Yep, that’s a Kelly Clarkson song on the left side. No shame. And on the right side you’ll see just a small little title and date. Which….IS THE TITLE AND RELEASE DATE OF MY BOOK, B!

I’M WRITING A BOOK, Y’ALL!!

A cook schmook about skinny recipes under 300 calories. AKA, what this little blawg of mine is about! Can you believe it? I definitely can’t. At all. It’s going to be hard, a ton of work, probably no sleep and less healthy behavior (like talking to people other than my dog/knives and working out) but omg it’s going to be incredible. Because you know what?

THIS HAS BEEN MY DREAM SINCE I WAS 5. As soon as I could pick up a pen I was writing. My first book was a triology about an evil fire breathing dragon who captured a princess. I wrote it in colored pencils on that printer paper with the holes on it? Remember from the 90′s? After that I went on to write scary stories, like are you afraid of the dark but just a smidge darker (because I grew up watching Stephen King movies). I wrote a 5 page poem about Christmas and elves when I was in elementary school. I wrote it 5 times so I could give copies to my family. I’d spend HOURS in my room, creating story lines with paper dolls, daydreaming of my next book. And I never stopped. In high school I’d write to escape the misery I was feeling in the town I grew up in. In college I found solace in dark poems and short stories. And in 2009, I started this blog so I could fall in love with something again because I was so horribly depressed at my job. Writing never gave up on me, it never strayed my side, even those months I gave up on it. It’s always been in my blood and to sit here and say “I’m writing a book” is surreal. Because writing a book is my dream and who is lucky enough in this world to get to do what they’ve always dreamed of doing?

In fact, I have a story just about this. I got a message a month ago from a girl I went to high school and college with. And here’s what it said:

“Hey Claire, I have to say I have been following your blog and I am totally impressed with what you are doing!! Congrats on what you have accomplished and will continue to accomplish. I just remember sitting in the dorms watching sex and the city and you saying how you wanted a job like Carrie. Shoot now you have it just the food version and that is so cool!” 

I mean, I bet you can’t tell which one is Carrie and which one is me, right? I mean, so identical. But really, I remember that. We’d sit in the dorms and I’d just gush about how I wanted her job. I wanted to be a writer and live in a fascinating city. I wanted to make a difference just by doing what I loved. Of course, when I was 18, that seemed like such a stretch. A far fetched dream. How was this seemingly ordinary girl from Noblesville, Indiana ever going to have such a fabulous life? That kind of stuff never happened to people like me. Well, after a few years of really, really tough times I realized something about myself. Those dreams were never going to happen to me if I kept thinking like that. So I stopped. I never gave up. And after years, and years of hard work, sleepless nights and determination, I’m here right now tell you I made those dreams come true.

(Hey look Ma! I’m on TV!)

So, thank you all for everything. This wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t here, reading my words, laughing at my absurd jokes, making my recipes. I’d never have a book if you weren’t here. So thank you. I’ll never be able to thank you enough, though. You guys are why my dreams came true.

I know I’m going to need recipe testers for all of my recipes, so please email me (realistic.nutritionist@gmail.com) if you’d be interested in making and trying some of my book recipes! In the meantime, I’ll definitely keep y’all updated on how I’m doing.

I still can’t believe it but I know how insanely blessed I am. Because some people wait a lifetime, for a moment like this. 

The post A Wee Bit O’ News appeared first on The Realistic Nutritionist.

So, what do y’all think of the two finalists, Brooke and Sheldon? If I had to pick one of them, I’d pick Brooke, for a few reasons.

To begin with, she’s a better chef. Despite being on top of almost every single challenge, her food just seems more balanced. (Not to mention, she never screwed up tempura, TWICE). A few of my favorite dishes of hers include:

[Image via Bravo]

• Last week’s braised chicken and quail. I’m ADDICTED to braised chicken and it honestly looked so rich and flavorful. The meat just looked fall off the bone tender and I was literally salivating watching the episode. 

[Image via Bravo]

• Her sockeye salmon with the seafood broth on the episode two weeks ago. The sauce looked SO full of flavor and I’m utterly addicted to sourdough bread. As in, I could eat a loaf of it every single day without avail. That paired with perfectly cooked salmon is like heaven in my book.

So, I like Brooke, but guess what? I don’t think she should WIN the show overall. I know, I just threw you for a loop. Between her and Sheldon? Yes, she’s the clear winner. But between her and Kristin, the person I’m SURE is coming back from Last Chance Kitchen, Kristin should win.

