University of Oklahoma - Week 6

Hi!
Sorry haven't posted in awhile, I've been super busy lately.  Last week I had the opportunity to spend more time at the Health Sciences Center with Healthy Hearth.  I really enjoyed my time there and learned a lot.  I enjoyed my time so much at Healthy Hearth that I am now considering OU's dietetic + masters program. I learned what goes into planning a meal for the patients to cater to their needs.  Healthy Hearth is really there for the patients and I respect that.  They take coffees and water to them every morning.  Additionally, they make snacks and grab n' go lunches for them.  Working at Healthy Hearth gave me a better insight in what goes into planning a healthy meal for the patients that cater to their needs so they won't endure further symptoms.  Grace and I even got hands on experience by doing our recipe development project with Healthy Hearth.  Our recipe was Fettuccine Florentine garnished with diced tomatoes.  For this dish, we used evaporated milk instead of heavy cream to make it lighter and less fat.  We also decided to garnish with diced tomatoes to add a little color.  I would of liked to have added zucchini and squash to the dish but unfortunately this recipe was a last minute thing and we had to use what was there.  The dish still had a great turnout though and sold out within an hour!  During my time at Healthy Hearth, I also had the chance to actually experience first hand what it is like to be a cook in the kitchen.  Chef Chris threw me on the line during lunch one day because he was too busy.  I was nervous because I have never been a cook before in the kitchen and not to admit, I am not that great of cook.  However, I impressed myself and was successful as a line cook!  I caught on to the techniques used right away.  This really stepped me out of my comfort zone and boosted my confidence especially when I didn't get any complaints on the food =P.  I also learned a little about what it takes to be a manager, there is never a dull moment.  Lara is a great manager and is willing to do anything to make sure her employees are happy and the restaurant is running smoothly.  She even filled in for one of her employees so they were able to take a vacation.  Healthy Hearth was short staffed during our time there, so it benefited them that we were there and able to help out.  Thursday was our last day there and it was sad leaving them.  Grace and I didn't want to leave because we were having such a good time there and started to get the  hang of things.  Also, Lara and Chef Chris were going to try and set us up to meet the RD, which would have been very valuable to me because I want to be an RD for pediatric oncology and talking with her would have given me more of an insight.  I am hoping, however, to meet with her at some point if not during this internship then afterwards sent I'll be staying out here a week extra.  On Friday, we met with Brandi Wright, who is in charge of payroll and were able to learn a little more about their job responsibilities.  I was impressed with these two ladies and how much work they do, they handle up to 1,400 employees pay!  It overwhelmed me to see how much paperwork these ladies do.  They are very organized which allow them to stay on top of things that makes them to be good at their job.  The rest of the day, I worked on our Business Plan and finished up small details in the remaining projects to turn in.  Definitely a fulfilled and busy week!