I’m about to share one of my practitioner secrets.

Most of my clients start feeling noticeably better—sometimes seeing major symptom relief—within just 1–2 sessions of working together. Wondering how?

I help them balance their blood sugar.

However, its much more than just symptom relief. We are also building a foundation for optimal hormone balance and fertility to thrive.

Wondering if imbalances in your blood sugar are playing a role in your fertility journey? This blog post is for you.

If you are looking for a super simple, melt in your mouth, batch cooked, nutrient dense meal that will satisfy your whole family, then this is it!!

I make this and pork shoulder SO often as it gives us so many meals and its rich in nutrients like zinc, glycine, B vitamins, and iron, all of which are key for optimal fertility and hormone health.

Growing up, my grandmother’s coleslaw & potato salad was always the must have at all of our backyard parties and BBQs. However in typical Nan fashion, she never wrote down any of her recipes because everything was always a dash of that, a sprinkle of that or “just eye it until it looks right”. So although I have a few of her recipes memorized from being in the kitchen with her over the years, I have come to adapt a lot of them to become my own (mostly out of necessity lol!).

With that said, Nan also used milk and sugar (and lots of it) in her coleslaw recipe, and I am just not a milk gal. I have come to develop my own coleslaw recipe that omits the sugar and the milk, and adds in some other nutrient dense foods to make what I think is a pretty darn good coleslaw recipe. And although its slightly different from Nans, I still think its an ode to her and all that she was.

If you've measured your hormones before, chances are you've done it through blood testing or, if you've taken a more comprehensive approach, perhaps you've tried the DUTCH test. Or maybe you’ve never tested your hormones, and you’re realizing now is the time!

I frequently use both of these tests in my practice to assess my clients' hormone health. However, there's one significant limitation:

Both tests provide only a single-day snapshot of your cycle.

This is helpful but not always enough—especially if you have irregular cycles or are trying to pinpoint hormonal patterns over time.

That’s where Mira comes in—my new favorite fertility tracking tool.

I remember when I first learned about cycle charting—it was like everything I had subconsciously noticed or wondered about finally made sense.

I had always been curious about why I felt different at various points in the month. Why did my cervical mucus change? What did it mean? And I had no idea that I could only get pregnant about six days of the month!

Once I learned how to track and interpret these changes, I finally felt connected with my body. I could understand the language it was speaking, and that knowledge made me feel empowered.

Now, as a fertility-focused functional nutritionist, cycle charting is one of the first things I teach my clients.

So what can cycle charting tell you?

One of the most common patterns I see in my practice is under-eating—and most of the time, it's not even intentional.

It’s busy mamas who are overwhelmed, stretched thin, and so focused on nourishing their little ones that they forget to fuel themselves.

It’s women who have gotten into the habit of skipping breakfast and going straight for coffee, unknowingly spiking their stress hormones first thing in the morning.

All of these scenarios send the body into a stressed state. And when the body is under stress, hormones take a hit.

Here are five tips to help you eat enough, balance your hormones, and support fertility—without hours in the kitchen.

About 2 years ago when my husband Kyle and I really started getting serious about hiking and traveling to different cities to try new trails, we started this accidental tradition of bringing store bought chicken salads on our hikes for lunch. It was kind of born out of a one time occurrence of stumbling upon this delicious chicken salad in Austin, TX and from then on we were totally hooked. There was something about sitting on top of a mountain peak eating chicken salad and Mary’s crackers enjoying incredible views that just got us totally high (the simple things in life ya know).

Unfortunately, it seemed harder and harder to come across stores in these smaller cities that sold high quality chicken salad, and so our tradition of buying store bought versions has died out. But the tradition hasn’t fully gone away as we’ve now transitioned to making our own! And I have to admit - it’s now my favorite version (OK maybe it doesn’t beat the Austin one but I’ll take second place).

Lab testing is a peek into your health.

It helps you understand why you may have certain symptoms and provides powerful insights into where to focus your attention.

That is why I utilize functional and conventional labs in my practice along with some other tools to help me understand the root cause of my clients’ fertility & hormonal challenges.

If you are wondering which labs could be beneficial for you on your fertility & hormone health journey, I’ve compiled the full list of labs I integrate and the information they each provide here!

One of the most common concerns I hear about switching to low-tox, non-toxic personal care products is the cost. I get it—many of these products seem expensive upfront. But with a little planning, you can reduce the cost of these swaps and save money in the long run.

Hypothalamic amenorrhea is the cessation of menstruation caused by disrupted signaling between the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland. This disruption is often due to insufficient pulsatile secretion of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), which is essential for proper ovarian function. Without this signal, ovulation and menstruation cease.

HA is typically diagnosed by exclusion. This means ruling out other potential causes of missing periods, such as:

Kyle and I have discussed having baby #2 for a while now and as M's second birthday approaches, we’re starting to feel ready.

And even though we are not trying to get pregnant for another 2-3 months or so, we have already started to make some changes to prepare our bodies.

My go to lunch (or dinner) dish as it enables me to use ingredients I have on hand while also creating the most diverse and nutritious meals throughout the week! Follow these 5 easy steps to make the perfect and delicious bowl.

Are you exhausted by working hard to select the “right” foods but not seeing positive outcomes? Explore these 8 prompts to start the journey towards sustainable change.