I know I said I didn’t love Kristin before, but she’s an amazing chef. I think she’s got more talent than Brooke and should win. My favorite dish of the entire season was made by Kristin. Can you guess what it is?

[Image via Reality Nation]

• Her poached chicken breast with miso and herbs. When you poach a chicken breast, it comes out SO moist. I’ve tried, and failed, twice so I’m in awe of anyone who can do that. Plus, the sauce looked good enough to drink. I’m also a simple girl who just loves comfort food, so this really spoke to me.

Including my favorite dish, Kristin also has my FAVORITE quote from the entire season, which was said during restaurant wars.

“I’d rather have a dishwasher cooking than Josie.”

And at that point she really won my heart. Because as you can read in this post, I DESPISE JOSIE. So anyway, enough about me, who do you guys think should wine? And why? Share your thoughts with me in the comment section!

Content and/or other value provided by our partner, Bravo.

The post My #TopChef Finale Pick appeared first on The Realistic Nutritionist.

The post Day of Remembrance appeared first on The Realistic Nutritionist.

I’ll write. I’ll finally pursue the thing every single person I’ve ever met told me to do. I’ll do the thing I spent countless hours doing as a misguided youth. As a girl born with a pen in her hand, you’d think this revelation was easy. You’d think I’d have known I would write since I started. Oh, just how perfect that would be. But life, with all her personality and spunk, she certainly ain’t perfect.

I bet you’re wondering “what does this have to do with food?” fair question. I mean, this is a food blog. The answer is simple, really. No long winded explanations or diatribes for you here. Food brought me back to life. If it wasn’t for my discovery of the incredible wonder of food, I wouldn’t be here, typing this post with tears rushing down my face.

You see, I haven’t always had a wonderful life. Like George in the beloved Christmas movie, it took nearly throwing myself into a freezing river to find it. I have a dark and stormy past. One I’m not ready to tell you about because simply, I’m not strong enough to face it yet. I’ve dealt with events no person should ever deal with and each day I’m welcomed with a sad reminder of them. Like a shadow looming in the blurry, dim lit corner, I’m always being followed by my past. A girl I’m so thankful I was but am so scared to become again. Besides being a few shades of screwed up, I’m also strong. I learned that life was never going to just hand you a rope when you’re about to fall backwards off a cliff. Life is going to help you figure out how to climb back up to the top, on your own. Life, she may be cruel, but she’s nothing but fair. Even in those days where my only solace was found in a bottle of libations, I learned the only way I’d ever find my way back to sanity was to be strong. And  because of that strength I got through college and found myself a little fish in a big ass pond in the corporate world of Washington DC.

Even after my first big girl paycheck and happy hour with colleagues, I knew I wasn’t happy. Days, months, years passed by as I continued my robotic existence into work, knowing each second I spent there was choking my insides. Then, something happened. I started this blog in November of 2009 and found a purpose. Then, in 2010, I started cooking and taking photos of my food. That day my first food post went live (oh god those photos) was the day I knew things were going to change. And here I am, three years later and I’m still counting every blessing that I found it. You see, it had always been food, all along, it just took nearly two years of depression to fall back head over heels in love with it.

Discovering flavors and ingredients gave me something to look forward to, something to restimulate my jaded mind. But it was the writing about food that awakened me. That unlocked my casket and gave me life. Each word I typed, I felt stronger. Smarter. Happier. Writing and discovering food showed me something. It showed me I could be happy.

So, 3 years pass and here I am. I left that awful job and found a new one I couldn’t love more if I tried. Every second I’m awake I want to pinch myself. And despite my articles, my experiences, my successful blog, I still never truly felt like a writer. That was until I sat down last Monday night, exasperated from traveling. I had a red eye the night before and had spent the past 5 hours diligently working. However, despite my exhaustion and stress, I looked at my computer screen, and opened word. Like a flash of lighting, it struck me. After 8 hours of traveling, 5+ hours of writing and cooking, I still wanted to write. I still wanted to pour my heart onto a blank page. So I did. I sat in the dark, hours past my bedtime and I wrote. All done with an almost creepy, menical smile. Even with lead eyelids, I had to write.

