Meet Carolee
Atlanta Nutritionist

 

 

I have always been passionate about food.  

 

It started in my childhood in central Pennsylvania.  I grew up in the country, surrounded by family and farms.  Some of my favorite childhood memories are of picking fruits and veggies directly from the fields. 

 

How many kids can say they grew up next to a strawberry farm?! 

 

If I close my eyes, I can still taste tomatoes and strawberries, direct from the vine, warmed by the sun.  My mouth is watering, even now.   I often helped my mother tend and harvest the garden as well as preserve fruits and vegetables for winter. I pounded cabbage for sauerkraut with my grandparents. I picked grapes for juice.  I even spent a few days one summer picking bucket after bucket of dandelion flowers so my grandfather could try his hand at dandelion wine. 

 

As I grew, I found I also had a deep love of cooking.  I began at a young age and was cooking dinner for my family by the time I was in high school.  Throughout my 20’s I was glued to Food Network and read Gourmet magazine cover to cover each month.  I quickly realized the most important thing about good food is fresh ingredients. They don’t have to be fancy or their preparation complicated, just whole and fresh.

 

 

My Journey

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Like you, when faced with health challenges, I began looking for another way.  I was no longer interested in the drug therapies offered by my physicians.  At different times I was told it would be ‘pure, dumb luck’ if I got pregnant without drug intervention and that the anti-depressants I was taking would be a lifelong requirement to treat the chemical deficiencies in my brain.

 

This wasn’t good enough. 

There had to be another way!  

 

I cleaned up my diet, removed chemicals from my food, health & beauty products, household cleaners and more.  I found a great acupuncturist. 

 

Today, I am the mom of two amazing children, both born without drug intervention.  I also successfully weaned from the anti-depressants that I had taken on and off for nearly two decades.

 

And another passion was born.

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My Education

 

Unfulfilled in my career in the software industry, I went back to school. 

 

I found my place at Maryland University of Integrative Health. 

 

I earned a Master of Science in Integrative Nutrition, where I learned the fundamentals of both functional nutrition and clinical practice. 

 

During my studies, I soon understood that helping people figure out the how is just as important as figuring out what to do so I simultaneously studied to become a National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach.

 

 

My Nutrition Philosophy

 

Each of us is unique and so are our needs.

“One-size fits all” rarely fits anyone well. 

 

But we take this approach with our dietary advice all the time. 

 

You’ve probably been told to ‘eat a Mediterranean Diet’

and sent off as being counseled on nutrition. 

 

As if that is helpful.

 

Food is fuel for our bodies.

But it is also so much more. 

It provides connection when we share meals

with our friends and loved ones. 

It is often an important part of celebrations and rituals. 

I’m sure you have certain foods you always eat at specific holidays or celebrations. 

 

It isn’t Christmas without my dad’s pasta salad

and a Pittsburgh wedding isn’t a wedding

without the cookie table (it’s a thing, look it up).  

 

Food is medicine but it is also fun! 

I don’t want to live in a world where we can’t have

a little fun with our food and I don’t want you to either.

 

Eating a health promoting diet doesn’t have to be difficult. 

You don’t need to follow complicated meal plans with lots of rules. 

 

Instead, we focus on adding whole, nutrient-dense, therapeutic foods to the mix.  You know, the ones that taste so delicious . 

 

I love to rework family meals into healthier versions,

figure out how to get an entire rainbow of veggies in one meal,

or look at menus together to figure out the

best options at your favorite restaurants. 

 

 

My Approach

 

I follow the principles of functional nutrition:

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*looking at root cause and supporting from a cellular level*

*holistic approach honoring body, mind, and spirit*

*evidence/research based*

 

I utilize a blend of personalized nutrition therapy and coaching

to not only provide a therapeutic plan but to

help you figure out how you are going to implement it at home. 

 

If knowing what to do were enough, we would all be healthier. 

The real trick is figuring out how to make it all work.

 

We will focus not only on diet but also stress, sleep, movement, socialization, and more. It doesn’t make sense to look at your diet and health in a vacuum.  Often other things are at play when we are struggling with food choices. 

 

We will focus on small, meaningful changes

that are sustainable over time. 

 

Why? 

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Because this is what works. 

 

We all have habits that have been ingrained over our lifetime.  We can’t expect to change them overnight.  It takes a little time and patience. 

 

We are going to laugh. 

I promise. 

 

We don’t usually think of change as fun or easy. 

Let’s completely upend that idea! 

 

Using your diet to improve your health

doesn’t need to be difficult and painful. 

 

Besides…there is a child in all of us that giggles

a little when we talk about poop. 

And we will talk about it.  

 

I am a single mom with kids at home.  I know what it can be like to try to juggle ever-changing schedules and responsibilities.  I like to keep things simple and easy.  You don’t have to cook gourmet meals every day to use food as medicine.  

 

Interested in how you can use food to help you achieve your goals?

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Click the button below to schedule your

free 30-minute nutrition strategy call.