Leslie Weidner, RDN, CD: Owner of The Healthy Spoon
One of the best things about being a private practice dietitian is the ability to provide a variety of services in addition to nutrition counseling. There is never a dull moment! Most of my clients are busy moms like myself. Thus it’s important that I provide them with services and packages that will simplify their already hectic lives, especially when it comes to providing healthy food for themselves and their entire family. Currently I offer personalized nutrition services including customized meal planning, grocery store tours, pantry makeovers and in-home cooking demonstrations.
MEAL PLANNING
I personally find meal planning to be extremely valuable. It not only helps me maintain healthy habits but benefits my whole family. It also teaches my kids the importance of good nutrition. When they see me making a plan, writing out a grocery list and cooking with fresh ingredients, I know I am teaching them good habits that will hopefully stick with them as adults. Whether you live alone, with a partner or have a family to feed, having a meal plan can save time, money and effort.
When I approach the subject of meal planning with clients, they are often reluctant at first and respond in similar ways. They mention they would love to plan meals each week or that they should meal plan, BUT (insert barrier): “no time” or “it’s too expensive to shop each week.” Clients often do not know how to get started and think that meal planning must be all or nothing. It definitely does not have to be and can actually save money, reduce food waste and save a whole lot of time in the long run.
From a dietitian’s perspective, meal planning can be extremely time consuming to tailor plans to meet specific dietary needs of each individual. Luckily I discovered a wonderful software program called EatLove, which I started using in my practice several months ago. It is an amazing platform with over 4,000 tested recipes written by dietitians. It is designed to meet the needs of clients with various health conditions, food allergies, food preferences and various skill levels of cooking. In general, my clients have loved the ease of use, the variety of recipes to choose from and the auto-generated grocery list. One of my client’s that has been following a vegetarian, mainly vegan diet said it helped keep him on track, especially when it comes to healthy snacking. Another client said she loves being able to swap out meals, create an instant grocery list and that her kids really enjoyed the recipes. It is definitely a service I will continue to use in my practice.
SUPERMARKET TOURS
Taking a group of clients (in my case moms) on a guided tour of the grocery store has been a great way to gain long-term clients and to showcase some of my skills as a dietitian. I usually start in the produce section, demonstrating how to pick certain items when they are at their peak freshness, how to shop for fruits and vegetables according to season and sharing tips for incorporating more fruits and veggies in meals and snacks. Providing my own healthy snack to share with the group afterward is always a good incentive. I continue with a complete walk-through of the store, teaching clients how to read a nutrition label, pointing out healthy substitutes along the way while keeping it as interactive as possible. I also tend to point out brands that I trust and use in my own recipes at home. Sharing my experiences is a great way to connect and to relate to their situations, which my clients have told me they appreciate.
COOKING DEMOS/PANTRY MAKEOVERS
In addition to my practice, I also try to seek out experiences to improve my culinary skills and public speaking abilities. I really enjoy teaching healthy cooking classes which I have done several times at Evergreen hospital and through the Whole Foods Healthy Teachers program at local area schools. Showing people how to actually prep and cook a nutritious meal from start to finish goes a long way in helping them implement the strategies I teach during one-to-one counseling sessions. Though I would love to write about my clients’ experiences with in-home cooking demos and pantry makeovers, I have not yet implemented these in my practice. As I grow, I am hoping clients find these services useful and will start to show interest as a result.
Thanks to GSDA for letting me discuss some of the things I do in my private practice!
Contact Leslie
The Healthy Spoon
www.thspoon.com
leslie.weidner@thspoon.com