It was then I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. A writer. A food writer, a travel writer, a poem and story writer. In 30 seconds I finally knew what I couldn’t wait to do for the next billion of seconds left in my life. And you know what I owe all of this to? My happily ever after? Who to thank for my life changing realization? Why, food of course. This nutrient that is necessary for life gave me something, a chance for my own happily ever after.

Now that, my friends, is what you call a true foodie.

The post My Love Letter to Food appeared first on The Realistic Nutritionist.

I have never been more nervous for any one event in my entire life. Not my first day of college, not my wedding day, not my first day at my post-college job. Not when I board a plane. Every day last week was filled with complete and utter anxiety over what was going to happen on Saturday. I think my nerves stemmed from the fact I had NO idea what to expect.

This was my first audition for anything. Ever. Let’s just say I’ve never been one to seek out the spotlight. This chance was something I just COULDN’T turn down. I pre-applied once I found out about the show. Of course, I checked the “sending in a home video” box since the idea of traveling for an audition seemed insane. Literally 2 minutes after my application was sent, I got a call from ABC. They did a pre-interview, asking me about some of my answers on the application and inquiring about my cooking dreams and goals. Then, she personally asked me to come out to NYC for the casting call. I decided then and there I would go. I hadn’t been to NYC since I was 13 and who am I to say no to an ABC executive?

Last week I was a huge ball of nerves leading up to it. On Friday, I was so nervous I forgot half of my things (like PJ’s, a Tupperware for my soup, phone charger). But once we arrived into the city, my nerves kind of dissipated and I was in awe of the city.

Saturday morning was filled with excitement, nervousness and quite a few “holy shit” moments. I woke up early, made my soup and before I knew it, it was time to go.

We got there about 15 minutes before the start time and the line was already pretty long.

The line was filled with people from all walks of life. There were people dressed in their chef jackets, people wearing jeans and t-shirts, rompers, dresses. You name it, someone had it on. I was so lucky to be surrounded by two really great people, one who was on their second cooking show audition. The line took a while, like 3 hours, but I was happy my friend waited with me and I had two other nervous and excited cooks to go through it with. It really helped me get ready for the audition because I had a chance to open up.

Once we got into the actual audition room (they did 12 of us at once), I felt nothing but excitement. As the food expert and casting director walked by to each of the contestants, I felt more and more ready to do it. Ready to talk about why I love food and let my personality shine. I think I did great. I felt comfortable, funny, in my element. I was proud of my soup and I hoped it was enough to get me a chance to talk more.

Well, sadly, it wasn’t. And you know what? I was bummed. I’ll be honest. I felt disappointed. But it wasn’t a normal disappointment when things like this happen. I didn’t rack my brain going “why didn’t they pick me?” or “I knew I should have done more, made more.” Instead, I left inspired. I’m not lying when I say I was in a room with some of the most talented people I’ve ever met. Trained chefs, cookbook authors, naturally talented home cooks. I mean, one of the guys made Colombian tamales with a plantain crust. Another made a delicious ceviche. Another created the most delicious pie out of almonds, apples and cappuccino whipped cream. Being in a room with such talented inspired me more than I can tell you. As I walked from the hotel to Central Park, I was feeling more motivated than ever before.

This experience taught me SO much about myself and my dreams. For one, it taught me that I need to stop playing it so safe with my food. I’ll be honest, I tend to flock to dishes that seem comfortable, that seem to only slightly challenge me. I don’t try ingredients that sound too exotic or dishes that seem to hard. I play it on the safe side when it comes to my cooking and I need to shake that. I need to challenge myself every single time I’m in the kitchen. I need to use things I’ve never used, make something I’ve never made, try foods I never thought I would. Playing it safe never got anyone anywhere, and I’m ready to GO SOMEWHERE.

It also just solidified the fact that culinary school is where I’m supposed to go. This year, I’ve been seriously thinking of it. I’d say I was 92% sure culinary school was where I was headed before I entered this audition. Leaving it? I was 1000% sure it was where I’m meant to go. Food is my life. Not just the preparation of it, the eating or photographing of it either. EVERYTHING. I’m fascinated by flavors, by origins, by sizes, textures and colors. Every single thing about food excites me. As I was talking with a few recent culinary grads, their advice to me was the same.

“GO!! If you love food, go. It will change your life.”

So I’m going to get over my fear of failure, my fear of rejection and apply. I’m going to follow my dreams wherever they take me, whether that means to Paris or Hyde Park, NY or Italy. I’m going to follow every instinct I have. Because if I don’t, who will?

