I'm a Wisconsin-based dietitian who loves peanut butter, lets go of stress with a good run or swim, and finds deep satisfaction from pulling out a loaf of sourdough bread from the oven.
meet kara.
When I’m not in the kitchen preparing a meal for my family, baking up a batch of super soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies (my favorite!), or just experimenting with something new, I’m most likely thinking about food (what can I say, I love food!) or I’m enjoying the outdoors on one of the many trails in the Madison area.
My food philosophy is pretty simple. Food should be savored, enjoyed, and fun! Too often we start to let food control us—we decide what we should eat based on diets, meal plans, and food rules. Instead, we should be deciding what we eat based on what makes us feel good and what actually tastes good! Shocking, I know.
Yet, so many of us have a twisted relationship with food that we no longer know how to achieve this. I’m here to help you overcome your obstacles, gain back control of your eating, and find ways to nourish your body with totally satisfying foods.
When you work with me, I’ll help you as an individual rediscover how to have a long-lasting healthy relationship with food through a mindful and intuitive eating approach.
And I’m here to help families, too! Together we’ll eliminate the dreaded, stressful dinnertime and bring to the table laughter and young appetites with no threats, bargains, or rewards needed.
Why the mix in specialties? I’m a firm believer we can’t expect our kiddos to be confident eaters with normalized, neutral thoughts around food when you as the parent are anxious around food yourself. Combining these two specialties allows me to help the entire family build a healthy relationship with food together.
Are you ready to step out and make a change?
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Food should be a source of pleasure, not a source of fear
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Not all nutritionists are dietitians. But all registered dietitians are nutritionists. That’s why you’ll see RDN, or registered dietitian nutritionist, behind my name.
In order to gain those letters, I completed a bachelor’s degree at Iowa State University, an accredited school that provides courses established by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND). After this, I went on to receive my Master of Science (MS) in Nutritional Sciences at Iowa State University after another two years of schooling.
The final requirement in order to become a registered dietitian is to complete an extensive internship program, consisting of 1200 hours of supervised training. I completed my 12-month long internship at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, Illinois. Following the internship, I passed the registration exam, became certified to practice in the state of Wisconsin (CD), and continue to take continuing education credits to make sure I stay on top of the ever-changing field of nutrition and dietetics, so I can bring you evidence-based research in a practical and realistic way.
Trust me when I say, you’re in good hands. Those letters may look presumptuous or maybe even slightly annoying (I get tired of them, too), but they’re there for a reason and us dietitians are proud to be nutritionists with a degree.
the letters behind the name
