We recently kicked off the Health Leadership Awards with mother and school food champion Allison Carmen.

At IIN we are blessed to have a community filled with exceptional mothers who are dedicated to changing the lives of their family and the world.

That’s why this week, we honor and celebrate Smokin’ Hot Mom Nina Manolson, whose outstanding work as a Health Coach empowers all of us to “feel good in our skin.”

Turning Risk into Reward

I enrolled at IIN after a genetic test determined I was at high risk for Breast Cancer. After a lifetime of struggling with my weight and criticizing myself in the mirror, I was faced with the preciousness of my body and how I could no longer afford to be at war with myself. I stepped up my self-care and, in the process, realized that my passion lay in helping women reclaim their body and ending the struggle between food and self-image for future generations.

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

I am thrilled, proud and honored to present the very first Health Leadership Award to an outstanding graduate who has been a leader in the school food movement, a health educator, and role model for her children and her community:  Allison Carmen.

When I first met Allison, she was a young woman in her twenties, highly educated and a successful lawyer for a large New York City firm. As one of the thirty students in Integrative Nutrition’s very first class, she demonstrated an exceptional desire to understand the transformational effects that nutrition can have on our lives.

With curiosity and intelligence, Allison has continued to analyze and put into practice the ideas and energy she gained from that program. Her most recent project, The Book of Maybe is inspired by her time at IIN, as well as her experience as a business consultant and coach.

Early Adapter

Overworked, stressed and exhausted from her successful career in corporate America, Allison was seeking a way to heal herself and others. She recognized the possibility of holistic principles long before they had entered the mainstream.

Integrative Nutrition is proud to announce we are partnering with the Jamie Oliver Foundation to inspire a day of action to mark a commitment to food education worldwide. 

The first-ever Food Revolution Day is a global day of action to inspire, educate, and empower people everywhere to stand up for real food. Thousands of people worldwide will participate in events to raise awareness on preventing diet-related diseases, and to arm people with the knowledge and tools to make healthier food choices.

Integrative Nutrition students and graduates are organizing grass roots efforts around health and wellness to celebrate Food Revolution Day, in communities, at schools and businesses.

It’s hard to believe that when Joshua Rosenthal founded the school in 1992, it was 20 students in the kitchen. Now, IIN is more than a school; it’s a movement of over 20,000 incredible students and grads in over 90 countries worldwide.

For a larger version of this infographic, click here.

Every year as Earth Day approaches, conscientious Mother Earth lovers all over the world begin to look at their total impact on the environment. Pledges are made to stop using plastic bags and water bottles, people ride their bikes and carpool to work, and some give up meat for at least one day a week. These are all admirable vows to protect the environment and we applaud and encourage them.

What about changing your eating habits so that they’re more sustainable, too?

Here are 3 easy steps to get your green on every meal.

1.  Eat leafy greens. 

OK, so the first step to greening your diet isn’t exactly the eco tip you were expecting, but we can’t stop talking about leafy greens around here. Just add a plentiful supply of dark leafy greens vegetables to supersize your healthy diet. Try kale, an excellent source of vitamin K – it reduces inflammation, boosts cardiovascular function, and aids in overall body detox. Then try collard greens. Much like kale, collard greens have off-the-charts levels of vitamin K.

Many of you have probably heard of nutrition expert and IIN guest speaker, Dr. David Katz; but have you heard about his involvement with the social health company for women, EmpowHER?

EmpowHER is a social company dedicated to women’s health. The company’s primary website, EmpowHER.com, is the third most visited site for women’s health and wellness information. The site offers a space where women can not only read health information from experts in the field, but also seek advice from other EmpowHER users. On the other side of the spectrum, health care professionals, brands and agencies utilize EmpowHER to reach their target internet consumer: women.

The importance of healthy school lunches for our children continues to be a hot topic in the news. We’ve touched on the debate several times, and many of our graduates, like Amy Kalafa, author of Lunch Wars, are fighting hard to bring healthier options to the lunchroom. What we’ve touched on less is a meal equally as important to the health of our children: breakfast.

Mornings can be quite hectic. It’s often tough to find time to get ready for your busy day and get your kids ready for school – but that isn’t an excuse to cut out breakfast. Like adults, children who eat a healthy, filling breakfast are more likely to be successful during their school day.

March is here, but with this chilly weather you wouldn’t know that spring is just weeks away. Now is the perfect opportunity to sneak in some warming, winter vegetable dishes before the temperature starts to rise and spring comes into full bloom! This recipe from Integrative Nutrition graduate Terry Walters for Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Fennel and Shiitake Mushrooms is perfect for late winter when Brussels sprouts and fennel are at the peak of their growing season. Serve this dish as a side with roasted chicken, or over quinoa for a warm, vegetarian dish.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Fennel and Shiitake Mushrooms

The IINsider’s Digest gathers all the hottest nutrition topics around the web in one place for you to easily digest. This week, Integrative Nutrition teacher Dr. David Katz was featured in an MSNBC article on sugar intake among children, while Dr. Andrew Weil, also an IIN nutrition expert, published a piece on the health benefits of walking. It was reported that test-tube meat will be available in the near future, and a lawsuit brought on by thousands of organic farmers against Monsanto was dismissed. 

U.S. Kids Eat Too Much Sugar
MSN Health
Featuring IIN Teacher David Katz, MD

Added sugar in drinks and foods makes up almost 16 percent of the calories U.S. children and teens consume, federal health officials report. That's far more than the daily recommendation of no more than 15 percent of calories from both sugar and fat, according to the report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, published online Feb. 29 in the National Center for Health Statistics Data Brief.

Walk Like An Australian, Lose 10 Pounds
Huffington Post
By IIN teacher Andrew Weil, MD

The most common objection that I hear to walking as exercise is that it's too easy, that only sweaty, strenuous activity offers real benefits. But there is abundant evidence that regular, brisk walking is associated with better health, including lower blood pressure, better moods and improved cholesterol ratios.

Test-tube Meat to be Available This Fall
Fox News

The world's first "test-tube" meat will be made entirely from a cow's stem cells and will be produced this fall, the AFP reported Monday. Lead researcher on the project, Dutch scientist Mark Post, told a major science conference Sunday that he aims to invent an efficient way to produce skeletal muscle in the lab that exactly mimics meat.