Top
 

Blog Posts

Healthy Diet, Lifestyle & Mindset

Creamy Veggie Soup

The cooler weather is certainly upon us here and more and more I’m craving warm & cozy soups! I think I’ve told you before that I’m a very simple cook. You’ll see that in this recipe as well. But don’t let the simplicity fool you! This soup always turns out delicious! You can also use it as a template, adding other veggies and spices as you wish (I enjoy cumin or rosemary in the cauliflower version, or turmeric in either version). I do encourage you try it as is at least once, though.  One of the things that elevates this soup is the toppings you can add (see below for suggestions). The other thing that's amazing is this soup has just 4 ingredients (because salt...

How to Approach “Starting Over” With Your Goals

“Why can’t I just stick with my plan and ‘stay on track’?” “Why does everyone else seem to be able to do this, but I can’t?” I’m guessing you’ve asked these questions or some version of them AT LEAST once and likely way more! In my experience as a health coach over the past 9 years, I’ve frequently worked with people who have serious concerns and fears about constantly feeling they’re “off track,” they’ve “fallen off the wagon,” or they’re “back at square one” and starting over. I could write extensively about this, but want to hit some general points today. If you’re interested in going deeper into the details that follow, leave me a comment below and let me know. One of the very first things I want to say is… IT’S A JOURNEY! ...

Double Chocolate Donuts

You MUST be a rich, deep dark chocolate lover, or know someone who is, to continue reading! via GIPHY If you like treats that satisfy your cravings, perhaps have a little functional nutrition, and leave you still feeling great, than this recipe may be just for you! They can also be made into muffins if you don't have a donut mold. I’ve made these so that they meet my treat desires – grain free, low-carb, paleo-friendly, keto-friendly, and dairy free! This recipe includes organic cacao powder and organic and fair trade dark chocolate, which are rich in antioxidants, such as polyphenols, and prebiotics. Who doesn’t love delicious paired with benefit?! It also has collagen which is amazing for our hair, skin, nails, joints, and gut health, among other things! It has...

13 Ways to Get Out of Your Head & Rejuvenate Your Energy

When I was sick, I often found myself stuck deep inside my head and body. Sure, I would often go within for necessary introspection or appropriate checking in. However, much of the time I was lost in thought about how to fix or solve what was going on with me. It was also frequently a defense mechanism because my energy was so low, that handling external stimuli was quite overwhelming at times. Healing requires a lot of energy and it is important to know our boundaries and be able to protect our energy, but I found that being stuck inside myself too much was a drain on my energy as well. I discovered that there were ways I could get outside my head and rejuvenate...

13 Ways to Reduce Plastic Use & Waste

Hey there! If you're here reading this (which I guess you are, right?!), then we should be friends! Please come follow me on Instagram, if you're not already, so we can hang out there and get to know one another better! It was on Instagram that I first shared some of the ways we reduce plastic in our home, especially when it comes to food and beverages. Currently, on Tuesdays, I share tips for reducing toxins in our lives in my Low-Toxin Tuesday Series in Instagram Stories. I also do a Thought(ful) Thursday Series. If you're currently feeling FOMO and wondering how you could've possibly been missing out all this time-- DON'T! You can go to the highlights section on my Instagram profile and find...

The Day I Cried Over Potatoes: A Story about Eating Disorder Recovery and Surrendering

I collapsed on my parent’s bed because the potatoes weren’t done. I remember that moment so clearly. It was Christmas day 2002. I think someone had forgotten to turn the oven on, or it had accidentally been shut off. Or maybe it was mashed potatoes that were getting made and the burner hadn’t been turned on to boil the potatoes. It doesn’t really matter. I certainly wasn’t going to be eating the potatoes anyway. What mattered was that the potatoes were still freaking hard. I couldn’t imagine myself having to wait an extra 30-60 minutes to eat because the POTATOES weren’t done for Christmas dinner at my grandparents. I was starving, and exhausted from starving, and couldn’t hold it together any longer. I laid on my parent’s bed...

Food Sensitivities? 13 Tips for Coping & Recovering

During my journey healing from Lyme Disease, Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS), and multiple food sensitivities, I tried sooo many healing diets, and often tried combining multiple healing diets at once. Some of these included: GAPS, low FODMAP, Paleo AIP, Paleo, low mold diet, low carb diet, ketogenic diet, low histamine diet, low salicylates, low oxalates, low lectin, etc. After trying all of these diets and numerous healing protocols, you can imagine why we (my multiple practitioners and I) were wondering how it could be I wasn’t progressing the way we would have expected! If you’re in this place, I’m certain you know the struggle. There were a few times along the way where there were about only 3-5 foods I tolerated. Now, I eat a wide variety of foods I both enjoy and...

3 Tips to Regain Your Period: My Experiences with Hypothalamic Amenorrhea

I first started my period just before I turned 11 years old. That’s young!!!  I look at 11 year old girls now and think it seems too early! I remember being embarrassed and incredibly self-conscious about it for at least the first year. I felt like everyone could tell when it was that time of the month and I was always concerned about having an incident in front of others. As time went by, I started to get really uncomfortable cramps, would want to wear whatever clothing I wanted without concern, and wanted to go swimming whenever I wanted…and that was the start of my period feeling like a really annoying inconvenience. It certainly wasn’t something I honored as the sign of optimal health, femininity, and...

6 Ways to Develop More Self-Love & Compassion

For so many years I fought my body. I fought to make it smaller. I fought to make it healthier. I fought for healing. I fought to make it more fit. I fought to make it everything I didn’t think it was already enough of. As I’m sure you understand, I didn’t move from this place of always trying to change my body, never feeling enough, never being happy with my body…to a place of deep love and compassion for it overnight. In fact, it was really an evolution that took years. Early on, the steps I took to achieving more body peace were small and fleeting (they were redirections that lasted only for the moment). The most significant changes came when I started recognizing the power of my thoughts and my mindset and committed...