March has definitely been my own “health focus” month.  I can’t wait to share some of the highlights from the Natural Products Expo/Expo West and give you the inside scoop from the VIP Oakley Progression Sessions (Brand Ambassador Contest) very soon. It completely slipped my mind that March 13th was National Registered Dietitian Day until I saw other RD’s tweeting about it (bad dietitian, bad dietitian).  Chobani (the delicious authentic strained Greek Yogurt brand) did not forget this special day and invited some local RD’s to an event at CookLA to celebrate.

Chobani not only has 4 full-time Registered Dietitians on staff but it’s been said that their founder, Hamdi Ulukaya, has called Registered Dietitians “god’s people”.  Respect is good.  Thanks Hamdi!

Chef Liz from CookLA with our menu

Knife Skills before the cooking began

Chobani and CookLA planned a wonderful 4 course menu for us to cook (with help from Chef Liz and Chef Adam of CookLA) and enjoy:

Pear and Whipped Gorgonzola Crostini

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

Seared Fish With Mango Salsa & Grilled Vegetables with Chobani Greek Yogurt Avocado Puree

No Bake Cheesecake

Before we broke off into teams to cook our courses, I learned a very interesting fact about my favorite fruit, the mango.  Did you know that some varieties of mango have an “eye” which will give you an indication of where the pit is located?  If you cut a bit to each side of the “eye”, you will then have 2 cheeks (or you could take the easy way out and use a mango pitter below like I do at home).

Kristin of Chobani showing the mango “eye”

A mango pitter – strange looking but amazing

The dietitians at the event included Melissa from SuperKidsNutrition.com, LeeAnn from Halfacup.com, Ruth from RuthFrechman.com, Sarah from Nutrition-4-You.com, McKenzie from NourishRDs.com, Kara from Chobani (and peaceloveandfood.com – I found you, Kara), Kristin from Chobani (a new resident of Brooklyn and a blogger herself at southerngalinthecity.wordpress.com) and Benita (who doesn’t have a blog but I doubt she’d have the time with all the hats she wears!).  Ladies, why did we never take a group picture?!

Chobani Conversion Chart Magnet

We had a lot of fun cooking, chatting and learning not only about product offerings but about how Chobani can be used in cooking a plethora of dishes (see here for recipes from Chobani Kitchen) and how it can be substituted in cooking to lower fat and cholesterol.

This magnet on the left shows exactly how to substitute Chobani Greek Yogurt can be substituted for sour cream, oil, butter, mayo, cream cheese and buttermilk.

I want to be clear that I’m not just talking about Chobani because they invited me to an event.  I happen to enjoy Chobani Greek Yogurt (honey and pear are my favorites), respect their business philosophy (high quality, healthy food that tastes great) and their responsiveness and integration into the social media world is unparalleled in my opinion.  I’m proud to be a blogger and dietitian that supports Chobani.

The dinner was a wonderful event.  It was great to meet local colleagues in my new city, learn a few new healthy cooking tips, eat wonderful food and be celebrated as an RD by a company I respect.  It was a pleasure to participate in this event.

Dessert

A Gift from Chobani

I think the Conversion Magnets are brilliant and if you are interested in obtaining one, let me know in the comments section and I will reach out to my Chobani contacts and see if I can’t ask them to send me some to share with readers.

Disclaimer:  I was not compensated for this post but I was an invited guest to the dinner event and given the above pictured gift bag.  All opinions are my own.