Mini-Food Diary Analysis now available!

Have you been wondering to yourself:

• are my meals balanced?
• do I eat too many carbs, proteins, or fats?
• am I eating too much?
• am I eating too LITTLE?
• why am I always so hungry?
• why do I wake up NOT hungry?

My NEW food diary analysis option is definitely for you! At just $29.99, you can get some feedback on whether or not the food you are eating is helping or hurting your health, as well as learn ways to improve and balance your meals to nourish yourself wholly.

It's hard to know sometimes if your "healthy living plan" is actually making you healthier or not. Sometimes, what we THINK is a healthy and balanced meal is actually leading to more cravings, energy dips, and hunger later on. Well, I'm here to help! As a dietitian and nutrition expert, my specialty is helping people learn how to fuel their bodies properly and nourish themselves from the inside out. And that all starts with balancing your meals and daily food intake.

How this will work is, once you purchase below, I will email you a food diary template, and you will keep track of what you eat and drink for 5 days. After the five days, you will email me your food diary, and I will analyze it from a dietitian's perspective and give you a breakdown of what's going well for you nutritionally, as well as give you constructive feedback on what you can improve on in order to live your best and healthiest life!

AND on top of that, once you get your feedback, you will have the opportunity to purchase any of my other services at a 15% off discounted rate! That means that if you would like to continue working together and learn how to  make nutrition work for YOU, eat balanced meals to reach your goals, and how to make yourself healthier with long-term accountability with a registered dietitian (hey, that's me!) you will be able to do so!

If you would like to have your food and meals analyzed and get started, purchase below and I will contact you with the food diary template!

Food Diary Analysis

Food Diary Analysis $29.99 USD

How to Meal Plan for Your Week

I've been getting a lot of messages and comments lately about how helpful it is to have meal ideas. It's hard to know how to put a meal together sometimes. Many of us go to the store, buy ingredients that look good, but then have NO idea how to combine them into filling and nutritious meals! Well, I'm here to help!

As a dietitian, I know what makes a meal balanced and which meals will keep me full verses ones that keep me wanting more. When I make my meal plans for clients (and myself!), I always try to balance out our meals throughout the day so that we are constantly fueled and energized. This also helps us to avoid the pitfalls of hunger which can lead to cravings and unhealthy food choices!

It is also equally important to have meals you look forward to eating, as well as meals that are nutritious. If you are dreading your meal, you will NOT enjoy it, so you'll be on the lookout for something to satisfy your appetite. That is why meals should not only provide you with nutrition, but also enjoyment, flavors, and satisfaction!

While I don't want to give away ALL of my meal planning secrets (after all, that is what my clients get access to and I don't want to interfere with my services!) here are a few of my tips to help you get starting meal planning for your family!

1. Take an inventory of what you have and write it all down. Write down a list of all your canned goods, frozen foods, fresh foods, and everything you have on hand. That way, you know what you already have that could possibly be transformed into a meal, and also know what you'll need from the store.

2. Make your meals a combination of protein, carbs, and fats, and make your snacks two out of those three macronutrients. Meaning, a snack can be a protein + carb, a carb + fat, or a fat + protein. Making your meals a combination of all three will give them staying power, and your snacks, when made up of the two out of three, will be more filling and power you through to your next meal!

3. Keep a TON of spices on hand. This way, even if you plan on having chicken all week long, you can season your chicken in different ways to make each meal different!

4. Cook in bulk for leftovers. Simply doubling a recipe can save you cooking the next day, or can give you leftovers for work instead of going out.

5. Try new recipes every week. If you feel that you are bored from your usual rotation of meals, Google or Pinterest some new recipes and try those out! You can even peruse my recipes for some new meal inspiration as well. We are creatures of habit and can often fall into a rut, but it is important to also enjoy your meals and add variety to your diet once in a while, so don't be afraid to try new flavors and dishes!

I hope these simple tips can help you as you plan out your meals for you and your family. And as always, if you need a bit more guidance or want to work on a meal plan together, feel free to check out the services I offer! We can help you get started with a program and plan that works best for you and your goals.

