I love food and eating unapologetically.
In fact, that’s why I became a dietitian! I wanted to talk to people about food because food is so much more than just fuel and nutrients.
It’s tradition, culture, history, comfort, pleasure, and so much more!
I wasn’t always this way though.
Growing up as an Iranian-American, I often found myself playing tug-of-war with my heritage and American culture.
I struggled with how my body looked, often wondering why I couldn’t get rid of my “rice pooch” on my stomach.
I wanted to fit in with my peers and to look like the celebrities I was seeing on TV - hello 90’s television and the era of nonfat/low-fat food!
When I first started to learn about nutrition in undergrad, I let the food police take over.
I was at UC Berkeley (Foodie Central) and my education focused on the issues with our food system and how individuals could make “better choices” for their health.
I took classes with some powerful people in the food movement, like Michael Pollan and Raj Patel, while being enveloped by the local food movement that Alice Waters promotes.
This was also around the time the city passed the first soda tax bill in the US.
I was also learning that a person’s zip code was a better indicator of their overall health than their genetic code (so there were some helpful things). To sum it all up: Big Agriculture and the food industry did not have our best interests at heart. The ‘best’ way to eat was local, organic, and whole foods.
I was lucky to be introduced to intuitive eating shortly after my time at Berkeley and it just clicked for me.
It made so much sense! I then began a long journey of unlearning all of the food rules I picked up that no longer aligned with my values.
I started to relearn to trust myself around all foods, nourish my body in ways that felt good, and began to appreciate my body as it is.
I realized how much diet culture is ingrained in our society and has led many people to have difficult relationships with food and their bodies and contributes to bias in healthcare. I had to unlearn a lot of my traditional dietitian training (which was to “fix”) and instead focus more on supporting clients and holding space for them.
I am a non-diet, weight-inclusive dietitian who believes that you are inherently worthy as you are.
I will support you with your goals using a nonjudgmental, client-centered approach.
I believe that no one has to explain themselves for what they choose to eat, how they choose to move their body (or not), or what they look like.
My approach to working with clients focuses on you and your experience so that I can support you in reconnecting with yourself and learning how to rely on your body’s wisdom. I offer self-care practices, mindfulness tools, and self-compassion skills in sessions to support my clients.
My mission is to empower individuals on their path to recovery from disordered eating and eating disorders through a nurturing and collaborative approach.
I understand that systemic challenges impact our clients, which is why I am dedicated to fostering an anti-oppressive environment in both my practice and business operations.
I recognize that parts of my identity holds privileges. My privileges include being able-bodied, cisgendered, heterosexual, and food secure. I acknowledge these to let you know where I am coming from. While my lived experience are as such, I have learned from and continue to invest in trainings and supervision from people of diverse backgrounds. I value your lived experience and recognize that it may be different from mine.
I believe everyone deserves access to respectful care and will hold space for you to show up exactly as you are. If you’d like to work with another provider, I completely understand and will do my best to connect you with someone who might better support you.
As part of my dedication to anti-oppressive work, I am a part of Project Heal, and Diversify Dietetics, I accept insurance, and offer sliding scale spots.
hiking
baking
playing board games
Harry Potter
Star Wars
Marvel
As the daughter of Iranian immigrants, I’ve been reconnecting with my culture by relearning Persian and cooking Iranian food - especially tahdig (the crunchy rice that forms at the bottom of the pot)!
Jasmine Hormati is a Registered Dietitian based in New York, NY.
She specializes in disordered eating recovery and body image work by using an intuitive eating and Health at Every Size® approach to help client heal their relationship with food, their bodies, and reclaim their inherent worth.
Jasmine earned her Bachelors of Science in Conservation and Resource Studies form University of California, Berkeley and her Master of Science in Nutrition and Public Health from Teachers College, Columbia University.
She is also a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor.
mendinground nutrition sits on the traditional and unceded lands of the Lenape people, now called New York, New York. We honor the people who originally stewarded the land and are committed to creating a more equitable world.
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