I'm participating in a blogfest in celebration of Registered Dietitian Day, March 11, 2009. Check out other registered dietitian (RD) bloggers' contributions at the bottom of my post.
One of the best aspects about being an RD is the limitless possibility for creative application. Excuse me while I wax poetic about some of my favorite fruits and vegetables.
Stealth Grapes
I spied the almost-ripe grapes
Hanging low over the fence
At the school playground.
I carefully eyed them
As I returned each day
To see them deepen to black iris,
Always bidding farewell,
Believing the Sweet-Tart jewels would be plucked
By giggling children, shifty starlings
Or marauding raccoons
Raiding under cover of night.
Instead the globe clusters
Clung to the vines
Day after day,
As if in a secret garden
Growing just for me.
Perhaps the children didn't see them.
Perhaps they did not know
How a grape grows on vines,
Not in a bag in the produce aisle.
Maybe they saw death
In the inky bunches,
Trained by anxious adults,
"Don't eat the berries, they might be poisonous!"
When I was sure they were ripe,
I picked under dusk stealth
The juiced-up black pearls
Just waiting to be snatched
Before dropping
To the ground, withered and barren.
I was almost sad to be
The one to harvest
The fruit
Rather than the children.
But of those grape beauties
I saved from disuse,
I concocted
Jewel-toned and bursting Stealth Jelly,
My secret now ready to share.
On a Summer Afternoon, Grilling Vegetables
(Inspired by Grilled Mediterranean Vegetables)
Chunky, fresh and sizzling,
Halcyon and verdant squash,
Vermillion pepper, always strident,
Pearl onions on the loose,
Renegade tomatoes, fruit in disguise,
Scent-of-earth baby bella,
Glisten with olive oil and intertwine with garlic.
Kaleidoscope flavor and smell.
RD Day Blogfest - Other Posts
Beyond Prenatals - Food vs. Supplements and Real Advice vs. Fake Advice
Annette Colby -No More Diets! A Registered Dietitian Shares 9 Secrets to Real and Lasting Weight Loss
Ashley Colpaart - Dietitians working in food policy, a new frontier
Diana Dyer - There and Back Again: Celebration of National Dietitian Day 2009
Marjorie Geiser - RD Showcase for National Registered Dietitian Day - What we do
Cheryl Harris - Me, a Gluten Free RD!
Marilyn Jess - National Registered Dietitian Day--RD Blogfest
Julie Lanford - Antioxidants for Cancer Prevention
Renata Mangrum - What I'm doing as I grow up...
Meal Makeover Moms' Kitchen - Family Nutrition ... It's our "Beat"
Jill Nussinow - The Registered Dietitian Lens I Look Through
Wendy Jo Petersen - March 11 is our day to shine!
Diane Preves - Registered Dietitians and the White House Forum on Health Reform
Andy Sarjahani - Dr. Seuss Tribute continued: Green Eggs and Ham and a Sustainable Food System
Rebecca Scritchfield - Big Tips from a "Big Loser"
Anthony Sepe - RD Showcase: Registered Dietitian Day, March 11, 2009
Kathy Shattler - RD Showcase for Nutri-Care Consultation
UNL-Extension, Douglas/Sarpy County - Nutrition Know How - Making Your Life Easier
Monika Woolsey - Dietitians--Can't Do PCOS Without Them!
Monika Woolsey - In Honor of National Registered Dietitian Day
Jen Zingaro - My life as a Registered Dietitian