Why I'm not running accountability groups anymore

As many of you know, I am a registered dietitian, but I've also been a Beachbody coach for a few years. I love Beachbody's workout programs, and I can honestly say that the programs are what have helped me get in shape and stay in shape post-baby. At-home workouts are my saving grace as a mom! I get to workout at home, pause when Emma needs me or #momlife gets in the way, then press play and continue on. I've built muscle, gained strength, lost weight, and have gained so much confidence though Beachbody and their programs!

I used to run monthly accountability groups, but I decided that for now, I am pressing pause on these groups. There are a few reasons why, so I though I'd explain a bit in this post to clarify what I am doing and how you can work with me moving forward! 

1. My private practice: In addition to being a Beachbody coach, I have my own private practice as a registered dietitian. My heart and my passion are with this business and my clients that meet with me one-on-one, which is why I have not been running accountability groups lately. I have been pouring into and focusing on my private practice clients, and my heart has been filled with so much joy and fulfillment! Working with these women (mostly moms) has been firing me up to help us moms learn how to self-care though healthy eating and nourishing ourselves. So if you are a mom, I want to help YOU figure out how to care for your family by caring for YOURSELF first! This is what my private sessions with these women are all about! Making it easy for us moms to put ourselves first, pour into our cup, and then pour into our families as better, stronger versions of ourselves. If you want a community to join that will help you feel supported, I am launching the brand new Happy Whole Moms groups on Facebook! Click here to join! 

2. Individualized meal plans: As a dietitian, I firmly believe that there is no one size fits all when it comes to getting healthy. With my private practice clients, I evaluate where they are in their current health, and make a plan based on their individual goals and needs. I love the freedom and knowledge that I have as a dietitian because I am able to tailor-make a plan for each client that I meet with. While I love the 21 day fix container system (aka portion fix) which is the meal plan Beachbody uses, and have even helped me balance out my own meals, I know that this may not work for everyone! Each person has different dietary needs, sources of motivation, and methods of eating that work well for them. I help my one-on-one clients figure this out for themselves, and with that, they gain a powerful tool in their health journey to ensure success for themselves!

3. Long term accountability: Lastly, I wanted to provide a way to have long-term accountability with my clients as their personal dietitian. My accountability groups ran for 3-4 weeks, and then many clients fell off the wagon and went back to their own unhealthy habits. My Supercharged Accountability packages that I offer though my private practice services give you 2 or 4 months of accountability with me as your cheerleader, friends, source of nutrition knowledge, and dose of inspiration. I started offering these packages around the new year and already see a difference in the clients that purchased and have been working with me since then. 

All that to say, I am still a Beachbody coach and am more than willing to help guide you and encourage you if you want to pick a workout program and ask questions about what Beachbody has to offer. I am simply no longer running my "virtual bootcamps" aka accountability groups, because my energy and focus has been shifting towards my private practice clients and providing longer term accountability in their health journey. If you want to know more about my private practice services, I am hosting free, 15 minute discovery calls where we can chat and see which of my services would work best for your lifestyle! Contact me here to schedule our call!

I can't wait to get to know more of you out there, work closely with you to help you care for yourself and reach your goals, and watch you THRIVE as a mama! 

Benefits of Bone Broth

I’m sure you’ve heard about bone broth and how good it is for you by now. As a dietitian, I love reading up on the latest research and diet trends to see what holds up against science and what is just a bunch of bologna.  

And let me tell you, most of the time, it’s a bunch of bologna. BUT, bone broth is truly a nutritious power food and can be a warm, comforting way to get tons of vitamins, minerals, proteins and other health-promoting compounds.  

Here are some of the health benefits of bone broth. There are many many more, but I thought I'd focus on these three because they are where I have seen the most benefits personally. 

1. Bone broth can boost the immune system. The amino acids in bone broth such as arginine and glutamine have been seen to boost the immune system. And we could all use that this time of year, no? With the flu going around and everyone getting sick, this boost to our immune system may help protect us from the common cold, bronchitis, or even pneumonia. I even added some of this broth to Emma's baby food the other day (she has been getting so sick from day care germs!) and she absolutely loved it! I have also been drinking it because of COURSE I don't want to get sick and bring some germs home to the family! Needless to say, bone broth is becoming a necessity in our home to help ward off sicknesses. 

