Friday Feature | Fannetastic Food

Happy Friday, friends.

I hope you had a splendid Thanksgiving holiday. If you’re not out shopping the streets, I have the eighth episode of Friday Feature for you today. I’m assuming those that are avid blog readers are already acquainted with the fantastic Anne Mauney of Fannetastic Food. Her blog is quite a hit amongst the healthy living community.

I have followed FF for a few years; I am in awe of Anne with how much she has accomplished recently — from crushing races, traveling, blogging, marrying, Mastering, marathoning, starting her own business as a fresh Registered Dietitian, and so much more!

Anne shares a tasteful variety on her blog from quick and healthy recipes to race training and travel adventures. Stop on by today for our Friday Feature Q & A!

Side Note: Anne and I met in Chicago at the Healthy Living Summit in 2010 — fun times!

Q & A with Anne Mauney | Fannetastic Food

1. With a new career, what has been your favorite experience been so far working as a RD?

Working with clients one-on-one to help them to overcome emotional eating or dieting mentalities! As you know, I started my nutrition counseling private practice back in February, shortly after passing the RD exam and finishing grad school. Since then, I’ve been working with clients on an approach called intuitive eating.

Though I will give clients meal and snack ideas and thoughts on optimizing their current intake to feel more satisfied, I don’t give my clients calorie meal plans, because I don’t think it’s sustainable (or enjoyable) in the long term. Instead, we work on learning to listen to hunger and fullness cues and determining what is real hunger vs. emotional hunger. It’s been amazing to see the transformation in my clients and to have the chance to help them to be healthier, both physically and mentally. I truly love what I do.

2. What are three things you do every day in pursuit of a healthy and happy life?

I love this question because this is another thing I work on with my clients – making sure that they are taking care of themselves!

#1 for me in staying happy and healthy is exercise. I’m a social exerciser, so I schedule all sorts of friend workout dates every week, whether it’s meeting up for runs or fitness classes. This not only helps keep me accountable, but it makes the workouts a lot more fun, too, and it ensures that no matter how busy I get I will still have some de-stressing time.

#2 is making time for a good breakfast! Starting my day out with something healthy and nourishing sets me up for a much better work day. I usually make my Perfect {Microwave} Banana Oatmeal, topped with cottage cheese, blueberries, and some nuts or chia seeds. My other favorite is my Flour-Free Breakfast Pancake. So tasty and easy!

#3 is to take time to connect with loved ones! Work for most people nowadays is non-stop, but I try to make a real effort to put away the phone, close the email, and spend time relaxing with my husband in the evenings.

3. If we were to peak inside your fridge right now, what would we find?

Besides typical staples like milk, eggs, meat, salad greens, bread (I love Ezekiel brand), fruit, and veggies, there is also usually:

Some sort of leftover quinoa salad (my favorite recipes are my “Cheesy” Vegan Mushroom Quinoa, Quinoa Salad with Pecans & Cranberries, and Quinoa Taco Salad)
A homemade bar, like my 5-Minute No-Bake Peanut Butter Granola Bars or my Vegan & Gluten-Free Granola Bars. I’m all about snacking!

4. You just completed your first marathon – congrats! What was the best and worst part about training? What’s the biggest thing you learned?

Thanks! Yes, I ran the Richmond Marathon (click for my full recap) on November 16! I’m still flying high on the endorphins from it – what an amazing experience. For the most part, I actually really enjoyed the training! The worst part was probably just that it takes so much time – by the end of training, our weekend runs would take up a big chunk of Saturday, and I’d usually need a nap after, too. I think the best thing about marathon training, though, is that it really teaches you that you can do anything you put your mind to.

I always said I’d never run a full marathon – a few years ago a 5 mile run was long for me – and I completely thought that running 26.2 miles was both impossible and insane. But, slowly but surely my perception over the years of long runs and what I could handle changed, and after doing nearly 8 half-marathons, I was ready to give it a shot. It amazed me how quickly my body adapted to meet the new challenge. I think learning to push through when the running gets hard translates into normal life, too – it teaches you that you can handle much more than you think you can as long as you stay positive. I did a full post on my First Marathon Training Reflections, if you’re interested in reading more.

5. As a successful blogger, what moments/events have been most rewarding/memorable? What inspires you to maintain your blog?

I always know that all the hard work I put into my blog is worth it when I get an email from a reader saying I’ve inspired them to do something that will make them healthier or happier. I hear from a lot of readers that say I’ve inspired them to start running, or to sign up for a race, or to try a healthier recipe, or to try yoga for the first time, or even to follow their dreams to switch careers like I did. (I worked in public relations for 5 years before getting the nerve to start science prerequisites to go back to grad school to become a dietitian.)

My #1 goal with my blog is to inspire and brighten my readers’ days a little, so it’s wonderful to hear that it’s working, even if just for a few people, and that makes keeping it up all worthwhile.