Guest RD2BE: Elaine House

Elaine is a first-year grad student at Marywood University. Her story is inspiring in that she made the decision to take a leap and follow her dreams, even when they weren't "the plan" all along. Keep reading to learn more about Elaine's journey in being a RD2BE.

"My journey with nutrition began when I took my first intro course during my undergraduate years. I was on the DPT (physical therapy) track since I got accepted to the University of Scranton, nutrition at this point was just a concentration for me. As I took more credits in nutrition, I realized I was enjoying my concentration more than my major.

"As I took more credits in nutrition, I realized I was enjoying my concentration more than my major."

My junior year I decided to take the leap and talk to resources around me about the possibility of applying to a nutrition program for graduate school. Deciding to change the course of what I would do with my life was one of those times when “you just know”. I never used to understand when people would give that explanation until then! Anyone thinking about deviating from their plan, it’s ok! I was very hesitant to do so because much of the time everything seems set in stone when we are going through college, like there is a certain formula for how to do it and it MUST be done that way. I am so happy I decided to go a different route than planned.

"Anyone thinking about deviating from their plan, it's ok!"

Since entering a nutrition program at Marywood University, I have learned things about nutrition I never even knew existed. My favorite class right now is food science, where we manipulate recipes to compare the different outcomes and learn the chemistry that goes on during the seemingly simple process of cooking or baking. It is awesome. Never before have I annoyed so many people with food fun facts and looked forward to conducting a final semester project. This class is everything I love, science experiments, reading scientific literature, taste testing, baking, and fellow students and faculty that are just as interested as I am."

"After school I would like to work with people to cultivate healthy relationships with food, learn how to cook, and apply nutrition to help enhance their lives. Also working with children is a strong possibility, that is an are I find extremely rewarding. We will see where it goes!"

When I asked Elaine what she is most thankful for this holiday season, she responded with:

"Through all of this whirlwind of figuring out my nutrition journey, my family back home has always been a constant in my life. I only have two biological siblings, but really I have six since I was raised with all of my cousins. We kids joke that we all have six siblings, three moms and three dads when we count the uncles, aunts and cousins, and it is not so far from the truth. We do everything together from weekly Sunday night dinners and vacations to the beach. Being away from them this summer and during this semester is the most difficult thing. As much as I love everything going on in my life right now, I am excited to put it on pause and get some family time this Thanksgiving."

I also asked Elaine to share her favorite family holiday recipe with us!

"My favorite recipe we make is included below, sweet potato bake with marshmallows!! Graduated from only eating the marshmallows off as a child to enjoying the whole thing as a not-still-a-kid-but-not-a-real-adult now :)"

Baked Sweet Potato Recipe with Marshmallows

Ingredients:

2 lb. Sweet Potatoes (about 4), peeled, cubed

4 oz. Cream Cheese

25 Marshmallows

1/2 C Hot Milk

2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2. Cook potatoes in boiling water in large saucepan 20 min. or until tender; drain

3. Mash potatoes. Add milk, cream cheese and sugar; beat until fluffy. Spoon into 9-inch square pan sprayed with cooking spray; top with marshmallows

4. Bake 20 min. or until heated through

Special thanks to Elaine House for sharing her story and inspiring RD2BE's to continue following their dreams and smashing goals!

Recipe Citation:

Heinz, Kraft. “Baked Sweet Potato Recipe with Marshmallows.” Recipes, Kraft Heinz, www.kraftrecipes.com/recipe/090039/baked-sweet-potato-recipe-marshmallows.