2. Bone broth contains collagen and gelatin, which are great for your hair, skin, and nails! My skin has been clearer and my hair has been thicker and shiner since drinking bone broth, as well as adding these collagen peptides to my morning smoothies. Post-partum hairloss hit me HARD, but between the collagen peptides and the collagen and gelatin found in bone broth, I think I've found the perfect protector against further hair loss! These compounds are also good for joint health and can slow down general joint degradation, which is vital to keeping our bodies agile and healthy as we age!

3. Bone broth can promote gut health because of the glutamine, which protects the intestinal barrier and can prevent leaky gut. I've talked about leaky gut a bit on this site, but it happens when there are "holes" in your intestinal lining, and food particles and compounds can leak out into your body, where they don't belong. Food should very much STAY in the digestive tract, and whatever we need is absorbed, while whatever we don't need is excreted out. The digestive system must be protected against food particles so that inflammation doesn't occur from the compounds that leak out, and bone broth can do just that! 

I made this broth from the bones of a whole chicken in the instant pot! I added onions, carrots, garlic, rosemary, and some apple cider vinegar to leach out all the minerals from the bones. I cooked it on manual for 2 hours, and viola! Lovely, giggly bone broth! I've been enjoying a few frozen pucks (reheated on the stove) after work, and even made rice and soup with it! 

I'll definitely be making this over and over again, and one batch has lasted us SO long so far (we still have a huge container in the freezer along with the frozen pucks)! I hope this helps you decide if you want to start making bone broth for you and your family. I have personally found a huge health benefit in it, and I hope you do the same!

Hope everyone is having a great Wednesday! Stay healthy and happy! :) 

Staying Happy & Healthy When #Momlife Tests You

This past week has been the TOUGHEST week to date of being a momma. I absolutely love being a mom and it is what I've always wanted to be. When I was a little girl, when someone would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would say, A MOM! DUH! I attribute that to having an amazing momma myself, plus being surrounded by loving aunts that were like second mothers to me. Being a mom has been the biggest blessing in the world.

But I think what often goes unmentioned is how tiring, frustrating, and hard it can be, especially for us new moms. I have never questioned my decisions as much as I do now. I always wonder "Am I doing what is best for Emma? Will this ruin her? How do I set her up for the best life EVER?" And of course the forever-repeated question:

“IS THAT NORMAL???”

But what God is continually teaching me is that Emma is His, and He has entrusted my husband and I to raise her and care for her, but ultimately, I cannot be anxious about every single decision I make regarding Emma. That's no way to live, and that is not the recipe for a happy and healthy momma.

Emma's sleep habits have been awful the past few months, and especially this past month when she started waking up 10+ times per night and not taking naps throughout the day. She was always tired with swollen little eyes and could not get to sleep as hard as she tried. So my husband and I finally decided to get her on a better routine during the day, put her down for her naps and night sleep at the same times, and give her more structure. The poor girl has been dragged around by us for months, to every event or day away, with NO regularity to her day. I know how well I function with structure, and of course babies need it even more!! But getting her on this new schedule and routine has been SO emotionally draining for me. Being a mom is hard, but sometimes, you have to do the tough things.

Do you know how many times I've contemplated binging this past week? SO many times. Do you know how many tears I've shed instead? SO MANY. But, I am proud to say, that I have chosen the foods that make me HAPPY. That I know serve me and make me a happy, healthy, and whole momma, and that don't make me fall apart. Because life is stressful enough without adding the stress of making unhealthy food choices into the mix!

Eating healthy this past week has made me an even better mom to Emma when times are tough and both of us are getting used to a new routine. Imagine if I had thrown my self-care out the window during this week? I would have been more stressed out, which in turn makes her more stressed out (ohhhhh that mommy-baby bond is strong!) and that would have made it even HARDER for us to implement the new principles we are following.

My desire in sharing this is for all you moms out there to know that taking care of yourself IS NOT SELFISH. Getting my workout in every morning is not selfish. Eating healthy foods and cooking at home while Emma watches Netflix for 20 minutes will NOT ruin her, will make me a happier and better fueled momma, and will give her MORE security in her day. And no matter what stress you and your family are going through, make sure you are taking care of YOU too.

