Fitness, endurance sports, and nutrition have always been my passion.  Over time I found more and more people seeking my advice on how to make changes to their exercise programs and eating to maximize their health and well-being.  I found I enjoy helping others achieve their goals and it was natural that this led to me founding my own personal training and nutrition coaching business. Over fifteen years ago I was told I had to give up gluten and dairy. At the time, I was bummed but for years I’d struggled with serious digestive issues, allergies, and sinus problems and so I looked to nutrition as my medicine.  Today, I am so thankful for that day!!  I have been living on what some would call a modified Paleo/Primal way of eating and I feel great!  I like to call it simply eating real food that combines healthy fats, grassfed meats, wild caught fish, lots of fresh vegetables, a bit of fruit and limited grains and starches.  I believe that every body is different and what works for me may not be the best for everyone.  One thing I know for sure is that no body needs gluten to survive and most grains are causing more harm than good.  Through my own journey of finding the right food path, it has come clear to me that every food has a front and a back side to it.  What I mean by this is that there's good and bad to everything and the trick is to find what works for you specifically so you can thrive.

As an endurance athlete I was programmed to eat carbs, carbs, and more carbs so I definitely have had to make some changes.  At first the changes seemed daunting so I ate the same thing every day and only cooked the basics like chicken breasts, broccoli, and protein shakes. Effective, but boring!  So, I started my own blog – and discovered that good nutrition can taste delicious, too.  I began spending more and more time in the kitchen, tweaking recipes and getting a kick out of making them healthier, but still satisfying and delicious.  My creativity in the kitchen has continued to grow and I began this blog to share these ideas, recipes, and tips with everyone.

Fast forward a couple years...I am still eating this same way, but have discovered so many other aspects to health other than food.  I am always striving to do better and learn what additional changes I can make.  Like most of us, I chose to ignore the fact that our skin is our largest organ and it matters what we put on it.  Just as it's important what goes in our body, it also matters what goes on our body.  In early 2015 I was introduced to Beautycounter.  A mission based company bringing safe, chic and high performing skincare and makeup to market. At Beautycounter they've banned more than 1,500 ingredients setting a new health and safety standard. We deserve better, and they're doing something about it.  I joined this mission to educate and empower women to make a change.  We should never have to sacrifice our health in the name of beauty!  This has become my life's work and we link arms to force change all the way to Washington.