Today, we will interview 2 lovely ladies, both Registered Dietitian Nutritionists from Little Legumes Nutrition, LLC - Elana Sussman and Sarika Sewak. Together, they have over 20 years of experience working with mothers
and children in a multitude of settings - community clinics, hospitals and now in private practice. At Little Legumes Nutrition their focus is on women and children. They help pregnant moms with nutrition, making sure they are fueling their body to best prepare for a baby. Elana, a Certified Lactation Educator, teaches mothers about nursing and also nourishing their own body while breastfeeding. They have worked with numerous families, helping kids with their varying nutrition issues ranging from picky eating to more medically involved cases of neurological disorders.
We asked them how they got involved with this line of work and each of them contributed.
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Elana Sussman
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Sarika Sewak
What separates them from others is their education and experience. As Registered Dietitian Nutritionists they have nutrition degrees, completed extensive dietetic internships, and have worked in clinical settings providing them with training and knowledge that is backed by science. They don’t believe in gimmicks, magical pills, or trendy diets. Their philosophy comes with years of education as nutrition students and practitioners and their own experiences as mothers.
Their greatest achievement as Nutritionists is starting Little Legumes Nutrition, which has allowed them to get to know so many families and help them feel more confident about feeding themselves and their families.
We asked them what is the biggest misconception they see parents make with regards to their children's nutrition and they admit that there are a couple of things they see frequently in their practice – mainly they see parents focusing a lot on getting their child to eat certain foods rather than creating a safe and comfortable meal time setting where kids naturally will want to try new foods at their own pace. Commonly used tactics to get kids to eat include distraction (via screens or toys), punishment or rewards (if you don't finish your broccoli you can't have ice cream) or sneaking "healthy" items into foods may sometimes work at the moment – but can often backfire in the long term.
Both of them hope to grow their business to be able to help more families learn about nutrition and provide them with the tools to make healthy choices.
When asked to share some tips, they said their best nutritional tip for women, children, and all families is to eat real food. Real food means fruit, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and of course legumes. This food should be fresh, grown without chemicals, and unprocessed. This is not always so easy for everyone to follow which is why they are here to help.
Lastly, we asked them what other things we should know about them or their expertise and here is what they said:
"There is no one size fits all plan when it comes to nutrition. We believe in an individualized approach for every client. We love working with families and make every effort to meet their needs and help them achieve their nutrition goals. We provide in home consultations in the Los Angeles area to make it easier for our families and to better learn about their eating environment."
For more information about Elana Sussman and Sarika Sewak and/or Little Legumes Nutrition please visit their website, www.littlelegumes.com, call at 424- 256-5491 or email them at [email protected]
