Elissa Strassman, RDN, CDN

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Rochester, NY
Elissa Strassman, RDN, CDN

I help people achieve goals and improve quality of life through wellness and nutrition. Wellness Starting with You. Want to learn more?

Often there's a disconnect when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle and acting accordingly. I aim to mend that gap between knowing and doing, by catering my services, approach and strategy, to your own unique and individual circumstance. No matter your goal, my goal is simple: improve all clients' quality of life through wellness and nutrition, starting with you in mind. Find out more about me and my background, philosophy and approach, by visiting: https://www.elissastrassman.com. I look forward to connecting!

12/23/2025

While we all may be running around in a hurry, sometimes it’s nice to have a more leisurely morning. ☕️

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting with Abby Fridmann and Dan Schrack of Fox Rochester WUHF where we explored some breakfast casserole ideas that people can enjoy over the holidays/brunch/more leisurely mornings.

Why are these so great?

➡️ You can prep them ahead of time.
➡️ They are a great way to use up leftovers.
➡️ They are easy recipes that anyone can make(these actually would be a fun one to do with kids).
➡️ They call for hands off cooking- so more time for you to do other things/enjoy time with others, while they bake.

We showed two versions of breakfast casseroles on the show, one sweet and one savory, and revealed who among us are strict recipe followers and who among us are more improvisational. Any guesses as to who aligns with which? 🤷🏻‍♀️

You can check out a replay of the show and corresponding recipes below:

News Segment:

⏪🎥 https://foxrochester.com/features/health-in-a-handbasket/health-in-a-handbasket-breakfast-bakes

Recipes:

➡️ https://www.elissastrassman.com/post/veggie-strata
➡️ https://www.elissastrassman.com/post/fruit-strata

12/10/2025

Be part of a meaningful initiative to support our local community, by helping us to restock food pantries after the busy holiday season.

Elissa Strassman, RDN, CDN in partnership with the Rochester Academy of Medicine is hosting a food drive!

If you would like to contribute to the food drive, you may drop off your non-perishable food item(s) from December 10, 2025 to January 16, 2026, to the main lobby of the 1441 East Avenue, Rochester Academy of Medicine, building. Donations may be dropped off Monday-Friday, between the hours of 9a and 5p. Please note:the lobby will be closed for drop off on 12/24 and 12/25.

For items most needed by our local food pantries, please see the attached flier for food donation ideas.

All items donated will go to Foodlink.

For any additional questions, please don't hesitate to reach out and ask.

11/27/2025

“I wanted to ask you about Grandma Strassman’s tainted turkey…”, pause…laughter, from mom and dad…

“Do you remember Grandma Strassman’s tainted turkey?” I ask my mom and dad.

“Of course!!” exclaimed mom and dad.

I wasn’t alive when the infamous tainted turkey was served, but it is a story that gets retold often, when we reminisce about holidays, and one that poor Grandma Strassman, would never(lovingly) live down, as the time she tried to poison her family, one Thanksgiving Day.

I know we all have those fears of things not going just right, when preparing food for others- especially around a special occasion or holiday, but sometimes it’s those very occurrences that become a shared experience, shared laughter, a loving memory, a remembrance of our loved ones, their character, and a story that goes on to live in our family forever.

Thinking of all of you on this Thanksgiving Day.

And, please, don’t eat a tainted turkey. 🦃

11/25/2025

To rinse, or not to rinse, that is the question…🤔

This week, Abby, Dan and I had some fun testing people's holiday food safety knowledge on Fox Rochester WUHF.

You can catch a replay of the show here…

⏪🎥 https://foxrochester.com/news/good-day-rochester/health-in-a-handbasket-holiday-food-safety

And, test your own food safety knowledge by answering the following questions below 👇.

Want to know if you got them right? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Click the link below:

https://www.canva.com/design/DAG5tMbRHLE/Vi783tW78x9ObUxYEBEQRQ/view?utm_content=DAG5tMbRHLE&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=ha2025ab01b

11/13/2025

Throw me back to early October, where we took advantage of the 80 degree weather, and went apple and flower picking at Schutts Apple Mill! 🍎🌻☀️

Come along with us as we go through the apple orchard and pick a bouquet of fresh cut flowers. You can even catch a glimpse of honey crisp apple cider being made!

One cool thing I learned is that after the apples get chopped up and pressed for cider, the pulp gets composted and put back into the soil- no waste!

I’ll be back for another visit soon though, because one question I forgot to ask was how many apples/pounds of apples it takes to make one gallon of apple cider.

If you were to take a guess, how many do you think?! 🤔🤷🏻‍♀️

Although apple and flower picking season is over, don’t worry you can still catch a peek at how apple cider is made. Perhaps a fun thing to do on National Apple Cider Day, it’s this coming Tuesday, November 18th!!

Thanks Schutts Apple Mill for a wonderful fall fun filled day! 🍏🍂✨

11/04/2025

💭 Have you been considering donating food to a food pantry or food bank, and not really sure where to start? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Here are three easy tips for how to donate food to a food pantry or food bank, to help!

