Cal-EZ Blog

When I’m working with a client who is training for a marathon the first thing I notice is how restrictive they are with their food. This is a problem because when you don’t eat enough while training, you tend to be hungry all the time, which can lead to poor food choices. Over time, poor food choices can lead to nutrient deficiencies. Deficiencies in important nutrients can not only compromise a runner’s training efforts, but can also cause problems long after the race is over.

As much as I love the fall, it is also my busiest time of the year, both in my business, and at home. With the start of school, my daughter has homework every day, meetings after school, soccer practice, and weekend games. It’s also super busy for me at work. I attend the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Food & Nutrition Conference and Expo every year around this time, and this year it falls back to back with an annual vacation I take with my girlfriends. Halloween is a really big deal at my house, too. My husband turns our garage into a haunted house and it takes an entire week to set it up (let’s not even talk about the mess of putting it all away). Shortly thereafter is the hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving travel and the onset of holiday shopping.

It’s been a long, hot summer here in Northern Virginia, and I’m thrilled that fall is on the horizon. It’s by far my favorite time of year. Not only for the perfect weather, but also for the food! We love fall food in our house. From 5-bean chili to roasted butternut squash, fall is cozy food. Fall also means back to school for the kiddos. My third grader wasn’t exactly thrilled to get on that bus the first day of school, but she’s getting used to it now.

Editor's Note: Danielle Omar is an Integrative Dietitian, author, and expert consultant, lending her love of creating to some of the most highly regarded food features in television, radio, web, and print media. She’s a plant-food blogger, an expert consultant to food writers nationwide, and founder of Food Confidence where she inspires men and women to confidently transform their wellness goals into sustainable, healthy new lifestyles.

When I was pregnant I ate peanut butter every single day. Sometimes twice. I would add it to my morning smoothie, slathered it on toast, stirred it into oatmeal, mixed it into my energy bars and of course, I ate it straight from the jar. After all of that PB consumption, I thought for sure my daughter’s first words would be peanut butter. They weren’t.