Looking back on my experience at FNCE last weekend, I have never felt more positive energy and inspiration from a group of professionals all looking to improve the overall health and lives of others. Granted this was only my second FNCE conference, first one as a dietitian, but I hope to remain on this positivity high for a long time to come. I met some amazing RDs and it was so neat to finally meet many of my twitter friends and put an actual face with a name!
What one gets out of professional conferences really depends on what is put into them by the attendee, and I tried to ‘network’ as much as I possibly could. I just wanted to get out there, have fun, and meet people! I collected about 31 business cards and met even more. As of now, I feel like I am still searching for that ideal, perfect job, but it was very inspirational to see all the dynamic opportunities that dietitians pursue and all the amazing things that they are doing in the vast world of dietetics. The possibilities are truly endless.
FNCE was held in Boston this year which mean that it was going to be COOOOLLLLD! Brrrrrr This Vegas girl can’t take the cold that well! When I left Vegas we were in the lower 80’s so it was really hard to try and pack cold weather gear. The weather wasn’t all THAT bad, but it was still pretty darn chilly, windy, and rainy at times. I also forgot my umbrella like a champ =/
Besides the chilly weather, Boston was a city full of character, history, and big, luscious trees full of green moss and colorful fall leaves. Since I took a red-eye flight and arrived early Friday morning, I joined a couple friends and we were able to explore the city for a little while. Although I wasn’t able to sleep that well on the plane, and I was walking around in a sleep-deprived haze, it was such a beautiful city and I wanted to explore even more!
I have a TON of pictures, but I’ll try not to make this too long and highlight some of my favorites 🙂
With our short exploration on Friday, we got to take a water taxi.
Explored the USS Constitution
Lots of beautiful leaves
We followed the freedom trail for most of our walking tour. So neat!
Little Italy was a great place to walk around and visit little shops. I had to take a picture of the limoncello.
Fresh fish!
I took the T a few times and just tried not to get lost! I sure wish Vegas had efficient public transportation.
We found a little hole in the wall for lunch and it was divine with doughy goodness 🙂 You know when there is a long line, it has to be good.
That evening I had the wonderful opportunity to celebrate the Meal Makeover Mom’s new cookbook ‘No Whine With Dinner’ launch party. It was a blast and so surreal to finally meet Janice and Liz!!!
For Saturday I signed up for a culinary excursion at the Johnson and Wales Providence campus. Boy, this was such a blast!!!! I want to go to culinary school soooo bad, especially because this campus has a culinary nutrition degree!
We split into different groups and got hands on experience in the kitchen with some wonderful recipes. I was mesmerized by all the stainless steel . . . ooooooh, aaaaaaah
Kristen, Missy, and I had a lot of fun!
Best part was we got to sample all of our creations, which were delish and gorgeous!
We also got to visit the culinary museum.
Whew, long day!
The conference started that Saturday night and went until Tuesday afternoon. Every day was jam-packed with breakfasts, sessions, meeting new people and going to networking events in the evening. What a great experience!
Here is the expo center.
Ginormous expo hall!! This is where many vendors and products were featured and you could get samples and talk with them about different products for all sorts of different settings, clients, patients, etc.
I needed a panorama shot because this was only half of it!
I was chosen to be one of the finalists for the ADA Journal cover photo contest and I was more than excited to see my picture up on the display!!! The exposure was different than what it looked like on my computer, but ah well, now I know to watch the exposure and quality of web photos vs. print because they can be totally different. Mine is the bottom right 🙂
There were great dinners with friends!
I also got to meet many new friends at FNCE and I really believe that Twitter was a large part of my experience. It opened the doors to meeting many great dietitians that I otherwise wouldn’t have even known.
I met up with some new friends one night and we went to a restaurant called Mare. This was certainly a ‘splurge’ for me, but it was very worth it!
It was small and quaint, with a great ambiance. I loved it.
I have a very adventurous palate and will eat just about anything. When I asked the waiter what his favorite appetizer was he told me to definitely try the octopus. I of course said, ok! Boy I’m so glad I did! It was phenomenal and unlike any chewy octopus I’ve tasted before. It was super tender being braised for 8 hours and had a wonderful smokiness.
For dinner I had the black pepper pappardelle with wild boar, which was good, but I felt the black pepper over powered the dish.
