Nutritionist's Passion for Healthy Eating Inspires New Business
Malina Malkani, a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) with a Master of Science in Clinical Nutrition, knows a thing or two about the transformative power of nutrient-dense, whole foods. Before becoming licensed and starting Malina Malkani, LLC (https://malinamalkani.com/), she spent her first, post-college decade working professionally in the performing arts as a singer, actor, dancer and model in NYC. With a rigorous travel schedule and the need to keep her energy at a high level, Malina taught herself how to live a healthy, nutrition-focused lifestyle. This inspired her to want to share that lifestyle and knowledge with her friends, family, and eventually everyone else!
Malina went back to grad school and started her dietetic internship at the Bronx VA hospital. Working with veterans who were deeply in need of dietary counseling was life-changing and taught Malina how impactful her work could be. At the VA, she learned that lifestyle is just as (or even more) important than diet alone, and how to translate that knowledge into actionable guidance. “I learned that for a healthy change to be sustainable, people need to connect with the ‘why’ behind their motivation to change, and they need practical ways to make healthy new habits achievable and enjoyable.”
Soon after her internship, Malina was blessed with three daughters in approximately four years! In that same period, both of her parents were diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer (both are now stable, thankfully), and she lost a very close aunt to cancer. It was a challenging time for Malina to say the least. She remained steadfast in her commitment to healthy, whole foods for herself and her young babies while simultaneously helping her parents completely change their diets. “I am a big proponent of plant-based eating and can’t stress enough how important nutrition is at both ends of the lifecycle and everywhere in between.” This difficult time in her life was the inspiration for creating her nutrition lifestyle company with the goal of helping modern families choose a nutrient-dense lifestyle that optimizes their current and future health, “so that being healthy is not an option…it’s a way to live.”
Malina now specializes in nutrition for moms, babies, and kids and has since become a trusted nutrition expert in hundreds of national and local media outlets including Newsweek, CNN, The Food Network, Insider, US News & World Report and Sirius XM Doctor Radio. Her first book, Simple and Safe Baby-Led Weaning: How to Integrate Foods, Master Portion Sizes and Identify Allergies, was published in January 2020 and she recently launched an online course called Solve Picky Eating as an affordable option for parents who may not have the time or resources to meet with a dietitian one-on-one, but want to learn how to solve their kids’ picky eating behaviors and raise healthy, adventurous eaters. Her web site features lots of free resources and many quick, easy and healthy whole food recipes for moms to offer their kids – she calls moms the nutritional gatekeepers! To which Rich and Dennis joked: “Why not dads?!” She also has recently started offering a Nutrigenomics Program that allows her clients, through a simple DNA test, to determine what the best diet will be for them individually based on their genetics. She calls this a “personalized approach to eating.”
We are inspired by Malina’s dedication to and passion for healthy lifestyle choices for her family and friends. Feel free to contact her to find out more about her work.
OTHER INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT MALINA:
- She worked in NYC a substitute hand model for a famous actress in a series of L’Oreal commercials.
- She starred Off-Broadway in the hit show, “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.”
- Grew up in northern Massachusetts, but now calls the suburbs of New York home.
- Sang the National Anthem for a crowd of over 8000 nutrition professionals at the Food & Nutrition Conference Expo in both Chicago and Philly
- Shares her passion for nutrition, health, and wellness with friend Kimberly Locke, a 3rd place finisher on 2003’s American Idol
