Hello and welcome! My name is Caroline, and I started the Broccoli Hut in March of 2008. I closed down the old site in 2016, but I decided to start anew at the Hut  in July 2017. Here’s a little background about me and my life.

I’ve always loved food. When I was a kid, I used to tell everyone that I dreamed of growing up to be a chef, and my favorite toy was a set of plastic fruits and vegetables. So the fact that I eventually pursued a career as a dietitian surprised exactly no one. I obtained a PhD in nutrition sciences at the end of 2018. My research focused on ketogenic diets and gynecologic cancers, so if you wanna talk low-carb, hit me up! You can also view my scholarly publications here.

A few other things you should know about me:

I live in Birmingham, AL. If you’ve never visited, I encourage you to do so! I grew up in the Magic City, so I was pretty ecstatic to move back after living in North Carolina for several years. I am a bit biased, but I think Birmingham is a fantastic place to live. It has nice people, good food, and very short winters. Come visit!

Birmingham

In November 2012, I married the love of my life. Seth and I met during my senior year at Duke, and we’ve pretty much been best friends ever since (I know, insert eye roll here). He is a physicist by trade, so please do not ask me what he does on a daily basis, because I literally do not have the vocabulary to explain it.

I’m a boy mom. As of this writing, I have two sons, aged 4 years and 1 year. My older son Caleb is my little old man, who worries a lot but has a deep love of Power Rangers and the color orange. Nathan is a giggly flirt who loves nothing more than to make a mess and bang things on the floor.

I’m kind of a crazy dog lady. I have two dogs, both Jack Russell Terriers. Margot is my intelligent, energetic, and sweet dog. I brought her home in May of 2011, and I’ve loved seeing her grow from a silly puppy to a spunky adult. I like to say that she has a lot more emotional intelligence than a lot of the humans I know. We brought home Dexter in October of 2013 to keep Margot company, and they’ve bonded beautifully. Dexter is, um, not quite so bright, but he’s also much more relaxed compared to Margot, so they complement each other perfectly. I like to joke (sort of…) that one day, we’ll live on a farm, and I’ll own 15 dogs…someday.

The name for this blog refers to a fictional place made up by my dad. When my sisters and I were kids (and whining/screaming/hair-pulling), he would threaten to take us to Broccoli Hut instead of Pizza Hut. The name seemed appropriate for this blog–a space in which I share my pursuit of “good health” in its many forms…and no, that’s not limited to eating broccoli.

I hope you’ll take a look around, and let me know if you have any questions or comments!