Food for Thought: A Chat with JCC Wellness and Nutrition Coach Genevieve Hawk

By Andrea Scarberry

I recently sat down with the JCC's incredibly knowledgeable Wellness and Nutrition Coach, Genevieve Hawk. Our chat left me thinking, and provided me with a whole lot of inspiration to make some small changes for the better in regards to my own family's nutrition. I hope that you find Genny's food and nutrition journey and tips as inspiring and informative as I did!

Genny graduated from the University of New Mexico in 2008 with a bachelor's in nutrition and dietetics. She is also a licensed massage therapist (LMT) and is in the process of completing a certification through the Integrative Nutrition program, giving her the title of Certified Health Coach.

Genny started working as a nutrition coach for the JCC while she was finishing up her degree at UNM. She started small, working with JCC programs like Transformed and Back to Babes, educating and coaching participants on making better food choices for a healthier lifestyle. She also did some one-on-one nutrition counseling through the JCC. Last year, Genny was diagnosed with cancer, and took a year to herself to be with her family, go through treatment, and in her own words, "find healing through food." Genny has always believed in the importance of a healthy, well-balanced diet. She says that her experience over the course of the past year has ignited a passion in using food as a tool not only for weight-loss, maintenance, and overall health, but also for wellness and even healing.

"Nutrition seems to be such an unapproachable topic," Genny says. "People are easily overwhelmed with the thought of implementing better eating habits into their lifestyle - for many reasons. There are such strong emotional, and even social, connections with food. No one wants to be on a 'diet.' What I found in my own journey, and what I think works well for so many others, is a step-by-step approach. Even if the first change is something as small as beginning to take a daily multivitamin. Those small changes eventually add up."

Genny is a mother to four young children, and being a mom myself, I was curious what techniques she uses to get her kids excited about healthy foods, and also how she plans ahead to make healthy choices readily available over the course of a busy week. One thing that she has found to work well with her own family is to talk about the nutritional value of different types of foods. She used the example of her daughter asking for ice cream. She says she likes to strike up a conversation about it - what will we get out of ice cream, nutritionally, vs. what we could get out of a bowl of fresh berries. Armed with the vast amount of knowledge that she has, and the consistency she enforces, her kids understand the benefits and importance of healthy diets even at such a young age.

"My daughter wasn't feeling well recently, and she said to me, 'Mommy, I had better not have any sugar today, because I need foods that are going to make me feel better.' She is only in preschool, but she understands the concept," Genny says. She went on to explain, "I don't keep unhealthy foods in the house. If we want a treat, we will go out as a family and treat ourselves, but at home we stick to real, healthy, wholesome foods. I always have lots of fresh fruits and veggies on hand, so that we have lots of options, and it's easy for all of us to make good choices."

To make the availability of fresh choices convenient in her own home, Genny has a farm box delivered each week from a local organic farm. This way, she doesn't even have to think about that part of it. She says that she likes to use the "crowding out principal" - when the farm box arrives on the doorstep, they have an entire cooler full of fresh fruits and vegetables that have to be used up before they go bad, and before next week's box is delivered. She has no other choice but to make sure she's using the items in her farm box, whether it means cooking with them, chopping them up for snacking, throwing them in salads - you name it. "Surrounding ourselves with healthy choices lessens the desire for unhealthy things, because we don't want all of our fresh produce to go to waste," she says.

Genny is also big on weekly menu planning. "If you have a fridge stocked full with fresh, healthy choices, but no there's no plan in place, you're probably setting yourself up for failure," she says. "No one wants to come home from a long day only to open the fridge and have no idea what to do with what you have. It can be overwhelming. Take stock of what you have available at the beginning of each week, and take a few minutes to plan ahead, so that you know what you're in for when meal time approaches. This simple step can make a world of difference."

Genny is working with the JCC to begin offering a whole list of new and exciting nutrition counseling services. There will be something for everyone - from online counseling via email for those with a tight budget or less time to spare, all the way to a complete fridge/pantry makeover with trips to the grocery store included. Also in the works - the JCC will be offering several free nutrition seminars led by Genny herself! More information is coming soon, so keep an eye out for these. Genny is equipped with a wealth of knowledge and experience, and is ready and willing to share with the JCC community!

If you would like to set up nutrition counseling sessions with Genny, please see member services, and they can schedule an appointment for you. I hope you enjoyed our chat with Genny, and until next time, have a happy and healthy week ahead!