Wellness with Am

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helping you find answers and

health solutions

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Nutrition therapy

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“the myriad health problems plaguing modern society result from weaknesses in the body’s physiological foundations brought on by poor nutrition”

— Nutritional Therapy Association

Articles

7 Foundations of Sustainable Weight Loss

Aug 8, 2019

7 Foundations of Sustainable Weight Loss

Aug 8, 2019

Aug 8, 2019

Depression: a future pharmacist's thoughts on treatment

Oct 31, 2018

Depression: a future pharmacist's thoughts on treatment

Oct 31, 2018

Oct 31, 2018

Debunking the myths that made me go vegan

Oct 31, 2018

Debunking the myths that made me go vegan

Oct 31, 2018

Oct 31, 2018

Follow along with Am on social media!

Favorite way to eat vegetables recently: mixed in with @traderjoes cauliflower gnocchi. 🙃 Being realistic about food choices is something that took me a long time to learn. Putting together a giant salad that you, honestly, are not going to eat doesn’t do you any favors. So find a way to eat healthful foods that you actually like! Habits are way more important than the occasional choice. And you’re far more likely to make a habit of something you enjoy. If you enjoy gnocchi as much as I do, give this a try.⬇️
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Cauli gnocchi, 3 scrambled eggs, sliced red pepper, all sautéed in salted ghee, topped with green onions and pico, drizzled with lime sour cream

Even as an NTP I find myself lacking in the veggie department sometimes and have to be intentional to get more colors on my plate. When I’m not really feeling it, something taco-inspired is my go-to! And it’s usually a crowd-pleaser too. These mini bell peppers topped with taco meat, guac, seasoned sour cream, and pico post-picture 🥑🌶🌮 did the trick for dinner last night and all the ingredients were repurposed in a salad today. Mini peppers would also make for a great lunch and can be made a lot easier by combining all the toppings and scooping with peppers as you go. Won’t be as pretty but equally tasty. 👌🏻
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You don’t need to force yourself to eat healthy foods you don’t like if you can find meals you love that just need a little veggie-heavy twist! Message me if you need some ideas 💡

I want you all to know that I'm newly part of a big mission! I started using Beautycounter a few months ago after having been through the ringer with skincare and cosmetics. For a long time I was very excited about makeup and basically bought out Sephora and all of the gunky, cakey, stay-on-you-forever products to play with. But my skin was really in poor health underneath it. After some changes to my diet and lifestyle things got a little better. As I learned about the effects of toxic ingredients in our food and personal care products I slowly tossed out the expensive products I had wasted money on because it turns out they were full of endocrine disruptors that I knew could be messing with my hormones (not something I wanted!).
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I switched over to the crunchy stuff. Pure coconut oil, rosewater, chia seed oil, and the occasional algae mask were the extent of my routine. A+ for avoiding harmful ingredients. But it really wasn't doing my skin any favors. This past winter was so rough on my dry AND acne-prone skin that I had to try something new. What I've learned using these favorites is there are options for skincare that are safe AND perform well. I reached out to a Beautycounter consultant whom I admire on Instagram and she explained so perfectly to me that unless you have naturally perfect skin, you will probably require some extra help from ACTIVE ingredients. Since switching over my regimen to a few Beautycounter staples I've actually received compliments on my skin multiple times which is something I had never experienced before. It allowed me to feel like I was literally glowing on my wedding day and gave me confidence that I just have to share now with everyone I can.
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Beautycounter has banned over 1500 ingredients from their products that have been deemed harmful or questionably unsafe, and promises that every ingredient in their products is rigorously screened for safety and is placed in the product for good reason. I'm in the process of switching my makeup as well (I keep my makeup pretty simple these days) and can't wait to keep trying what Beautycounter has to offer. I would love your support and to answer any questions you guys have!

Two medium whole milk lattes with whip please.

Best. Lunch. Ever. Simple baked salmon, asparagus, and @traderjoes cauliflower gnocchi. Nutritious and easy and soooo yummy. Checking out of any sense of responsibility for the night and gonna pain my toes and watch Vanderpump Rules 🙃

A little chardonnay while I cook my mans dinner. Pork steak, broccoli, baked potato, and tossed arugula on the menu. Loving these nights together. Happy Thursday 😊

I am often {playfully} teased by my friends for setting up my future in my hometown. There aren’t any “real” restaurants, it’s an hour away from the nearest Walmart, and we have that charming small-town problem of a growing drug epidemic 🙃 But it’s a different kind of community feeling when there’s

A frittata for breakfast has never let me down 💛 Or is it considered an omelet if I folded it in half to eat? 🤔
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If you’re looking at this meal and wondering why I’d eat something with so many calories (we’re talking 3 eggs, feta, liverwurst, and kale cooked in bacon fat) it kept me me full today for literally EIGHT hours. It’s 3pm and I’m just starting to think about eating again.
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If you haven’t gotten the hint yet I’m a big fan of fat and protein for breakfast and it’s likely the first dietary change I would recommend to an average client. A meal like this provides you with a slow-burning stockpile of energy and nutrients, avoiding a blood sugar spike and crash first thing in the morning. Letting your blood sugar ride a roller coaster pattern is hard on the adrenal glands, pancreas, and hormonal cascade, not to mention fat storage signaling. Easy practical tip to avoid that — get your daily dose of pasture-raised eggs in the morning and you’ll be just fine 👌🏻

