Hello all!

I wanted to start this blog by telling you a little about my journey that brought me to get into this area and obtain these passions that I have come to live by.   I want to allow a chance in this section of my blog for you to get to know me and for you to share more about yourself in the comments section!

First, I wanted to start by sharing the start of my journey brings me back when I was a little girl.  I loved to eat and I loved to be around the kitchen and I loved food and seeing my family cook and helping wherever I could at such as young age.  I would observe looking up all the way to the stovetop, my pop-pop (who was straight from Italy, and he lived with us my whole life as well as my mom-mom…basically as a second set of parents… yeah didn\’t like it then but sure do appreciate it now!!!) singing to his ribeye steak with the smell of garlic sautéing and the sound of oil popping in the pan.  He would swear that by putting \”love\” into your food, it would love you back! I truly do believe that today now as I see all the years that my love for food and cooking with extra passion and love, created so many delightful dishes and brought family and friends closer together at the table…which was what I lived for and still what I live for today!

I have so many heartfelt memories of my pop-pop and mom-mom and dad barbecuing and mom cooking our favorites also.  These memories always were surrounding food, family and fun and always led me into the kitchen to feel my Heart-N-Sol come alive! This would be the reason why I chose to go to high school for culinary arts in a \”shared-time\” vocational school and then go part-time and a private school.

I flourished so much with culinary arts versus straight academics (which I dreaded, considering I would say and still do that my favorite classes were gym, lunch and art class!).  I got involved in culinary competitions and FCCLA which was a leadership group where we would compete in different areas such as culinary arts, and other career areas.  I was vice-president and then president of FCCLA in our chapter in South Jersey and started to obtain so many skills such as public speaking in front of so many people and winning state competitions and going to nationals for culinary arts and winning a bronze medal.  This all was because of the encouragement, care, and guidance of a Chef Instructor I had (Chef D) at my vocational school and my mama. My mom I still thank today for getting me into that vocational high school although it was just past the application deadline , but she pushed and did what she does best and makes things happen for her children when they have a passion and a drive for something.

After excelling with culinary arts, my Chef told me when I asked him where I should go to college for culinary arts, \”The Culinary Institute of America. If you want to be the best…go to the best and you can figure out the rest.\” I took his advice and applied and got accepted to The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park New York.  I ended up obtaining my Bachelor of Professional Studies in Culinary Arts Management.

It was in school at the CIA where I would come to realize that I loved food and I wanted to teach culinary arts one day but I never believed in what the field tends to teach in schools \”more butter, more sugar, more cream, more salt…is all flavor!\” I always knew I wanted to make people happy by teaching how to cook great food to please people, but I never felt sound in my soul to teach those principles because I saw firsthand what culinary students who followed this principle experienced…the Freshman 50\’s! \”Normal\” schools tended to experience what people know as the Freshman 15\’s, but in culinary school it was definitely the Freshman 50\’s.  I tried to workout and stay active and choose better options (as much as I could at that delicious culinary school with gourmet food everywhere!) so luckily I did not gain that weight as many did.  It was this that led me to take an elective course in my Bachelor\’s called \”Advanced Concepts in Nutrition\”.  It would be here in this class that would change my life forever.  I loved nutrition and still having to understand food and tie them both in together.  I loved being more aware of how food effects the body and mind. I loved it all and hurried up to call my mom after my first day in that class and said that I am going to finish school at CIA and my degree and after I obtain management experience, I will go back to school to become a Registered Dietitian!

After I worked as a Restaurant Manager in Atlantic City for a bit, it was time for me to go back to school and start bridging the gap so that I can get into the health and wellness field fast! I saw how in the restaurant industry for so many years in different places- the hours of working nights, weekends, holidays, and so many 12-14 hours days 6 + days a week created a very unhealthy lifestyle that I knew I could not do for long and have a family that I devoted my time and love to as well.  I went to school then, for Personal Training and started working as a personal trainer after I competed in a type of Bodybuilding competition called a \”Figure competition\”.  I loved the industry and the positivity and the preventative upbeat environment of health and wellness that I never really looked back!

After my Personal Training studies, I started my undergrad in Dietetics and then excelled and found even more love for the field and continued onto my MAster\’s of Science in Dietetics at Eastern Michigan University (distance program) that focused on Business Entrepreneurship which was why I picked the school also considering I had my business already at that time (established in 2014) and knew I wanted to pursue my own Private Practice after I obtained my RDN credentials to be able to practice as an evidence-based Dietitian on my own.

This journey has led me to now and here with you all who I want to get to know and get to share my passions with for food, Nutrition , God, mental health, emotional health, physical health and spiritual health and growth.  I want you to look forward to posts about but not limited to(please feel free to suggest any posts too want me to write on!!!): recipes, cooking videos, my personal experiences in these areas, exercise, meditation, mental health, breathing, Jesus, and lots of different tools that I love to obtain wellness!

I pray that you feel comfortable to share about yourself and get in contact with me if you feel that you would like to grow in any of these areas and I would LOVE to meet you anywhere in your journey for better health and wellness and a healthy Heart-N-Sol!

God Bless You!

Amanda

xoxo

 

Here are some pictures of me, my family and my mama duck and me (when I really started to love food!):