So many moms come to me and say that they could never workout or eat healthy because of their kids. Ladies, it should be because of our kiddos that we DO THESE THINGS! You can do it, you deserve it, your kids deserve it, and your family deserves it.

So yes, while there are days where I may accidentally skip a meal or over-eat at another because of the stresses of day to day mom life, I am proud to say that I've stuck to my happy, whole eats amidst the stress and changes, which I would have used as an excuse in the past. And this has given me a calmer, and more positive outlook on this new stage of parenting and the learning and changes that go along with following a new routine.

To all those stressed out moms out there, take some time for you today, move your body to gain those endorphins, eat foods that nourish and fuel you, so that you can be that happy momma that you know you are. Oh and find some mom friends you can vent to...like me! We all need that ;)

Have a happy Thursday, everyone!

My Goals and Intentions for 2018

Happy New Year everyone!!!! I am so excited for this year and all the opportunities that are open to us. I hope you all set some goals or intentions for the year to go in the direction you want. Often times, we wonder why our lives feel like a mess, and while life IS messy, having some intentional goals set throughout the year can help us get from where we are to where we want to be. Which is why I set some goals that I would like to share with you all in the hopes of inspiring you to set your own!

If you saw my previous post, I am using Zig Ziglar's "Wheel of Life" method to set goals for different categories of my life. So, here we go!

1. Personal/social life: I started going to a new mommy group last year and have been on the sidelines for it. I get SO shy around new people and am a big introvert. But, I want to be more intentional and go to the monthly meetings with the hopes of making friends and being more open to what God brings to me! Also, another goal in this area of my life is monthly date nights with the hubby!! We are kicking off our first one tonight and I am so excited! :)

2. Blog: I want to be more consistent on this blog because I love to write. And guess what, you can help me with this! What would you like to see MORE of on my blog?? Daily eats? Workout motivation? Recipes? Mom life? Let me know! I also am working on a new site that I hope to launch later this month, so look out for that!

3. Family life: my husband and I want to do more things with our baby now that she is older and so much more interactive! We've discussed some family vacations we want to take, as well as just honoring our down time over the weekends and not stretching ourselves too thin with our obligations!

4. Spiritual life: I am determined to get back into my spiritual disciplines of quiet time, Bible reading, and prayer in the mornings! We also serve as the youth leaders at our church and my goal is to do more with the girls in our group now that Emma is older and I will (maybe) have more of my attention to give to the group on Friday nights. But as always, a baby is unpredictable, but I plan on doing my best!

5. Money: we want to SAVE more this year, and specifically save a certain amount every month to use on Christmas gifts next year. We love Christmas shopping but don't like our credit card statements the following month. We also want to be good stewards of the money and blessings that God has bestowed on us, so we are praying for constant wisdom on that as well!

6. Mindset/intellect: my goal is to read one personal development book and one fun book each month. I also want to read more REAL books vs. iBooks, because I love the smell of books and the feel of the pages between my fingers, and hate how glued I already am to my phone! I kicked off this goal with an amazon order of some books I've had on my wish list!

7. Health: my goal is to continue with my gluten free/paleo-ish lifestyle, do 80 day obsession starting January 15th, and keep up with my overall self care of working out and meal prepping and taking care of ME, so I can better care for my family. I've been feeling amazing and so energetic the past couple months, and I always want to feel this way. It's so true that good habits bring about more good habits, and once you start, you'll always want to feel great and treat your body with the respect it deserves!

Your turn! I would love to hear what some of your goals are for the coming year. Don't be afraid to set some big, scary ones too (I didn't share ALL of my goals with y'all, because boundaries!) but I hope you know that the bigger your goals, the more you'll grow and stretch. You were made for great things, my friends! Believe it and live it!

How to Set Goals for 2018

The new year is upon us, and in just two days we will enter the freshness and newness of 2018. I don't know about you, but I LOVE anything that has to do with a fresh start, and the fact that January 1st is on a Monday?? It's my OCD-type A personality-perfectionist DREAM COME TRUE!

