Alma Schneider. Image is from her blog, Take Back the Kitchen.

Two of Alma Schneider’s loves are cooking and social work.

So Schneider, MSW, a married mother of four, combines them. She helps clients overcome psychological and practical barriers to eating healthier.

“There are a lot of social workers who come to me and ask, ‘How do you do this — take your passion and work it into a social work career,'” said Schneider, who was holding one of her children in her arms while speaking on the telephone from her Montclair, N.J., home.

Schneider is beginning to broadcast her talent. Next week she will appear on Moms Versus Masters, an online cooking show on AOL’s www.kitchendaily.com.

Schneider is also working with a production company to pitch a national television show that will combine her yen for social work and cooking. Since she is still pitching the idea Schneider could not say which network she is seeking to work with.

Schneider says Americans rely too much on eating out and fast food, not realizing that healthy, tasty meals can be made quickly at home, provided you know how. In her proposed new national television show Schneider would visit homes where eating healthier is a life-or-death situation and help people change habits.

“It’s modeling exactly,” she said. “If we eat healthier we will inspire our  friends to eat healthier.”

Schneider is a bonafide multitasker. She writes a blog called Take Back the Kitchen.  And Schneider, who also sings and plays guitar, started the nonprofit group Parents Who Rock, which brings together local musicians for concerts to raise funds for charity. 

Alma Schneider and her children. Photo courtesy of the Montclair Patch.

To learn more about Schneider, read this profile of her in the Montclair Patch. And to find out how other social workers help clients live healthier lifestyles, visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Healthy Lifestyles Web page by clicking here.