It also taught me something else. That I’m pretty good at this whole trying out for TV thing. That I’m good enough to be on a show. I’m not going to give up and I’m going to keep trying out for these shows b/c I think I have something completely different to bring to the table. I think I have a great personality and a fun demeanor. I think I could do great things.  Food Network Star? I’m looking at you .

I’m going to take this life of mine by the balls and continue to better myself. Isn’t that what this crazy thing called life is about anyway?

The post Lessons From My First Audition appeared first on The Realistic Nutritionist.

I mean, who isn’t with me there? So, today, as you can allude from the title, doesn’t bring with it delicious recipes. In fact, we’re going to have a little chatski about something I know every single one of us bloggers feels at one point in our online  lives.

CYBER ENVY. 

[via Pinterest]

I read this amazing article on She Knows yesterday about this very topic and got the wheels rolling for me. That article was written for moms but I think cyber envy is something that plagues all of us who spend a lot of time online and who have built large online communities. Like I’ve said before, especially in the food blogging world, it’s hard not to feel envy and jealousy over some of our peer’s success!

This weekend, for example, I really struggled with cyber envy. For one, a lot of my food friends were in Seattle for BlogHer food. So, every-time I opened my phone, I was reminded by tweets, Facebook posts and Instagram pics of how amazing the conference was. Then, I was reminded of all the amazing sponsorships and freebies some bloggers got. It was depressing, to say the least. I hate to admit this but I let those feelings win and felt really down on Sunday, especially.

[via Pinterest]

It’s really hard not to let it control you. It’s hard not to let amazing photos, other’s success and seemingly perfect lives send you into a spiraling fit of sadness (or straight into a pint of ice cream or bottle of wine). I was feeling crappy this weekend and yesterday, but then I read that article and it all just snapped. One of the biggest points I took away from it was this simple fact: what people post on Facebook, Twitter, blogs and Instagram are their best lives. You aren’t going to see someone post a status saying “My husband and I got into a huge fight over money.” Or “my child is failing at school” or “I’m 10,000 in credit card debt”. You’re going to see photos of their perfect vacation, their child’s little league trophy and a new Kate Spade Bag.

That card sums it up PERFECTLY. Very few people put unappealing, unflattering photos of themselves online. Very few people point out the gaping flaws in their life. No one is perfect. No one. No one’s lives are perfect. People fight with their significant others, they lose their jobs and gain weight and spend more than they should. They go through horrific times. But they aren’t going to write about that online. So when you’re feeling inadequate about someone’s “perfect” post, remember, they aren’t perfect. You’re just seeing the glossy magazine ad of their lives.

[via Pinterest]

Another important point I struggle with daily is just unplugging and doing something about it. When I start to feel depressed about the state of my own life because of something I see online, I don’t immediately unplug, which is one of my biggest problems. Staring at photos of someone’s amazing vacation isn’t going to make me feel better about the fact I haven’t been on one in a year. Or reading about someones awesome weight loss journey isn’t going to make me magically lose those last 10 pounds. I think one of the most important take-aways of this little diatribe and the article on She Knows is this. If you aren’t happy with your own life and are constantly envious of others, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

[via Pinterest]

It’s not an easy thing to do, trust me, I struggle. But using that envy and that jealousy to fuel your own passions is one of the best ways to turn those negative feelings into something positive. Sunday night when I was weeping at Instagram because I wasn’t on a sponsored vacation on a resort, I got up and made cupcakes. I turned those sad, jealous, crippling envious feelings into something delicious. Cooking and crafting, for me, are my outlets. When I’m sad, angry or bummed, I bake or create something delicious on the stove. Or, I grab some ribbon or spoons and make something beautiful. I try my very best to turn those feelings into something that will make my life better.

[via Pinterest]

I’m not perfect in how i deal with cyber envy, but like I said, no one is! I just try each day to use those negative, loathing feelings towards bettering myself and bettering my life. All you can do is try to live your very best, happiest and most perfectly imperfect life. You don’t get the chance to wake up in someone else’s body and why the heck would you?

This sums up everything and more.

[via Pinterest]

The only thing standing in the way of you and your dream life is you! So smash those stupid feelings  of envy and make it happen!

The post Cyber Envy: My Food Blogger’s Perspective appeared first on The Realistic Nutritionist.