THE Food Experts

Hey everybody! My name is Sarah. I am the creator of Foodgeek Stampede. I decided to create a blog after years of encouragement from several of my colleagues. My blog will be dedicated to geek stuff about food, healthy eating (food), recipes (food), nutrition (food), gardening (food), and food (obviously)!

If you came upon my blog via a search and you are still reading, you may be thinking why am I qualified to talk about food all of the time. Well, I am a registered dietitian (RD) with 20 years of experience (not sure if I should have revealed that ;). I am also a certified diabetes educator (CDE) AND a licensed dietitian/nutritionist (LDN) by the State of North Carolina.

I believe it is important for everyone to know what my credentials really mean. In many states, anyone can refer to themselves as a "nutritionist." But, not everyone can be referred to as a registered dietitian. Here is the fancy definition from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (www.eatright.org)

Registered Dietitians (RD) are individuals who have

• completed the minimum of a Baccalaureate degree granted by a U.S. regionally accredited college or university, or foreign equivalent;
• met current minimum academic requirements (Didactic Program in Dietetics) as approved by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics;
• completed a supervised practice program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics;
• successfully completed the Registration Examination for Dietitians;
• complied with the Professional Development Portfolio (PDP) recertification requirements

To summarize this definition in relationship to myself:

• I have a BS degree in Nutrition and Dietetics.
• I took a lot of science classes including chemistry and biochemistry.
• I completed a 900 hour internship supervised by experienced dietitians and physicians.  
• I took the Registration Examination for Dietitians in 2003 and passed.
• I complete 75 hours of continuing education every 5 years to keep my RD credential.

I will skip to the LDN. This is a credential that allows me to practice dietetics in the State of North Carolina. My RD is a credential that works in every state in the USA. My RD and LDN work in North Carolina.

The CDE credential is a specialty credential that I hold. To obtain it I had to work for two years specializing in diabetes education and training. Then I had to take an exam and pass it. Now I complete 75 hours of continuing education (about diabetes only) every 5 years to keep my CDE credential.

Now you know why I am a food geek & why I can say I am a food expert. Please let me know what food geek stuff would you like to see in upcoming posts!

Until next time...
Sarah

If you are looking for some more Foodgeek Stampede stuff immediately, please visit www.pinterest.com and type in Foodgeek Stampede and view my Foodgeek board!