1) Identify where you will be donating:

To learn about where you can find a food pantry or bank near you visit here:

➡️🔗 https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank

For people located in Allegany, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca Wayne, Wyoming and Yates counties in NY, visit here:

➡️🔗 https://foodlinkny.org/find-food/

Some things you may want to learn:

➡️When they accept donations
➡️What ways they prefer to receive donations(some food pantries or banks accept monetary donations, some have online wish lists or stores, others have traditional food donations, some offer all of the above).

2) Find out what they need:

➡️ Some food pantries have lists of items that they could use more of, and some that they do not need any more food donations of.
➡️ If they have a website, they may post this online, for others, it may be helpful to give them a call ahead of time.

3) For the most part, try and donate nutrient dense foods to help support a healthy pantry and family.

Some items to consider:

➡️ Whole Grains: look for whole grain pasta, rice, breads, tortillas, cereal, quinoa, farro, barley, pancake mixes, oats, cornmeal, grits, etc.
➡️ Canned, Dried, or Freeze-Dried Fruits and Vegetables: opt for lower sodium, or no salt added canned vegetables, or fruits packed in their own juice, or water.
➡️ Shelf Stable Dairy or Dairy Alternatives: Think boxed, powdered, or canned milks.
➡️ Shelf Stable Protein: look for canned chicken or seafood, canned or dried beans and legumes, peanut/nut/seed butters, nuts, seeds, or shelf stable tofu.
➡️ Things to cook food with and make it delicious: oils, dried herbs, spices, low sodium broths, stocks, and condiments!
➡️ Easy to make meals(that may be lower in sodium): meal kits, just add water, or easy open and go, all work here.
➡️ A wide variety of food items that can support a diverse community.

Some things best to avoid:

➡️ Expired foods, or foods that are marked past their sell by date
➡️ Things packaged in glass jars
➡️ Something that has already been opened
➡️ Dented or bloated cans

Was this information helpful? Please feel free to give it a like or a heart below, or pass along to others, so they can benefit from it too.

09/30/2025

🎉 One of the things I love about social media is its ability to form a sense of community.

With that being said, I say, let’s get to know one another a little bit more!! Comment below and tell me a fun fact about you!!

If you are too shy to comment, don’t worry- you can always head to my stories and share your fun fact with me there, or, send me a DM too.

I am so looking forward to getting to know a little bit more about you!!

09/24/2025

💭I will never forget the time I was sitting at my first grade lunch table, surrounded by all my peers, when another child, from across the table, stuck their arm out, pointed to my lunch, and said “eew, what’s that?”.

I remember how mortified and embarrassed I was, as all the other little heads looked to turn to see what I was eating, what was in my lunch.

You see, growing up, I was a leftover kid, and how could I not be? 🤷🏻‍♀️My mom made the most delicious meals, and I took pride in packing thermoses/containers full of whatever we had eaten the night before- whether it was leftover pasta, meatball sandwiches, or soups/chilis/stews. Oh, how I looked forward to those lunches, to those meals.

That was all until someone pointed out what I was eating and expressed what they thought I was eating was gross.

I don’t know if I ever told my mom, because I did not want to hurt her feelings, but I remember pretty soon after that experience, I stopped bringing leftovers for lunch.

~

This week I had the pleasure of visiting with Stephannie Joseph and Dan Schrack of Fox Rochester WUHF, where we shared some of our own experiences with others “yucking our yum” and talked about some strategies to help support with it.

You can catch the replay of the show and correlating blog post here:

🎥⏪ https://foxrochester.com/news/good-day-rochester/health-in-a-handbasket-yucking-my-yum
🔗➡️ https://www.elissastrassman.com/post/dont-yuck-my-yum

Has anyone else ever experienced something like this? 🤷🏻‍♀️ What did you do/how did you handle it? What tips do you have? 💬

08/29/2025

College students, this one is for you! 🎓🍴I’ve got 7 Back to School Eating Tips to help prepare you for living and eating at school. 🍽️✨

Swipe through to find some quick back to school eating tips, then visit the blog where you can find a bunch more useful information!

🔗➡️ https://www.elissastrassman.com/post/7-back-to-school-eating-tips-for-college-students

💬 Did/do you have a favorite dorm room food you like(d) to keep on hand, or a favorite meal/snack that you like(d) to eat on campus? 🤷🏻‍♀️ Feel free to share them below in the comments! ⬇️

08/27/2025

Headed to college? Well, we’ve got you covered, here!

Check out this Health in HandBasket News Segment sharing some back to school eating tips for college students.

⏪🎥 https://foxrochester.com/news/good-day-rochester/health-in-a-handbasket-back-to-college-nutrition-tips

Then stay tuned, for tomorrow, I'll share some additional tips that we didn't quite get to on the air!

08/06/2025

“Elissa Strassman explains why fresh herbs slap.”- says Fox Rochester WUHF

Find out why and gather some inspiration for ways to use herbs in foods we grill in the latest Health in a HandBasket news segment.

⏪🎥 https://foxrochester.com/news/good-day-rochester/health-in-a-handbasket-fresh-garden-herbs

It is in this segment where Stephannie, Abby and I, also share in some of our favorite fresh herb and seasoning combos, but, what about you?🤷🏻‍♀️What are some of your favorite herbs/herb and seasoning pairings to use? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Address

1441 East Avenue, Suite 7D
Rochester, NY
14610

Website

https://www.elissastrassman.com/

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