Tried just an itty bit of braunschweiger today and LOVED it! I’ve found some good and not-so-good ways to incorporate those organ meats I talked about yesterday. I got lots of grossed out faces when I asked people what they thought about this stuff but it was like some cross between bologna and summer sausage to me, but spongy. Tasted better than it sounds, I promise! Pan fried a couple slices to start on each side in butter — highly recommend trying that on some crackers for any liver newbies! Bought my first bunch from @blockandcleaver and will definitely be going back on my next trip home 😛 Next on my to-try list...head cheese. 🤔

Had the best brunch at @pastureandplenty today between classes. Hard to believe there was a time (years, actually) when I’d eat a piece of light bread w margarine and an apple for breakfast. Now I’m like GIMME THE STEAK OMELET PLS. Much happier. Much healthier. Nutrient density over caloric deficit everyday. 👏🏻

Breaking the fast this morning with scrambled @vitalfarms eggs, raspberries, avocado, scallions, and EBTB seasoning 🤤 Finally got my hands on that stuff! Flaky sea salt

Cozied up in this negative double digit weather with some tea, lunch, and a Hulu series. A shamelessly stupid and hilarious one — Letterkenny. Has anyone seen this?! How come the older I get the more I realize northern Wisconsin is basically Canada (except better)? I’d say I recommend the show but I really don’t unless you wanna fry a few brain cells like me.
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Pretty obsessed with a new thing for me — tuna burgers! Ate these today with sautéed lemony kale and 3 sauces! I’m all about condiments. I’ve got them topped with
• @primalkitchenfoods chipotle mayo
• @gothamgreens pesto
• @thenewprimal buffalo sauce mixed with avo mayo
The burgers are super simple. Recipe below! Makes 4 small burgers
- 1 can drained, low-mercury tuna
- 1 egg
- 1/4 c almond flour
- 2 tbsp diced onion
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- good pinch of s&p
Mix up all the ingredients and make sure the tuna is broken up as much as possible. Heat a skillet on medium with 1 tbsp of butter or ghee. Patty up the mixture and pan-fry each side for ~5-7 minutes until browned.

Getting something off my chest here ⚠️ Here I am, in the second week of my last semester in the classroom, STRUGGLING. Not because the workload is crazy or the material is confusing, but because I’m finding it hard to give a damn. I haven’t felt like a student for a long time. School feels like a side-gig (pretty sure a doctoral program is not supposed to feel like a side-gig??). Maybe because I’m 6 years deep in it? Orrr because there are much more interesting things I’m trying to learn about. Probably both. What I know for sure is I’m excited to move on from this phase into one that includes a career and a family. I’ll be trying to find a way to reconcile what seem like two very separate parts of my life the next few months. Has anyone else felt this in their work?!
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I hadn’t read a good PD book in a long time, and this book basically screamed at me in Target last night. Also heard lots of great reviews! So I’ll be spending this morning reading and sipping dark coffee, trying to unfuck myself 🤷🏼‍♀️ Because I’m just not ready yet to jump into antibiotic spectra 💊

Does anyone else keep think its a Tuesday?? Realizing it’s actually Thursday has served as a good pick-me-up at least a few times at work today. 😄
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Another #januarywhole30 breakfast: diced sweet potato, taco-seasoned venison burger, onions and peppers, kale, fried egg, and cilantro. As close to a taco as I’m gonna get in the foreseeable future 🌮

Day 2 of #januarywhole30 🍳
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My days of jumping into diet mindset for the new year are long gone. However I’m a sucker for that fresh start feeling and am trying Whole 30 for the first time with new intentions! (aka not to lose weight/restrict etc.)
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I’ve been struggling for some time with what I’m sure is plantar fasciitis, and subsequent muscle aches and tightness in my calves. While I’m working on addressing some mobility imbalances that could be a causal factor, a couple months of eating out and being off my routine has resulted in systemic inflammation for me 😩 Even tender to the touch like I’m sore from a workout. SO I’m trying something new here! And loving it so far.
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What are your favorite Whole 30 recipes or meal templates? I’ll be posting many compliant food pics for anyone who would like to follow along!
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Today’s breakfast: 3 (over cooked 😬) fried @nelliesfreerange eggs + chopped kale sautéed in @fourthandheart garlic ghee, lemon juice, and lots of salt 😋

To quote @christinaricewellness “2018 was a great year — but aren’t they all?”
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Last year I got engaged, made new friends, completed the @ntatraining NTP certification, and Tay bought our first home. I also had the hardest semester of my life, let my health succumb to stress, experienced my first loss of a family member, and f*cked up A LOT.
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But 2018 was a good year, like all those to come will be, because love is weighted more in happiness than anything else, and I’ve got lots of that. 🖤

Grateful to see my family in my hometown...hating that a poke stop is nowhere in sight 👀 Unless I wanna drive a hundred miles, that is. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. 🎄 (eat some poke for me today if you can find any near you)

Sipping on matcha and planning out my study strategy for the rest of the semester @colectivocoffee 🍵
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The darkest of coffee has had its hold on me lately (like 4 cups a day 😬) and I can feel that it makes me a little anxious. I love it too much to give it up forever so every month or so I switch it out for some type of green tea and come back to it when I’m ready.
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Listening to your body is a message of self-respect and can happen in lots of different ways, so tune in!

One frothy peppermint mocha bulletproof ☕️ for me this morning. Also spotted — celery juice inspired by @sophiejohnsonwellness Excited to give it a try! 💚
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My Monday motivation: just one day of studying + an exam separate me from the wonder that is Thanksgiving gravy. Happy Monday!