I've become a food-blog addict! I love food and cooking and eating and nutrition, and apparently I talk about it so much that my friends and family saw it only fitting that I start my own blog. So here goes!

My name is Linnie...hi! I am a former professional photographer, pre-med school student (was not accepted though...it's okay really), dietitian wannabe! I am very passionate about healthy cooking and eating, and treating our bodies with the respect they deserve by living a healthy active lifestyle. This summer I am in the process of applying to the Masters Program in Dietetics and Nutrition at the University of Kansas Medical School. I am so excited about the future this career holds for me and can't wait to begin helping people understand more about their bodies and the role food plays in their lives and well-being.

All of my adult life I've struggled with keeping a balance in my life. Juggling work, school, family life, being a wife/friend/daughter/sister/aunt/niece and taking time for yourself on top of all of that is not easy. I am just like everyone else, I have good days and bad. I get all excited about a new workout regimen just to stay committed for a week and then go back to my lazy ways. I am not overweight, but like most women I have been unhappy with my appearance for most of my life and have just lacked the motivation to do anything about it. This summer I took a step in the direction of getting my health and fitness under control. In mid-April, I started working with a personal trainer and implementing a pretty serious diet (I hate that word, lets call it a nutrition plan). I'll be done with my 12 week Transformation in mid-July and am so excited about the progress I've made. Being active nearly every day of the week, and eating only healthy whole foods has helped me reach goals I've made for myself and feel the best I've ever felt! It's amazing how good you can feel when you eat right!

So what will you find here? FOOD! I plan to, of course, post my favorite recipes (mostly healthy) and meals that we eat. I believe in balance overall, and I know that if I deprive myself of things that I'll go nuts when I finally get to have them, so don't freak out on me if I post a cheesecake recipe once in a while! I have a heavy background in science (from preparing to apply to medical school) and am somewhat of a chemistry nerd, so I'll post every so often about specific macro and micro nutrients and what they do in our body. I believe understanding how our body reacts to foods and what it does with the nutrients they provide helps us to make better choices. Also, I would love to post and talk about big shifts that are happening in our country to allow for healthier eating and educating consumers.

A disclaimer...I am not a chef or professionally trained cook. Everything I know about cooking, I learned from watching my mom and just practicing on my own! I've always loved to cook, it's a form of stress relief for me. I can remember making treats for my mom and her coworkers while I was in middle school and delivering them on my bike. I love to try new things and just love eating! Another disclaimer...I am currently not a nutritionist or dietitian. My goal is to become a dietitian and I am taking the steps with my education to become one in the not-so-distant future, so the information I provide you is from things I've learned in classes I've taken and research I've done on my own.

I thank you so much for visiting my new little blog and I hope you stop by often! Please feel free to comment and let me know exactly what you'd like to see. Anything you want to know about specifically? Questions about anything? Certain recipes you're interested in? Ask away!