cereal or old-fashioned oats

-        1 T. flaxseed (optional)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl until evenly coated.

Refrigerate for 2 hours. (This step is important, it makes them easy to shape)

Removes and shape into 1” balls or press into the bottom of a parchment-lined baking pan to make granola bars.

Enjoy immediately or refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. 

1

Overdue Update; September Flew By!

So I'm finally updating! It has been a busy month starting my rotations & adapting to a full time job lifestyle plus taking classes. So since my last post here are some things I've done. 

Emily & I went to the historic Soulard Farmer's market here in Saint Louis. We had a lot of fun buying a ton a fruits and veggies. They also have a meat market which I bought two steaks from. They were pretty good; when I made them I just added a little bit of seasoning and cooked them right on my grill pan. I also made a peach mango salsa. Mmm, seriously, it was amazing. I eat it with Tostitos multi-grain scoops. It mostly consists of peaches, mangoes, and tomatoes so it's packed with vitamin C and low-calorie so I don't have to feel guilty about having more than your typical 2T serving! Here is the recipe with a picture of the batch I made if you're interested. 

Ingredients:

4 large mangoes

3 large peaches peeled

2 cups fresh tomatoes, diced

1/2 sweet onion or red onion, diced

1 jalapeno pepper, minced

Juice of 1 lime

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup cilantro, minced

This is the recipe I used but I actually did equal parts peach & mango because I like peach flavor more than mango. Also, I still wanted it to have some earthy taste So I believe I did 2 tomatoes (with 3 peaches & mangoes) to achieve this. I also didn't measure everything out because it is salsa & that is just too much work! I'd recommend to just start chopping and sampling once you get most things compiled.

Once that enjoyable weekend was over I started on two clinical rotations; 2 weeks for diabetes at Saint Louis University Hospital & 2 weeks at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Peters for cardiovascular. During these rotations I got to counsel patients clinically for the very first time! I was pretty nervous going into it but I like to talk to people & got comfortable doing so pretty quickly. My preceptors at Barnes were awesome! They were so helpful in offering me advice & guidance & I feel like I learned so much from them in such a short time. I also got to see a cardiac catheterization while I was at Barnes. The doctors first placed a wire in the patients heart to determine where any clots were. There were 2 that were pretty significant so they ended up stenting them. The coolest part was being able to see how much smoother the blood flowed through the heart after the occlusions were cleared. Plus, later that day I was able to educate that patient on a heart healthy diet. 

The weekend between my cardiovascular weeks Colin & I went to Peoria to visit everyone because Jackie was throwing Mike & Rachel a birthday party. We had a ton of fun and of course it was great to catch up with everyone. I hope it isn't too long before we unite again!

We also saw Michael Buble last month as he was performing here in Saint Louis. WOW! He is seriously an amazing performer. I would definitely recommend going to see him some point if you enjoy his music. He has a unique talent of bringing comedy into his show & his music is even better live than recorded.  

So that brings me up to this past week, where I started a foodservice distribution rotation at Lutheran Senior Services. I am there with a fellow intern so it is nice to have someone to help with the projects we have for this rotation. Although I really like the facility, I feel like I've seen the ins and outs of long-term care foodservice so it isn't the most exciting. But on the bright side, the residents are pretty happy there. They have a pool and a movie theater! We are currently planning a fall-themed prayer breakfast for them and helping the men celebrate their Octoberfest this coming week! I will hopefully post more to conclude next weekend. 

As for tonight, Colin & I have a long-overdue date night planned. We are grabbing dinner at Colin's favorite, Fridays, & going to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2! I am pretty excited to put down the schoolwork & spend some stress-free quality time with him. 

& per usual here of some fun/weird/interesting photos from the past month!

5:30AM run - goodmorning STL!

So Colin was making shrimp & rice, I was adding veggies & thought why not just mix it all together?

It was soooo good! Added terriyaki sauce to bring it all together. 

Thanks FedEx... How the heck am I supposed to get that down?!

Zeke outside at Panera..

not sure if he's behaving or cowering from the other people around 

I have no words to describe this haha.

But really, Colin forgot his sunglasses.

Awh my cute little pumpkie to make our apartment a little more festive!

I actually bought a cute bat today too, I'll post it next time. 

Zeke, "did I shed all that?"

oh my gosh it is husky shedding season! 

Yes they have a season for that!

No joke.. we vacuumed the apartment 48 hours previous to taking this picture. 

this is just for the fam in AZ,

Incase they're missing the green and/or rainstorms

Oh I almost forgot! Here is the link to SLU DI's blog in case you're intested in health or DI's or happenings in STL according to some interns. I wrote the first post of the year. 

http://sludiblog.blogspot.com/

HAPPY OCTOBER! 

DI Orientation

So I decided to start a blog. Mostly for my family because they are so very far away but also because I want to document my dietetic internship. Which by the way...

I SURVIVED THE 3 WEEK AWFULLY INTENSE ORIENTATION. WOOO YEAH!!!

Needless to say I am exhausted and I failed 1/3 proficiency exams (by one question!!) but, I have had an amazing experience so far. First of all, I've met some pretty great people & I can tell spending the next nine months with them is going to be a blast!! 

Dietetic Interns @ Saint Louis University's Garden

Although orientation consisted of a lot of heavy lectures & projects oh and more projects and lectures we did some fun things! This past Wednesday we went to Missouri Botanical Gardens and WOW that place is beautiful. It was quite calming to walk through there; you felt the warm sun on your skin and could smell an array of different plants. There was an abundance of fresh scents of basil, lemon, sage, and even cocoa. I will definitely be going back there when I need some peace of mind. 

Last week had even more to do with gardening because it was nutrition education week. We spent the whole week planning lessons to visit elementary schools in the area. When we're at the schools we'll be working with the kids to grow vegetables in their garden over the course of four months (and of course incorporate some nutrition education into it!). Since our lesson plans are finally completed I am definitely looking forward to doing it next spring because working with children is always a fun experience. 

I am also very enthused (and pretty nervous) to start my diabetes clinical rotation at SLU's hospital next week. It will be so nice to get out of the classroom and into a situation where I can finally start putting my education into practice. :) 

So here are some pictures of the botanical gardens for y'all to enjoy although they really don't do it justice. Also some other fun ones from the past few weeks...

this guy... he read off the slides on that screen for an hour and a half!

end of orientation picture - super happy but exhausted!

(evidence = the bags under my eyes)

 SLU's Medical Campus - it's quite pretty!

 Here is a shot from the med campus but the big building with the green peaks

is SLU Hospital which I will be working in next week!

My new nook from The Container Store;

 pretty much where I spend my evenings with a hefty amount of caffeine

I will definitely have a lot to post next week I'm sure! Emily & I are going to the historic Soulard Famer's Market tomorrow (finally!) to get some delicious, healthy, fresh produce... and some mamosas, obviously. 

 Also, I want to say thanks to my parents for they gave me the privilege to have an education & to pursue my dream career. Thanks to my sisters for the sincere texts and hilarious pictures when I need a laugh. And thanks to Colin for making delicious dinners, listening to my rants and complaints, and rubbing my head so I can fall asleep.

 I am truly happy here. :)

Oh & thanks to Zeke... who has taken on the very difficult task of

guarding the apartment while we're both away all day. :P