Nineteen years ago my family and I moved to the United States. As a Persian child, I considered salad, yogurt, and fruit delicious snacks until being introduced to Twinkies, donuts, and cookies as early as O’Hare International Airport. Six years and fifty-five pounds later, I had become overweight. The idea of getting back to a normal weight was a thought that constantly haunted me. How could I lose all the weight I had gained? After attempting extreme diets, I realized that they weren’t any healthier than being overweight.
During my freshman year in college, I began to eat a well balanced diet and exercised regularly. After adapting to this new lifestyle, I lost over fifty pounds, which was something quite profound and joyful for me. This journey made me want to help others feel the same happiness, which led me to switch my major from Nursing to a double major in Dietetics, Nutrition, Fitness and Health!
Ok, pause! Let’s back up a little. I honestly didn’t even know nutrition was a field I could study in college until I met my now husband Mark. Here is how it all went down (short version). I was taking psychology freshman year, as it was a required course for nursing. I ended up not getting the grade I needed for nursing because my professor (kid you not) said, “I will not round your grade up. You can retake the class. Everything happens for a reason. Maybe you will thank me one day!” I was livid! I thought, “I will not ……. (Insert bad word) thank you ever!”
I decided to retake the class over the summer. The first day of class, Mark (my now husband) saw me walk in late (I know…bad start to retaking the class…I got lost) and sit in the back. He says he knew he loved me as soon as he saw me (cheesy, I know). He told himself he was going to make sure to sit next to me the following day! And so he did. The next day this guy (Mark) sat next to me, introduced himself and has not stopped talking and asking me questions since.
Mark was a senior majoring in Biomedical Engineering and was taking psychology for his medical school prerequisite. If I had not retaken psychology, I would have never met my soul mate. Can you believe it? That professor was right, EVERYTHING does happen for a REASON! During that summer Mark quickly realized my passion for nutrition and suggested that I pursue it as a career. After a few weeks of thinking and researching, I changed my major! The next three years I spent studying, doing research, eating Chipotle, studying some more, taking ton of exams, eating more Chipotle, and getting accepted to graduate school. During graduate school, I spent a ton of time hanging out with my study subjects, pregnant pigs! I hung out with my piggys daily, worked on my forever long thesis, got my first gray hair, published a few papers, then realized I am done with school. I applied to internships (the last step to becoming an Registered Dietitian) and was accepted at the Cleveland Clinic. I spent a year in Cleveland with the most outstanding dietitians and physicians. I learned so much both as a dietitian and as a person.
Mark proposed to me at the end of graduate school while he was in medical school and we got married a year later once we were both done with school. As soon as we got married and settled into our new place, I took my exam and became a registered dietitian. Being a huge foodie, I decided to make an Instagram account to share my love for food and maybe even help inspire some people to eat differently! Mark thought it was a great idea since, as I’ve written a couple times already…I love food – and I have always been obsessed with taking pictures.
I was searching for a name for my account, maybe even something I could use in the future for my private practice. Since I believe in “everything in moderation” I came up with “Grapes to Crepes” because I believe you can have anything from fruit, to a Nutella stuffed crepe as long as you are doing so “in moderation.” Things were going great until I slowed down my posts because I got super busy with everyday life – things like, you know, working, getting a puppy, and traveling a ton! It wasn’t until February 2017, when I gave birth to a nugget baby (my term for him as he’s just such “a little nugget”), that I realized I needed to slow down and enjoy all the things I love in life! Baby C has taught me so much in such a short time. Watching him change so fast day to day (that kid grows like a weed), I have learned to not take things for granted and try to make every day count! So, I recently decided to begin using my Instagram account to share not only my love for food, but also include my life and experiences as a wife, mom, dietitian, and fitness guru! In order to share a little more of my life and recipes with everyone on Instagram, I decided to start this site.
Hi, my name is Pardis (no middle name) DeFord! Welcome to my website!
Education and Experience
I am a Purdue University graduate with a BS in Dietetics, Nutrition, Fitness and Health as well as a MS in Exercise Physiology. My graduate school work was focused on the impact of a maternal high fat diet on offspring cardiovascular function. I then completed my dietetic internship at the Cleveland Clinic. I worked as a clinical dietitian for 3 years prior to launching Grapes to Crepes Nutrition.