When steeped in a fertility journey, a healthy birthday for baby is the ultimate finish line. And yet for baby, it’s just the beginning! With all the wrinkles to navigate until then, there’s one wrinkle, that when ironed-out early has the power to positively impact pregnancy rates and to reduce risk of gestational diabetes. The impact continues postpartum with improved breastmilk supply and baby’s metabolic health throughout their lifetime!

It’s a privilege to introduce you to my daughter. And my privilege is to realize my dream of a healthy baby after an uncertain journey. Many who read this may still be on a turbulent journey of their own. And if you are, I hope you read this.

I'm an advocate, with over a decade of experience, for planning meals in advance. Whether you choose to actually make meals in advance is up to you. Here’s a tried and true strategy to get started.

I’ve packed a lot of the “what to eat” during pregnancy into this free meal plan: blood sugar stability (also a game-changer for nausea), nutrient-density, prepable and flexible meals and snacks.

PCOS, polycystic ovarian syndrome, is often both misdiagnosed or a diagnosis is missed. This makes PCOS a frustrating reality to navigate from the very beginning.

The back-pocket meal is as close to a nutrition silver bullet as I know! With a back-pocket meal, you're: less likely to skip a meal, less reliant on convenience foods and more likely to feel good, feel empowered!

Starting your day on the right foot has the power to change the course of your entire day. Then, each morning offers the opportunity to to anchor yourself once again. 

Make any modifications to make these recipes work for you. There’s no one fertility diet! It doesn't exist in part because there are a variety of underlying factors that could affect one’s fertility, and also we’re complex individuals with unique health histories, personal preferences, cooking tolerances and lifestyle constraints.

For many, coffee is a delightful, safe, and sometimes even therapeutic daily ritual. Do you know how caffeine is affecting you? Without it, you might find that you feel more relaxed, productive, and energetic.

Because when the body is overburdened and undernourished, fertility and pregnancy may suffer. Support with simple detox support strategies, both for overall health benefits (mental clarity! increased energy! better sleep!,) and to support fertility and a healthy pregnancy.

Low bone density affects over 50% of women over the age of 50. Low estrogen and excess thyroid hormone put you at greater risk for osteoporosis.

How many years of your life did you spend preventing and possibly fearing pregnancy? Until we’re ready, we go to great lengths to control our fertility. Over 72 million women in the US go so far as to suppress the natural and beautiful symphony of hormones with hormonal contraception. And suddenly, we make an abrupt shift. Our fertility is wild, and it also requires nurturing and patient care.  

Refined salt, or what most of us just call “salt” is actually heat-treated and purified which strips out all trace minerals. It’s bleached to a perfect shade of white and then tossed with chemical additives to prevent crystals from sticking together. Yikes! 

Do you shy away from salting your food because you assume that's the healthy thing to do? You may be missing out! Without salt, it's less enjoyable and less motivating to eat healthy and delicious whole foods.maps

Soups and stews warm the body and the spirit and offer easily digestible nutrition and hydration.

Spoiler: hydration is not as simple as drinking water.

Instead of feeding the sugar-loving microbes, feed the good gut bugs. They like to eat fiber! Most people aren’t getting near enough fiber in their diet. I recommend hitting 40 grams of fiber each day. Or in more practical terms, that’s at least 1 serving of whole grains or legumes per day as well as 6 servings of a variety of vegetables and 1-2 servings of fresh fruit.

If breakfast is loaded with the good stuff, it sets you off on the right rhythm to feel your best all day long. But if it’s not intentional and doesn’t contain the good stuff, then there’s no bound to the havoc it can wreak.