Hi, Friends!
First of all, thanks for stopping by! I’m Marisa, and for as long as I can remember, I have had a huge passion for health, nutrition, and all things related to food. I grew up around a big Italian family, and I learned to appreciate great food at a very young age. Every night, my Mom made delicious home-cooked meals for our family (thanks, Mom!), and she did her best to expose us to lots of new and fun foods. Growing up, I always loved helping my mom out in the kitchen, but it wasn’t until I was 17 that I truly discovered my love for cooking and baking. And eventually, that love for cooking and baking expanded into a passion for all things related to food, health, and wellness.
I graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in dietetics (Go Green!) and after graduation, I moved to Charleston, South Carolina to complete my ten-month dietetic internship at the Medical University of South Carolina. After 1,200 hours of supervised (and unpaid) internship hours, I was eligible to take my board exams. It took me several long months of studying, but I passed my registration exam on my first try and officially became a Registered Dietitian (RD) in July, 2017! I then moved to Augusta, Georgia and started my first job as a Clinical Dietitian at a local hospital.
Unfortunately, my career was (temporarily) put on hold in February, 2018. I had been battling with an eating disorder since May of 2012, and things weren’t improving much. In fact, they were starting to go downhill. Fast. Before I knew it, I hit my rock bottom, and I realized I couldn’t continue to live like that anymore. I was sick and tired of living with an eating disorder like I had been doing for the past (almost) six years, and I was beyond ready to start living my life again. That’s when I realized how badly I wanted to recover once and for all.
“Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.”
– J.K. Rowling
With that being said, I made the incredibly tough decision to resign from my job and move back home to Michigan to be with my parents. Even though it wasn’t an easy choice to make, I knew that if I didn’t take care of myself and put my health first, I wouldn’t be around this earth much longer. There will always be another job out there waiting for me when I’m ready, but until then, recovery is my full-time job.
From that moment on, I’ve been working toward recovery and re-disovering who I am without my eating disorder. For five and a half years, I was all about the extremes – extreme restriction, extreme exercise, and extremely limited food choices. Now, I’m working at finding balance in everything I do: eating both nutritious and indulgent foods, learning how to exercise without over-doing it, and learning that sometimes it’s okay to just let go of all control and let life happen.
I wish I could say my journey has been a linear process with forward progress being made each day, but it has been far from that. I have had my fair share of ups and downs, and I’ll admit that I’ve had many days where I just wanted to fall back into old habits and let my eating disorder take back all control of my life. But I also have days when I wake up ready to fight through all of this and work toward a life free from my eating disorder.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that I just have to take things one day at a time. I didn’t develop an eating disorder overnight, so I can’t expect to recover from it overnight, either. I just have to be patient and continue to go through the process.
Throughout my recovery, I’m so thankful to have re-discovered my love for foods. For six years, I deprived myself of all the foods I used to love, and now I look back and think to myself, “why?” There are so many great foods out there, and life is way too short to not enjoy all of those foods!
Today, I enjoy eating all foods, and there are no “off-limit” foods anymore. Yes, I love eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. But at the same time, I also love eating chocolate and desserts. It’s all about balance, my friends. That’s why you’ll find a variety of different recipes on my page – some made with “healthy” ingredients, and some made with good old butter, flour, and sugar.
It is my belief that there is no “one size fits all” diet; nutrition is all about finding what works best for you. Unless completely necessary for medically reasons, I don’t believe in restrictive diets (low-carb, gluten-free, vegan, etc.), weight-loss fads, or juice cleanses/detoxes (no matter how trendy they sound). In fact, I don’t believe in diets or cutting out certain foods at all! Instead, I believe in adding a variety of nutritious foods into your diet while also recognizing that it’s okay to eat carbs, sweets, or gluten. The healthiest diets are the ones that are flexible and allow you to fully enjoy the foods you are eating without stressing about what they might do to your body.
I am not my illness. I am not defined by my eating disorder or my past struggles. I have a name. A personality. A future. A passion for health and wellness. I have a story to tell. My goal for A Taste of Balance is not only to provide you with delicious recipes and evidence-based nutrition information or tips, but also to inspire you to live the healthiest life possible by finding balance in everything you do. After all, health is so much more than just the foods we eat – It also involves taking care of our bodies, finding activities or exercises we enjoy doing, and listening to what our bodies are telling us. I want people to understand that eating healthy can be simple, fun, and delicious!
Check back as often as you’d like for new recipes, health-related tips, and much, much more! I hope you’ll join me on my journey toward a positive, balanced life.
XOXO,
Marisa
Just for fun, here are a few random facts about me:
- Traveling is one of my all-time favorite things to do. I’ve been to Europe 5 times and have visited 29 of the 50 States, but I won’t stop traveling until I’ve seen the world!
- I am a die-hard sports fan and love watching any and every sport. No matter where I live, I will always be a fan of Michigan State football, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots, and Pittsburgh Penguins.
- I have a serious addiction to nut butters. Peanut butter, almond butter, sunflower seed butter, cashew butter… you name it. At any given time, you’ll most likely always find a minimum of 8 jars of nut butter in my kitchen (but usually way more).
- My absolute favorite store of all time is Trader Joe’s. I could spend hours in there (and hundreds of dollars) if you let me.
- I have a goal of attending a Major League Baseball game in every single stadium across the country. I’ve checked off a good amount, but I still have a ways to go!
- I can’t go anywhere without my Chapstick.
- My family means the world to me. No matter where I go in life or no matter what I do, family always comes first.
- I’m a summer baby (born on the first day of summer, in fact), and I can’t get enough of the warm weather and hot summer days. I absolutely hate cold weather and winter, which is why I see myself moving back to The South as soon as I am recovered!
- My favorite way to relax after a long day is by curling up on the couch with a blanket, reading a good book, and lighting a candle. There’s nothing more relaxing.
- I love clipping coupons. By no means am I one of those extreme couponers, but I find a great deal of satisfaction in saving money at the grocery store! The more money saved = the more money you have to buy delicious foods! 🙂
So now that you know a little bit about me, feel free to browse around and check out the recipes for an idea of some of the foods I like to eat!
