A Self Confessed Workaholic - The Dietitian?

Pin It Now!

Feeling stressed?  Burnt out?  I know the feeling.  Health professionals like dietitians juggle responsibilities, whilst promoting evidence based practice.  We nurture a never ending expansive list of skills in barely enough hours of the day.  Yet we keep going, and going; and do our best to retain the picture of health.

They say there's a story behind every book and there's definitely a story behind every dietitian.  A dietitian can be based in a clinical hospital, run a business, work in the food or fitness industry or as a lecturer at a university.  Just like Cinderella, as the clock strikes a certain hour, some of us transform into bloggers, to bring to you the very latest updates in nutrition.  

It's been a little while since I've published a blog post, so I thought that it was only fair that you knew what I have been up to.  I am passionate about evidence based practice, so it should come as no surprise to you that I also work in the area of research.  I have currently completed a research study in vitamin A and am in the process of writing up the findings of this study.  As soon as I publish these results, I will share the study findings with you.  

My daily routine therefore comprises of clinical work in a children's hospital, where I will either review children's growth and nutritional requirements, or work on my research project.  I may have private clients to see later in the day or teaching material to prepare for the multidisciplinary team and patients.

For example, during the past week, I have been slaving away on a power point to update the renal team on vitamin A.  After all, clean slides with messages in bullet points or via images help convey key messages clearly. But really, the biggest influences for a powerful and successful presentation are the content itself and how well you have revised your notes, don't you think?

The role of the dietitian is not as straight forward as it appears.  I rarely work the typical 9-5 either.  Behind the scenes I can recall the countless times when I have comforted mums when they first learn about their child's diagnosis.  I may even lend a caring ear when she simply needs to vent or talk about her impossible non-compliant teenager.  I chat to food companies for further details on food ingredients or lately have been studying metabolic disorders very closely.

When I am not bordering on 'workaholism', I enjoy running or spending time with friends.  Here are photos below from my Friday girly night out.  These nights out in London really help melt away any stress that may have accumulated over the week.

This was a delicious strawberry cocktail that was topped with champagne.

The creator of the cocktail Ervy from How To Host An Italian Themed Dinner Party had us green with envy over this delicious raspberry cocktail.

This is last night’s dinner – Japanese seafood Udon noodles with mango & papaya salad on the side.  

We also shared pieces of sushi that were filled with avocado and salmon.  Delicious!

I am feeling re-energised (though the thought of working tomorrow makes me a little sad), but here's to more blog posts from A Light Perspective.

How do you cope with stress?  Do share and comment below.  I do love hearing from you!

How To Host An Italian Themed Dinner Party

Pin It Now!

My lovely friends Natalee and Alex hosted an Italian themed dinner party last night.  They had  brought back gorgeous delights from Tuscany from spicy chorizo, gammon to Tuscan wines.

We started the evening with an amazing sunny cocktail called 'The Ervy' created by Ervina.  If you are thinking I could do with a punchy cocktail, then you'll love The Ervy.

The star ingredient is Limoncello liquer which is an Italian alcohol based on lemons.  It is amazing added with champagne or as a digestive inbetween courses.


Ingredients
1 shot Limoncello
1/2 shot vodka
1/2 lime halved
1 teaspoon raw sugar (optional)
150ml pink apple lemonade

Methods
Add the Limoncello and vodka into a cocktail shaker.  Squeeze juice of lime and add the lime quarters into the shaker.  Next add the sugar if using and the lemonade.  Shake.  In a glass add ice and pour this delicious sunny party cocktail drink.  Your guests will simply love it.  We did!


For a healthy start we feasted on fruit such as grapes, strawberries and melon with Italian proscuitto.  This is an excellent way of enjoying the summer's heat the healthy Italian way.

The Italian themed night would not have been the same without Prosecco!  We love bubbles and we paired this with a gorgeous chorizo based quiche.  We even threw in wild hibiscus for a sweet touch into the prosecco.  It tasted like raspberries and was sourced from travels down under to Australia.

Limoncello was the perfect digestive on the rocks.  I loved it's gorgeous beach worthy yellow. It was perfect under the sun and really was golden glamour for an Italian themed meal.

The meal was finally sealed with homemade pizza.  The dough was prepped 48 hours in advance, rolled then topped with olive oil, fresh basil & rosemary.  Variations of this pizza were toppings such as sliced bell peppers, mozarella, salami and a rich tomato paste.

The only way to survive an Italian themed evening is to eat a little bit of everything.  Taste and savour each bite then concentrate on the stimulating conversation, not the food.

I believe gorgeous prawns served with ink squid pasta followed for the absolute final dish!  Not surprisingly we were too stuffed for dessert which was crème brûlée.  It must be tough leading the high life if you dined like this every night, but for us Italian lovers, this meal got us into the swing of glorious Italian themed dinner parties!

Have a fantastic week lovely readers.  What do you serve for an Italian themed dinner party?