Meet Anita Mirchandani: Dietitian and Certified Fitness Professional
Ready to take control of your health this year? Anita Mirchandani, a Westchester-based registered dietitian nutritionist, prenatal and postnatal exercise specialist, and personal trainer, is here to help. She works with clients (individual and corporate) to provide personalized fitness and nutrition plans for a balanced and integrative approach to health. She also has a fantastic Instagram page where she shares insightful tips about health, including her real talk on women’s health. Read on to learn more about her health and wellness journey and how you can work with her.
Westchester Family: Tell us about your journey to becoming a nutritionist. Was health always important to you?
Anita Mirchandani: My educational journey began in my 20s, but my experience with nutrition started in my early teens. I don’t think I ever understood how to have a healthy relationship with food until I realized how powerful food is for our health. When I was in my teens, there were many roller coaster experiences with weight gain, weight loss unhealthy dieting, extreme dieting, fad dieting and more. I think I just wanted to make sure that I look good and whatever the perception of looking good meant to everyone else.
I realized I wanted to develop the knowledge and understand all the science behind what happens the minute you eat something and the journey of food through the body. I am extremely fascinated by the ability for food to be “medicine.”
Health was and still is always important to me, but my relationship with food has allowed me to optimize my health in recent years.
Westchester Family: Tell us more about your specific approach to nutrition in your work?
Anita Mirchandani: My approach is not very complicated. Over the years, I’ve learned that when it comes to a nutrition program or eating to optimize your health that it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach. You have to really understand your genetic predisposition and all the potential diagnoses that come with it. I work with each individual to understand their health, history, medical history, lifestyle, and current stressors, and then we create an individualized plan that allows us to work towards our goals in a very balanced way. For me, it is about sustaining all your hard work in a non-stressful way.
Westchester Family: What are some ways people can work with you? Tell us about your services.
Anita Mirchandani: At present, I operate a nutrition, telehealth platform. The unique part about me is that I accept insurance – specifically Aetna, CIGNA, Blue Cross Blue Shield- which many dietitians do not offer at present. If you explore your benefits coverage, you might discover that it covers a handful of sessions with a dietitian.
I offer an initial consultation which will cover your current lifestyle habits and medical history, which includes bloodwork analysis, testing analysis, and a full review of any health issues you might have. After the initial consultation, I typically schedule follow ups in a timely manner, until we feel that we have reached the goals desired by the client.
My platform offers the ability to record a Food Journal and message to discuss any questions in real time. For example, a client might want to know what the best dish to order from a menu at a restaurant they are eating at one evening, so they may send me the menu and asked me to pick some options.
Westchester Family: How do you approach nutrition with children and/or your children?
Anita Mirchandani: Working with children is a unique experience. I approach the ability to work with children in a very fluid way. Children go through phases with food and their relationship with food. I approach this very delicately, but I try to really get to the bottom of what the issues that present itself may be and find simple solutions, small steps that can be implemented over time.
For example, if a child is not open to try and vegetables, instead of putting a bunch on a plate, I might suggest to incorporate chopped vegetables into a meatball format, so that it’s hidden initially, and then slowly appearing as a side with a meal.
Westchester Family: What are some of your favorite things to do in Westchester with your kids?
Anita Mirchandani: I absolutely love to go explore different parks all over Westchester. Whether it’s hiking or biking, I try to pick some thing that allows us to be active on our feet for at least one hour. There are so many cool spots with ponds, lakes, sightseeing, playgrounds, farmers market, and so forth. We love Pierson Park on the water, and we’ve hiked at Butler’s sanctuary and enjoyed a nearby breakfast spot. Most recently, I got a few of my closest mom friends and challenged our oldest sons to a 4-on-4 basketball game… it was an awesome time!
Westchester Family: What are some of your go-to meals for health and energy?
Anita Mirchandani: Here are my top three go to meals:
Protein grain bowl – chicken teriyaki, vegetable plus brown rice with an option to add a scrambled egg OR a Tex-Mex bowl with ground meat, mixed greens, salsa, or chopped tomatoes and onions, avocado, and some format and shredded cheese
I love protein, packed pancakes, where I make a batter and add two scoops of collagen powder, 1 tablespoon flaxseed, and 1 tablespoon of hemp seeds.
I also love a good omelette. Many days when I don’t feel like cooking, I will do a veggie omelette with cheese and a side of greens or salad or roasted vegetables/potatoes.
Westchester Family: Tell us more about the difference between a nutritionist and a dietitian?
Anita Mirchandani: A nutritionist is not credentialed by the state and is not required to pass an exam. A dietitian is required to complete the equivalency to a bachelors in nutrition, work in a hospital, or clinical institution, and pass a board exam. Dietitians are able to analyze bloodwork and provide specific clinical related assessments.
Many dietitians also have a masters in clinical nutrition, including myself. If you’re looking to really get to the bottom of health issues (PCOS, fertility, Hashimoto’s, diabetes and hypercholesteremia) , definitely seek out a dietitian to help!
Learn more about Anita Mirchandani here.