Tamara Hargett, RD

03/09/2026

Look at this cute pic I took of Bernice 😁

03/06/2026

Ever since my kids were very little, I’ve been teaching them about nutrition and how to cook. I couldn’t be prouder of them now that they are adulting at the ages 25, 27 and 29. I think it’s cute they like to share their gourmet healthy recipes with me. 😊

02/25/2026

Last night my family took me to Outback Steakhouse for Birthday Dinner. Had salmon with sautéed mushrooms and grilled shrimp with asparagus and broccoli 🥦. Such a large portion I can get 3 meals out of this 😅😋

02/23/2026

Last week, we discovered two incredibly simple recipes that left us feeling energized and inspired. Roasting yellow squash and zucchini on a cooking sheet with olive oil, garlic, onion powder, cracked black pepper, and kosher salt brought out their natural sweetness. We enjoyed them for dinner and lunch the next day 😋, cooked to perfection at 435° for 13 minutes. The salad was a symphony of flavors! With leftover baked salmon, fresh spinach leaves, salad greens, bell peppers, olives, grape tomatoes, green onions, and balsamic vinaigrette, it was a nutritious and delicious meal. The salmon was baked to perfection on a cooking sheet with olive oil, lemon, dill, kosher salt, and cracked black pepper at 425° for 17 minutes, and served with roasted baby broccoli, pan-seared scallops, and bow tie pasta with truffle sauce - a wonderful dinner by candlelight with my hubby 😍.

02/22/2026

Andrea, Aaron and Bernice surprised me with a birthday party at work! I had absolutely no idea 😂

01/21/2026

Happy Workaversary to Bernice!! Help me celebrate her 9th year anniversary here at the office! Those who know her know she’s precious and goes the extra mile for our patients!

01/18/2026

🌶️ 🍊 Chipotle-Orange Pork Loin with Pomegranate Green Beans. These recipes were perfectly destined to come together! When I saw the green bean recipe, I thought, “Wow! That’s a match made in culinary heaven!” It turned out truly fantastic! See comments for the ingredients and directions. ⬇️

01/05/2026

I couldn’t resist sharing this 😂🤣😂
Happy New Year to you all!

12/23/2025

Christmas lunch party at Angry Cactus with Leroy Palmer and Bernice Thomas.
Angry Vegan 🥑 🥕
Beef Tacos 🌮
Blackened Catfish

11/29/2025

11/13/2025

November is National Diabetes Awareness Month

DKA Awareness

Insulin deficiency—often brought on by missed doses, infection, or other stressors—leads to unchecked hepatic (liver) gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis, causing significant hyperglycemia. Simultaneously, the lack of insulin and excess of counterregulatory hormones (glucagon, cortisol, growth hormone, catecholamines) stimulate lipolysis (fat breakdown) increasing free fatty acids delivered to the liver, where they are converted to ketone bodies (acetoacetate, β-hydroxybutyrate). The accumulation of these organic acids produces a high anion gap metabolic acidosis.

Also, an osmotic (water) diuresis from hyperglycemia leads to severe dehydration and loss of sodium, potassium, and other important electrolytes. Potassium may be depleted overall, even if serum levels are normal or elevated due to acidosis and insulin deficiency shifting potassium extracellularly from inside cells, where most of our potassium resides. Volume depletion further impairs renal clearance of glucose and ketones, aggravating acidosis and hyperosmolarity (lower water content in the blood).

Acid-base derangements evolve through phases: initial loss is in the form of ketone salts and bicarbonate, development of hyperchloremic (excess chloride) normal-gap acidosis, and progression to high anion gap acidosis as ketone retention (ketones are acidic) increases with worsening dehydration and reduced glomerular filtration rate (water output). During recovery, acidosis may revert to a hyperchloremic (excess chloride in the blood) pattern as ketone excretion resumes and sodium chloride (salt) is retained.