To top off a great conference, Anthony Bourdain was the closing session speaker. He was absolutely hilarious, if you’re into sarcastic, funny, and slightly offensive commentary. He had the audience cracking up! I myself enjoyed it and of course we have to take it with a grain of salt 🙂 I’m in the middle of reading his ‘Kitchen Confidential’ book.
Wouldn’t that be amazing to travel and relish in all the food that a culture has to offer? I sure think so.
Now that I’ve posted way too many pictures, and still have way too many that I’d still like to share, I hope you’ve enjoyed my little re-cap of FNCE. Even though I came back with a little cold and congestion, I had a wonderful time and cannot wait for the next one! I love taking advantage of events like this whenever I can because it helps us to improve as a profession and inspires us to continue, strive, and empower each other so that we can translate the language of good health and nutrition to others. Thank you to all the other dietitians that made my FNCE experience one to remember and cherish 🙂
Bye Boston!
Have you ever been to a conference? What was your favorite?
What a GREAT recap! And pics. You really saw lots of Boston in 1 day! And that cooking class sounded like so much fun. I’m so glad I got to meet you in person and look forward to the next one in SD! 🙂
Comment by Janel — November 14, 2010 @ 1:01 pm
FNCE sounds like it was an amazing experience. I think it’s so valuable to be affirmed in the profession and also to make contacts via networking. Boston sounds like a great city, too. The culinary tour looks like it was a blast!
Congrats on having your photo featured, too!
Comment by Emily — November 14, 2010 @ 1:37 pm
oh my – that looks like one awesome conference!!!!
Comment by LIsa — November 14, 2010 @ 2:05 pm
I wish I could have attended FNCE this year (I have a student membership to ADA). Maybe next year!
Comment by BroccoliHut — November 14, 2010 @ 4:51 pm
I went to the AADE (Diabetes Educators) this year which was AMAZING. It was by far the best one I have ever been too. So I couldn’t go to FNCE this year. I have been to a few FCNEs in the past as well.
The Johnson & Wales event sounds great. My cousin just completed their nutrition culinary program. I have the opportunity to teach cooking classes at work with a chef who is an RD. I have to pinch myself every class! 🙂
Glad you had a good time!
Comment by Dana @ Budget Dietitian — November 14, 2010 @ 5:52 pm
I’m glad that you enjoyed it! What breakout sessions did you go to? I still haven’t heard the full report from my office but I know it was a great turn out. Hopefully I’ll get there next year!
Comment by Alex @ I Eat Asphalt — November 14, 2010 @ 5:56 pm
I’ve never been to a big dietetic conference, just the state one here, which is NOT that great at all. I have been to big pharmaceutical conferences which are kind of like that, but not as much of a passion of mine with the cooking/nutrition focus.
Comment by Mo@MommyRD — November 14, 2010 @ 6:16 pm
Wow, what an awesome event! So glad you had a great time. I think Boston is the #1 place in the US that I haven’t been and am dying to visit. And so cool that you got to hear Anthony Bourdain speak.. love his show and books!
Comment by Alyson @ Nourished Fitness — November 14, 2010 @ 8:31 pm
I am so jealous of all the sightseeing you fit in. I was just too cold. It was great spending time with you. Sounds like you had a great time there, just like me. It was awesome and I am so pumped right now to be in this profession.
Comment by Melinda — November 15, 2010 @ 9:00 am
Your pictures are just amazing!
I had the best time! I am glad we got to hang out a bit! Can you and I both attend Johnson and Wales! haha.
Comment by Kristen (swanky dietitian) — November 15, 2010 @ 10:54 am
@Kristen, I know right?! Let’s escape together!! 🙂
Comment by Kristen :) — November 15, 2010 @ 11:04 am
So fun! I loved the pictures! I’ve never been to FNCE…I’m almost embarassed to say that! Hopefully next year!!
Comment by Nicole, RD — November 15, 2010 @ 12:14 pm
Anthony Bourdain totally looks barefoot in that third pic… 🙂 I rock a few conferences a year—it’s what’s getting me to NZ in a few weeks. I pick my conferences based on places I want to go as much as material I want to learn about. Boston looked pretty sweet!
Comment by S @ extremebalance.net/blog — November 15, 2010 @ 12:39 pm
Wow I would love that conference! Can you be just a Nutritionist or do you have to be RD?
