Do I practice what I preach as a nutritionst?

I like to think so.  Well, I do now.  I absolutely did not while I was busy waiting tables at a Mexican restaurant  in lower Manhattan drowning myself in Sauza Tequila by night and subsisting off of extra-spicy guacamole by day.  And I will continue to believe in my perfect Thanksgiving Day fantasy where, just on that one day (it's all i ask!), calories cease to exist.  Really, all I want in the world to do on Thanksgiving Day is to wake up, walk to the couch, drink lots of beer, watch the Lions lose again, and eat until I reach that uncomfortably full point.  Love the holidays!

But now.  Ask any one of my three roommates (who are also nutritionists and one of whom is a registered nurse) and they'll tell you that I eat...well...that I eat pretty strange grub.  Take a glance into the fridge and you'll find that I am an absolute health nut. No, no, no, far more extreme than that.  I'm more like a radical-freak when it comes to what I eat.  But I'm cool with that self-administered label.

So, I'd like to take this time to answer that one particular question that at times drives me a little bit crazy:  "...and what is it that you do Karin?"
"Well, right now I'm working as a nutritionist at the University Health Center nutrition consulting and such."
"Oh! A nutritionist, are you!? Is this healthy!?" (as he or she gestures to either their drink in hand or their plate of food.  However, when I was working as a beercart girl at a local golf course, it would usually be a guy grabbing a hold of his big ol' beer belly).  And usually followed by, "I bet you eat so healthy." 
Yes, for the most part I do.  Not because I have to, because I love to.  I love the way real food is and I love the way real food tastes.  I'm incredibly attached to nutrition and fascinated by my career because I know I'll never truly learn all that there is about it.  Listen, I don't judge you when you want to swing by the Wendy's drive-thru (because I'm ordering a frosty while we're at it), but I only wish I can somehow transfer my passion for all things good, pure, and healthy about genuine food unto you.

Believe me, I was a Pop-Tart eating, Pizza Hut dialing, Super Mario addicted little kid just like the rest of um'.  I didn't have one of those free radical mothers who force fed me pureed tofu from a silver spoon.  As far as I can remember, we really had no diet restrictions in our household.  I can remember a time when my mother disdainfully purchased Mountain Dew after I threw a fit.  But honestly, no rules whatsoever about what my brother and I could or could not eat.
My interest in nutrition came naturally.  Little by little the pieces fell into place.  I started reading more about it, bought a few great cookbooks and developed a cooking habit, subscribed to Health Magazine and Shape, unsuccessfully tried the vegan thing (as inspired by The Food Revolution*), and well now, that junk food crap doesn't really even phase me.  I don't look at it as food.  Because it's not food.  Would you feed your dog a big bowl of coffee and doughnuts in the AM? Of course not!  Because if ya did, the poor dog would get pretty dang sick.  Why would you intentionally make your dog ill?.... So then why do we feed it to ourselves?

I am offering, for those who are really interested, a glimpse into my diet.  Honest as I can remember, here is what I ate today (5/14/2010):

Breakfast:  Was quite the mix-up this morning:  in a bowl I combined about 1 cup of canned organic butternut squash which I found recently at Target mixed with + 5 or 6 whole dates + 1 tablespoon of unprocessed honey form the Houston Farmers' Market (the lady convinced me it was full of bee pollen to crank up my immune system.  Does anyone know anything about this?) + a dash or whatever of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg + 1 heaping tablespoon of peach pecan butter and that's not all folks + a handful of unsalted sunflower seeds.  = eaten in my truck on my hurried way to the hospital.  Tasted like a pseudo-pumpkin pie of sorts.  All I do at work is drink tons of brewed tea.  Today I drank almost 5 tea bags of spiced chai, my new fav.

Lunch: half of a whole avocado [read about my avocado movement] eaten with a spoon and a little salt, 2 scrambled eggs I made in the microwave on a whole wheat tortilla with salt and pepper, 1 big and amazingly ripe pear, 1 organic graham cracker, and 1 small square of 90% dark chocolate
Dinner:  very good sized glass of chardonnay, sauteed garlic+ onions+broccoli+tofu+red beans mixed with a marinara sauce over red quinoa.
And dessert?  Yet to be determined.  Told ya it was going to be weird!

For those of you who are looking for a good read, I recommend John Robbins' Food Revolution - How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Our World.  You know Baskin-Robbins ridiculously good ice cream?  John Robbins is the only son of the company's founder, Mr. Robbins himself!  You think the son of the most popular ice cream chain in the US would be shoveling in his 31 flavors of ice cream by the gallons daily and shouting out his 'I Love Ice Cream' manifesto from the roof tops.  But he actually forwent his fathers' request to take over the family ice cream business and get this - John Robbins is a VEGAN!  Nada ice cream for this guy.  John Robbins is simply a fantastic health advocate and food writer.  Reading his book has forever changed my life, and I believe if you read it with an open mind and heart, it will change yours too.  Visit his website or buy the book.