Hi, I’m Vicki.
I fell in love with how food works in the body as a young girl. In 6th grade I did a science project on the digestive system and was fascinated by the nourishing power of food. As the youngest of three girls, I struggled with food and weight issues. Swinging between deprivation and excessive eating was part of my internal battle. I found peace with food when I realized that healthful eating is about balance and making mindful choices every day. By ditching dieting and understanding body acceptance and love, I came to my personal discovery of what makes me feel good in the long run. I want to help you feel the same way, every day!
My philosophy
Healthy eating is a lifestyle that progresses over time. It’s not a quick fix. By evolving your eating to a healthier place, the focus becomes progress – not perfection. It’s about balancing what each eating experience brings and making mindful food choices to fuel your body well. Ultimately, my goal is to empower you to eat nourishing foods and make choices to foster health and happiness for life.
Professional Bio
Vicki Shanta Retelny, RDN, is a nationally-recognized lifestyle nutrition expert, culinary and media consultant and writer. She is the author of two books, The Essential Guide to Healthy Healing Foods and Total Body Diet for Dummies®.
Vicki holds a Bachelor of Science in Communications from the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College, as well as a degree in Food and Nutrition from Loyola University Chicago. Vicki completed her dietetic internship at Sodexho Marriot.
Vicki is a member of the clinical team at Form where she helps patients achieve their weight loss goals. She is a consultant dietitian at Northwestern University. She owns her own nutrition communications consulting practice. Vicki’s passion for translating nutrition science into usable, real-life messages combined with her culinary capabilities educates consumers on appreciating healthful ingredients and delicious flavors while creating tasty, nutritious meals.
Her expertise, recipes and writings have appeared in dozens of national publications, including SHAPE, Prevention, Martha Stewart Living, The Costco Connection, EatingWell, Delicious Living, Chicago Health, CookingLight.com and Health.com. She is regularly interviewed on-air for WGN-TV’s Medical Watch, CBS and ABC7 Chicago.
She is an active member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics having served on many boards and working groups, including as chair for the Nutrition Entrepreneurs Dietetics Practice Group.
Vicki lives to eat well with her husband, two active tweens and their precocious pug, Stella, in Chicago, IL.