I love setting goals and intentions at the beginning on each month, and naturally each year too. But this year, I'm doing things a little differently. I'm following Zig Ziglar's "Wheel of Life" method to set goals for different areas of my life. The idea here is that our life is like a wheel, and all sides of the wheel need to be balanced for our life to "roll" properly. Here are the different areas illustrated in the Wheel of Life, and these are the areas I'll be setting goals for in 2018!

Now, I've heard from a lot of my blog readers and social media followers that they have a hard time setting goals. They don't understand what to shoot for or how to organize their goals, so I think this wheel will do the trick for those who want help narrowing down certain areas of their lives and setting specific goals for health, finances, personal life, spiritual life, etc.

Are you a big goal setter or does it overwhelm you? I hope this tool helps and I'd love to hear what your goals are for these areas of your life! My husband and I are planning on sitting down and chatting about our goals for 2018 over the weekend, and I'll be sharing some of them with you on the blog next week! Feel free to share some of your goals in the comments below, or contact me above and we can set some together!

And as always if you need help with your health and wellness goals, I am one click away! My 2018 Your BEST Year nutrition package sales end TODAY. That's right, TODAY. If you want to make me your personal dietitian for 8 or 16 weeks, email daily, and get a meal plan and sessions with me to make sure you stay on track with your goals, these packages are perfect for you!! And as a heads up, I am planning on keeping these packages going year round, but the prices WILL go up after today, so if you want to snag them at their discounted rate, do so now and we can book your first session and get you on track to make 2018 your BEST year yet!

Christmas 2017 Recap

Emma's first Christmas didn't go the way my husband and I had originally thought it would. We LOVE Christmas, and even had our tree up before Thanksgiving (yes, we are THOSE people). But, unfortunately, Emma got pneumonia the week of Christmas, and even though we got to participate in some family functions, we stayed home for most of the week to help her recover. But, looking back on the pictures we took and the memories we made, I'd say it was still a pretty good Baby's 1st Christmas! So I thought I'd share a bit of our Christmas with you all as I sip my coffee and eat a yummy paleo cinnamon roll this morning! 

Emma got sick a week before Christmas. It started with croup, then pneumonia and she was having difficulty breathing. So we basically stayed quarantined all week in our home to make sure she recovered well. But by Christmas Eve, my hubby and I were ready to get out of the house, and Emma seemed better, so we ventured out to my husband's side of the family gathering and had a wonderful time. Emma got spoiled with all her gifts, and so did we! 

She was in a happy mood again, after days of being lethargic with a 102/103 fever. It was so nice being with family and seeing them enjoy Emma as much as we do. 

Christmas Day was spent at home, and we did all the cozy things. We enjoyed breakfast, opening presents (Emma LOVES tissue paper), and then my parents came over to have lunch with us and open more presents!
 

My parents got me the best mug full of Jane Austen quotes! Any other J.A. fans out there? I could basically recite the entirety of Pride and Prejudice and named my first car (a red mini cooper) Mr. Darcy. So, yea....I'm a big fan. 

In the evening, Emma took a nap and my husband pulled out Ticket to Ride. We had been watching TV basically all week since Emma was sick, and we were kind of sick of it. I'm so glad we took this time to play one of our favorite games and spend time together without having the TV on!

Last year, the day after Christmas, I wanted to host a Christmas breakfast in our home with our families. This year, we carried on that tradition! So my husband's family and my parents came over and we had a Christmas Brunch! And finally took some pictures in front of the tree. 

I am so grateful for our family who came over and made us feel not-as-lonely as we were keeping Emma home making sure she got better. It was so hard on my mommy-heart to see her so sick, and our family, especially our moms, were such a big support! And thank God Emma is feeling better, and hopefully we will be able to go to our family get together on New Year's Eve and celebrate entering 2018 with those we love! 

Stop saying “I can’t”

I hear this all the time, and it’s starting to get on my nerves.  

I can’t eat healthy.  

I can’t workout in the morning.  

I can’t give up my soda/bread/junk food.  

I can’t meal prep because “there’s no time.” 

It’s time for some tough love. You can TOTALLY do this. You can do all those things I stated above. Because you are a grown up person with capabilities. You are a responsible human being, and when you want something bad enough you will figure out a way to make it work.