Comment by emily (a nutritionist eats) — November 15, 2010 @ 1:04 pm
@emily , Hi! I believe you have to be an RD or intern and a member of ADA. You should totally go back to school and get your MS in Nutrition & combine it with an internship! Looking back that’s what I wished I would have done 🙂
Comment by Kristen :) — November 16, 2010 @ 7:36 pm
I would love to see Boston, especially in the fall when the leaves are so beautiful. Hopefully I can go to FNCE one year and meet all my favorite blogger RD’s (including YOU of course!). I am so sad I didn’t meet anyone last year when I went, but I had only been blogging for a few months at that point. The expo looks just as wild and packed as last year! I think it’s awesome that Anthony Bourdain did a talk. Wow, I bet that was full of foul language and great humor. He’s awesome!
Comment by The Candid RD — November 16, 2010 @ 4:05 am
Wow! Those pics make me want to come down to the states for an FNCE Conference!! Ours aren’t nearly as big in Canada. Wonder if they allow out of country RD’s??
Comment by Janine Bolton — November 16, 2010 @ 8:32 am
@Janine, Of course! Actually I believe there is an International Dietitians group that comes to FNCE. I would talk with Melinda from NutritionFoodTravel blog http://nutrfoodtrvl.blogspot.com/ She came from the Azores 🙂
Comment by Kristen :) — November 16, 2010 @ 8:48 am
Looks like you had a great time. Beautiful photos. I wish I could have made it to Boston. So jealous you got to hear Bourdain speak -love him. Congrats on being chosen as a photo contest finalist!
Comment by Trish — November 16, 2010 @ 9:07 am
I went to Mare when I was there tooooo!!! 🙂 delish!
Comment by Jenny Westerkamp RD — November 16, 2010 @ 1:52 pm
@Jenny, Yay!! So glad I got to experience that. I don’t think I’ll be able to ever find octopus like that again 🙂
Comment by Kristen :) — November 16, 2010 @ 7:30 pm
Great recap! So jealous you got to actually see Boston – I had no time! And that cooking class looked awesome, as did the culinary museum – who knew there was one of those?! So great meeting you at the conference!
Comment by Jessica — November 16, 2010 @ 7:13 pm
lovely post loved the pictures hope I can meet u one day
Comment by rebecca — November 16, 2010 @ 8:43 pm
@rebecca, thank you! I had a great time, I hope to meet you as well! Maybe when I go visit my mom again 🙂
Comment by Kristen :) — November 16, 2010 @ 8:51 pm
Love your FNCE recap! The last conference I went to was in San Fran for certification in Adult Weight Management. Like you, I was on a positivity high for a few weeks following the conference. I’m hoping to attend FNCE next year! I’ve never attended.
Comment by Kasey — November 17, 2010 @ 7:27 pm
@Kasey, How was that? I’ve been wanting to possibly do the certificate, was it worth it? I hope I can go to FNCE again next year 🙂
Comment by Kristen :) — November 18, 2010 @ 2:07 pm
Sounds like such a great time! Glad you had fun 🙂 The food looks amazing and I love the presentation with the half orange slices twisted. So going to use that idea sometime.
Comment by Heather @ Get Healthy With Heather — November 18, 2010 @ 5:55 am
I’m glad you had a great time at FNCE! Even if the weather wasn’t great for most of it, Boston is beautiful. I had to laugh at your picture of the Convention Center because I remember spending a LONG time waiting out front for the hotel shuttle 😛
Congrats on having your picture chosen as a finalist! When do you find out the final results?
Comment by Jessie — November 19, 2010 @ 12:21 pm
hey kristen!
I LOVED your recap! I wish so much that I went to FNCE this year! I am jealous of your experience because it seems like it was a wonderful time! My co-worker went ( I am the only one on my team that does not have credentials!) and didn’t seem impressed ( maybe cuz she went home simultaneously).
I love conferences and think they are very important in professional development! I know I’m not in my perfect career right now, but its a start right?!
Are you going home for thanksgiving/christmas? We will have to meet up if you see (your mom as I recall ?)
Happy Thanksgiving (almost!)
-Laural
Comment by bhealthier — November 24, 2010 @ 11:56 am
I am from Boston and just loved reading this post!! I desperately wanted to attend the conference, but couldn’t get out of work. So glad to read your recap!!
Comment by Lindsay @ The Ketchup Diaries — November 30, 2010 @ 11:47 am
Kristen, it was so good to finally meet you at FNCE. Glad you were able to join us for our book launch party! See you at the next nutrition/foodie/blogger conference!
Comment by Meal Makeover Mom Janice — November 30, 2010 @ 7:01 pm