• Uncategorized

    A Delightful Evening at Pier House Restaurant in Orange Beach, Alabama

    My family recently took a mini-vacation to one of my favorite spots – Orange Beach, Alabama. Having someone with celiac disease in the family has put us in the habit of reviewing menus for gluten-friendly options beforehand. Finding a restaurant that the whole family will enjoy with gluten-friendly options becomes even more difficult on a vacation. It is even more challenging to find a gluten-friendly seafood restaurant. Seafood restaurants routinely fry items in regular flour. Even when ordering blackened or grilled seafood, there is a special concern whether a sauce or roux contains gluten. While searching the internet, we came across the Pier House Restaurant website. We were surprised at…

  • Services

    Nutrition Counseling

    This past January I started a new chapter in my dietetic career…nutrition counseling in the private practice setting! I joined a company called Aspire Nutrition as one of their dietitian providers and will be offering nutrition counseling and education sessions, medical nutrition therapy for chronic conditions, meal planning, and nourishment testing (lab work that tests for various nutrition related conditions). If you are in the Georgia or North Carolina areas, check out the link below and schedule your first free session today! https://www.aspire-nutrition.com/

  • Services

    Zumba

    I became a Zumba instructor in February 2018. Since becoming licensed, I have taught live classes in a variety of places including Washington D.C., Fayetteville, NC, Herzliya, Israel and virtually during the COVID epidemic. After a brief hyatis while we were transitioning from Israel back to the United States, I will be starting to teach classes on Fort Benning at Smith Fitness Center next month! Check out the link to my instructor page! https://www.zumba.com/en-US/profile/Virginia_Ladner/1590793

  • Food,  Nutrition

    Papaya

    Back in June 2020, I was asked by the the Community Liaison Office with the US Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv to help with a fitness challenge for their employees and family members. I was asked to help with the nutrition component. I came up with nutrition related challenges for the participants to work on each week throughout the 6 week challenge. Below is are the challenges that I came up with for each week: Keep a food log for 3 straight days using pen and paper, an Excel sheet, or a free fitness app (like MyFitnessPal).  Make something from scratch that you would normally buy pre-made. Calculate water…

  • Life,  Uncategorized

    Crafting

    Since my family and I have been in Israel, I have been helping with the children’s ministry at the congregation we attend. I have particularly been involved in coming up with a craft for the Bible lesson each week and then posting a video. With the ongoing restrictions for meeting in person due to the Corona virus, our congregation has had to resort to meeting together virtually and through prerecorded lessons. Recently, our lessons have revolved around the Jewish holidays, such as Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kipper. Before coming to Israel, I knew nothing about these holidays and have really enjoyed learning and celebrating them first hand. Below is a…

  • Life

    LadyBug

    After quite a year, our beloved Ladybug passed away on January 18, 2020. She had gone missing when we last visited my parents in AL for my grandfather’s funeral late March 2019. After about a month, we found out that she had been picked up by some well meaning people driving on Hwy 431 the day she went missing and eventually ended up in FL with a Boston Terrier rescue group. After scanning her for a microchip, the rescue group found out she had an owner and was able to get up with my mom. We were thrilled to find out she was alive, but unfortunately, she was not well.…

  • Life

    Moving to Israel

    When my husband first asked me what I thought about the possibility of living in Israel, I was terrified because Israel is in an area of the world that is constantly in turmoil. I was also very excited because Israel is the Holy Land, and what Christian has not thought or dreamed about visiting there? However, visiting is the key word here, not in my wildest dreams did I think I would ever live there! My husband and I had discussed living overseas at some point during his military career, and this opportunity would likely be the only time we’d get a chance to do it. So, he applied and…

  • Life

    Pregnancy

    As a Type 1 diabetic, pregnancy can be a very scary time because the outcome can be devastating if not managed appropriately.  I found out that I had diabetes after my first pregnancy when I was 30 years old.  It was first thought that I had gestational diabetes, so I was being managed with diet and oral medication when I really should have been on insulin all along.  During that pregnancy we also found out that our child (a son) had a heart condition called transposition of the great arteries.  This condition would require that he have surgery immediately after being born to correct the position of the arteries in…

  • Food

    Meal Kit Delivery: Pros and Cons

    As a wife and mom, it is nice to be able to cut corners where possible, especially after a long day of running errands, going to and from activities with a toddler in tow, and going to and from appointments.  On days like that, I have often turned to using a meal kit delivery service in order to save time and get dinner on the table before my hubby gets home from a long day at work. My family has used both Blue Apron and Sunbasket to save time on meal prep and planning.  In this post I will review the pros and cons of each of these meal kit…