Happy Mother’s Day to all the amazing moms out there! Hopefully you have an extra special day planned for your mom, enjoying her company over brunch, or showering her with gifts!

More importantly, we hope you take the time today to tell your mother how much she means to you and why you appreciate her. We asked some Integrative Nutrition staffers to share what they love about their moms and what makes them so special. Read below to see their responses – this is a very loving bunch!

“I've never met anyone more caring, compassionate, beautiful, loving and kind than my mom. She goes out of her way to make sure that everyone around her is taken care of before she takes care of herself. I hope to one day be like her.” –Carly, Events/Student Services

“My mom, no matter what the situation, keeps a smile on her face that warms up the entire room. I love her warmth, her compassion, and her selflessness!” –Julia, Referrals

It takes a lot of guts to leave a secure, full-time job, but Nicole Culver, a 2011 graduate of the Health Coach Training Program from South Hempstead, NY, said she would have been crazy to stay. Her dream was to help people have a healthier life, and now she’s living it – watching not one, but two businesses grow.

In addition to health coaching, Nicole has launched Pure Bliss Eats, a healthy online bakery loaded with delicious treats. (The pictures alone are enough to make your mouth water!) The mission behind tasty sweets like organic granola and gluten free chocolate balls is to make healthy snacks easy and delicious for everyone. Read on to learn more about how Nicole got started and what inspired her unique online bakery!

What led you to enroll at Integrative Nutrition?

I was no longer feeling fulfilled and happy from my work as a teacher. I wanted to follow my dream of helping people live a healthier life. After careful planning, I started taking on health coaching clients over the spring. I also opened my online bakery, Pure Bliss Eats. For years I've been sharing my healthy baked goods and I wanted to take it to another level. I worked very hard over the summer of 2011 to build my business both as a health counselor and as the head of Pure Bliss Eats. Building my businesses over the summer allowed me to leave my teaching job. Some people thought I was crazy for leaving a secure job, but I felt like I'd be crazy to stay. I found my passion and I wanted to see where it would take me!

Next time you’re in the office kitchen or break room, take a look inside the fridge. Is it lined with takeout food and frozen meals? How many of your coworkers ride the elevator each day and how many take the stairs? In your next meeting, notice how many people are on their third cup of coffee or can of Coke. This is what corporate America looks like, and it’s not pretty.

Many adults spend at least eight hours a day, five days a week in an office environment, where diet-sabotaging coworkers, a lack of movement or fresh air, and stressful commutes are all factors at play. According to ACTIVE Life, 86 percent of American adults will be overweight or obese by 2030. If change doesn’t start in the place where we spend the majority of our time, when will it?

In a world where marketing is constantly all around us, Integrative Nutrition recognizes the need for students to develop the skills to make their business stand out among the rest. We believe the services and products that our graduates offer are essential to making positive change, so the Health Coach Training Program aims to help students reach their business goals.

2010 graduate Heather Dubé, who lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, had a previous background in marketing and branding before enrolling at IIN. During the program she was able to really build on these skills, and now she’s thriving as a business owner, a functional nutritionist, a competitive figure athlete, and a writer for On Fitness Magazine and Livestrong.com. Read on to hear about the successful business skills Heather has developed, and for her tips on getting published!

What were you doing before Integrative Nutrition?

On the fifth of May in 1862, underdog Mexico beat the odds and defeated a powerful French army in the Battle of Puebla. Cinco de Mayo has since become a celebration of Mexican culture and ancestry, and of course, Mexican cuisine!

We love a good fiesta here in America, and Cinco de Mayo lends reason to celebrate with a few cervezas. But you may be surprised to find that there’s much more to authentic Mexican food than a packet of taco seasoning and a side of guac. Did you know that nachos are rarely eaten in Mexico? Or cheese for that matter?

What makes a great Mexican dish are the colorful ingredients, full of flavor and zest. For your Cinco de Mayo celebration, try this recipe from 2011 graduate Jennifer Moore, which highlights tasty vegetables and spices while incorporating healthy greens and grains. It’s vegan, gluten-free and non-dairy to boot!

Greens, Beans, and Grains with a Spanish Twist

Here at Integrative Nutrition, we think it’s important to go green all year long. Keep yesterday’s Earth Day celebration going by finding ways to nourish your body in an eco-friendly way. This vegan, gluten-free recipe for Kale Pesto from IIN student Abby Hughes is so simple, yet delicious and healthy! It’s a perfect accompaniment to a grain salad or mixed vegetables. Now hit the farmer’s market for a fresh bunch of kale, and in case you missed it, be sure to check out our list of 60 ways to go green for some extra inspiration!

With jobs in human resources that have taken them around the world, Nicole van Hattem and Lauren Penny know what keeps a corporation running. Out of all the strategies they’ve learned and implemented, they’ve found one that’s proven to be most effective, and that’s a team of healthy employees.

On a mission to empower global wellness and maximize potential, Nicole, a 2011 Integrative Nutrition graduate of the Health Coach Training Program, and Lauren, a current student, founded Art of Abundant Living, and have experienced growing success since day one. Even more interesting, is the fact that their business is based in Doha, Qatar, a place with health trends unfamiliar to most people. Qatar was recently named the country with the most obese population in the world. This interview highlights how Nicole and Lauren got to where they are today, and how they plan to address the increasing health concerns in Qatar.

When did you first realize there was a strong need for health coaching in the corporate world?

The IINsider’s Digest gathers all the hottest nutrition topics around the web in one place for your reading pleasure. This week, one study exposes factory farming issues, another compares compulsive behavior between food and drugs, and doctors are learning to heal through healthy cooking.

Doctors Learn to Cook Healthy, ‘Crave-able’ Foods
NY Times

Dr. Eisenberg is the founder and chief officiant of “Healthy Kitchens/Healthy Lives,” an “‘interfaith marriage,” as he calls it, among physicians, public health researchers and distinguished chefs that seeks to tear down the firewall between “healthy” and “ crave-able” cuisine. Although physicians are on the front lines of the nation’s diabetes and obesity crises, many graduate from medical school with little knowledge of nutrition, let alone cooking.

Can Food Really Be Addictive? Yes, Says National Drug Expert
TIME Healthland

To celebrate National Nutrition Month in March, we held a contest asking people to take a picture of what's on their plate. We receieved tons of great photos, full of colorful, healthy, and delicious food! We then opened voting to the public, and three winners were chosen based on their photos. Below are the photos, and the recipes, that had our Facebook fans hungry for some healthy, well-balanced meals! Thank you to everyone who participated in the What's On Your Plate? Photo Contest!

1^st Place: Grilled Tofu with Steamed Vegetables, Barley and Sweet Corn
By Vanesa Dejanovic

Steamed Vegetables With Spices

Ingredients:

• 1 cup broccoli florets
• 1 cup cauliflower florets
• 1 cup carrots chopped
  

Most holiday feasts leave us with a full fridge of leftovers for the week, and at Easter time that often means an endless supply of hard-boiled eggs. Underneath that multi-colored shell is a perfectly good egg, so don’t let it go to waste! For a quick and easy snack, try this recipe from fitsugar- a healthy twist on the classic deviled egg! By replacing the mayo-yolk mixture with hummus, you can cut the unhealthy fat and keep the protein. The almonds provide healthy fats to help lower cholesterol, plus they add a nice decorative touch. Serve the eggs with a salad for an easy weeknight dinner, or keep them on hand for a healthy snack on the go.

Healthy Recipe for Deviled Eggs