My interest in nutrition began in college. I was a typical college coed who ate a lot of high-fat foods and partied on the weekends. I began to be concerned about what I was doing to my body with the choices I was making, and decided to study nutrition—to help myself and to spend my life helping others make smarter choices about eating and activity. I have never regretted the time I spent obtaining my nutrition degree from Kansas State University, nor my Master's degree in counseling from the University of Kansas. I love my work counseling university students on eating issues, and I also love the teaching I do for Baker University. My individual counseling sessions allow me to influence students in a positive way to make small, significant changes in their eating patterns. These changes can make a huge difference over time, and they help people avoid many of the diseases we associate with obesity. My teaching allows me to share the importance of good nutrition and fitness with a larger audience and is a nice change of pace from my one-to-one sessions with students.
I am a wife and a mother of two sons and one stepson, and I love to cook for all my men. I keep my meals low fat, but try to make food interesting by adding fresh herbs and spices when I cook. I also love to bake, and we always eat homemade bread with our meals. When I bake pies and cookies, I don't modify recipes but use real butter and eggs because small amounts of dessert items and treats won't hurt us if our diets are healthy and low fat most of the time.
HSES 330 Principles of Health and Nutrition