Hi! I’m Amy, a Health Foodie, Certified Nutrition Coach, Runner, Triplet (I have two sisters who you will likely hear about in my posts), Mom of two little boys (Cameron 5 and Samuel 3) and Wife to an ultra running obsessed husband that loves to eat! My family enjoys all things food, making it and eating it even more. We also love feeling our best both inside and out. I truly believe that, “You are what you eat!”. If you fuel your body with the right food, think, “Eating the rainbow” you will feel your best and be able to perform your best everyday! That is the truth and it’s actually not that hard to do.
Me after finishing my 6th marathon!
My husband Matt and I after I finished The Hartford Marathon three weeks before running the NYC Marathon!
Here is a little bit about how I got to this place of having more balance in my life while still eating the most delicious food that makes me feel so amazing everyday!
A few years ago after having my munchkins (they are now 3 and 5), I became much more conscious of what I was putting into my body on a daily basis. Being pregnant made me realize that everything I was eating was feeding my babies. It no longer became just about me. Wow, did that change my mindset about food! I had also had very bad issues with my body digesting food properly as well as nutritional deficiencies for so many years that I had just learned to accept it. Now that I look back on all of those years where my stomach issues caused me to miss out on events and activities in my life, I wish I would have had the knowledge to make these changes back then.
My babies helping me bake cookies!
So how did I get here? At first, I went strictly vegan for a little over a year. My stomach issues were completely gone and I felt the best I had ever felt, in the beginning. A few months in I ended up dealing with bouts of vitamin deficiencies like iron and b12. I was confused. This was supposed to be the, “Healthiest diet on the planet”. Why was I having issues? At the time I was going through a lot of changes in my life, learning to become a mom of 2, moving to a new state (we moved from CT to NC), building a new house and becoming a remote worker. So to say the least I had a lot on my plate. I got lazy with my diet, didn’t have all of the right knowledge about being vegan and therefore had to start adding eggs and dairy back in. This was hard for me since I was so set on following a vegan diet because I truly believed it was the healthiest way to eat. Then my sister said something that resonated with me ,”Why do you have to put a label on the way you eat?”, “Why not just eat the foods that make you feel your best?”. Ding, ding, ding…. That is when a lightbulb went off and I decided to try to just eat the foods that made me feel good! No labels, no tricks, no processed foods full of ingredients that looked foreign to me. Just real whole foods that had all of the nutrients I needed to make me feel AMAZING! That is the goal.
Finally feeling my best!
So now, I no longer place a label on the way I eat. I simply eat real Whole Foods, mostly fruits and vegetables, whole grains and some fish and eggs. I try to steer away from processed foods (mostly crackers, chips and cookies) and I ALWAYS read the ingredients on everything I buy. Keeping it clean and super simple. One thing I will say is that I very likely will never add meat back into my diet. That being said, it is a choice due to the fact that I have learned that it is difficult for my body to digest and that is one of the reasons I used to have so many issues when I was younger. I never want to go back to feeling that way again so meat-free for me it is!
So welcome to“Pinch me good!”. My Goal is to create and share with you the foods that we have all come to love and maybe some that you have never tried but in a healthier way that will allow you to feel better about what you and your family are eating. Don’t worry, it won’t be all salads and boring veggie recipes. I like to be creative with my food and I do not eat anything that does not taste good just because it is good for me. I live to enjoy my food experiences and so should you, so let’s get cooking!!
Amy Estes