You will MAKE the time to work out...you will make the time to cook for your family. You will prioritize your healthy habits above other things (ahem Netflix, anyone?) because it is THAT important to you. THAT’S what you tell yourself the next time you think you “can’t.” 

Because you can do these things. And then, you’ll see how your life changes. 

You will be more present with your family, you will be a better employee at work, you will get better sleep, you’ll have more energy to play with your kids, and you will be a kinder and more patient person. I’m saying all this because I speak from personal experience.  My life has changed completely since I stopped telling myself I “can’t” do certain things. I started to actually just DO THEM.  

So in 2018, do the hard things. Do the things that you weren’t able to do in 2017...or rather that you CHOSE not to do. Give yourself some tough love, because the only way we will grow and make changes if we do something different...consistently. 

What do you want to do? Do you want to get healthy? Lose weight? Lower your cholesterol? Manage your blood sugars? Eat for better moods? Whatever it is, you can TOTALLY do this, and I can help!  

As a registered dietitian, my passion in life is to help people realize that they can make healthy choices and it IS possible to reach their goals and live a vibrant and energetic life. So when you are low on motivation, I'll be there for you. When you don't know what to cook for dinner, I'll give you some ideas. And when you really REALLY don't want to get up for that workout, I will do whatever it takes to get you out of that bed (unless you are sick obviously). I am committing to be there for you 100% of the time, so why don't YOU start showing up for yourself, too?

If you want to work together and receive my knowledge, advice, and guidance in the new year, my special discounted packages are still live in available until December 29th. Take a look and see what package fits best with your goals, and if you can't figure it out, we will brainstorm together and pick the plan that's perfect for you. COntact me above with questions!

You CAN make 2018 your BEST year. You just have to take action, and then do the thing. Go be awesome today, friends! 

Recent Eats & Cooking Adventures

Hello world! I hope you all are having a great start to the week. We are in the official 2 week stretch to Christmas and I. CANNOT. WAIT. I'm already a kid at heart, plus the fact that it is Emma's first Christmas and my hubby and I are over the moon excited!

I thought I'd share with you some of my recent eats and culinary adventures. I've been cooking up new recipes and love the variety I've been adding to our meal plan. For a while, my husband and I were in a turkey-rice-salad rut. Every week, that's all I'd meal prep. But since going gluten free/paleoish back in October, I knew that the only way I'd be able to stick to this way of eating is if I experimented with new foods, new recipes, and made my favorite treats in a healthier way so I could still enjoy them. And let me tell you, that mission has been wildly successful! I've found that the more options I have, the less deprived I feel, and the more I focus on how GOOD my body, mind, and soul feel. Here are some of my recent eats and cooking adventures!

These Thumbprint Cookies are so Christmasy and delicious! They taste like buttery shortbread cookies and the jam just takes them over the top. They are from Danielle Walker's Celebrations Cookbook (you'll see that a lot of the recipes I've been trying are from her books/blog. No, I am not getting paid to mention, just want to give credit where credit is due! Her recipes have been saving me, so I just have to share!)

This plate is from my company's Christmas party this past weekend. The roasted vegetables were delicious and the tri tip was cooked PERFECTLY. I didn't even miss the rolls or cake because this main meal satisfied and filled me up!

Again, these are the real deal chocolate chip cookies from Against All Grain. I made them for our youth group this past weekend and no one could even tell they were paleo! They were gone in 5 minutes and a huge success.

I also made Chicken Tikka Masala in about 10 minutes in the instant pot! Tastes so good with cauliflower rice!  

I’m finding myself needing more carb-rich snacks so these plantain chips from Trader Joe’s have been tasting great and fueling me up. I even dipped them in guacamole yesterday and oh myyyyyyy so good! 

My mom loved processed, icky, peanut butter granola bars. So I decided to make her a “cleaner” version so they would be just as convenient to grab and go before work. She LOVED them, here’s the recipe!  

All in all, I’ve been enjoying some delicious food lately! What’s been on your plate lately? What’s your favorite dish you’ve had from this past week?? Share below I’d love to hear!