Real Food Stories

Reinvention doesn’t wait for permission. After a career-ending car accident and the loss of both parents before 40, Tina Coleman made a radical choice one week later: she boarded a plane for her first solo international trip. That single leap cracked open a new life—full-time travel, sobriety, a 90‑pound health transformation, and a mission to help Gen X women trade exhaustion for agency.

We dive into what makes midlife un...

Take a listen if Thanksgiving is starting to feel like too much!

I name the pressure of a food-centered holiday and offer a practical way to feel steady without aiming for perfection. Breakfast, breath, micro resets, and one meaningful choice become anchors that make Thanksgiving calmer and more nourishing, rooted and rested.

• why Thanksgiving feels emotionally heavy
• the role of blood sugar in calm and clarity
• ...

What if your body isn’t failing you — it’s just stuck in protection mode?
In this episode, board-certified hypnotherapist Ethan Reis breaks down how clinical hypnotherapy (the real kind, not the stage show version) helps a hyperactive nervous system calm down so healing, behavior change, and better sleep finally become possible.

Ethan shares his own story of post-concussion migraines, light sensitivity, and depression — and how ...

Feeling stressed, disconnected, or stuck in your head? In this episode, we explore how somatic healing, breathwork, and movement can help women in midlife calm the nervous system, release stored emotions, and come back home to their bodies.

I’m sitting down with Brittany Cessar, a guide and practitioner of Somatic Activated Healing (SAH) — a movement-based practice that combines breath, music, and gentle gestures to help you feel em...

The holidays can feel like a full-contact sport: less daylight, more demands, and an endless push to perform joy on cue. We’re flipping that script. Heather shares a clear, compassionate plan to move through the season rooted and rested—anchored in what matters, nourished by simple food, and protected by boundaries that keep your peace intact.

We start with energy: why the time change hits hard, how a full-spectrum “happy ...

Midlife isn’t just about hormones and hot flashes — it’s about everything that comes with this season of change: our bodies, our relationships, our work, our purpose, our confidence, and yes… our food.

In this week’s episode of Real Food Stories, I open up about why I created The Well Nourished Woman Community — a supportive online space where women 40+ can reconnect with their health, their kitchens, and themselves.

I'm sharing...

Midlife is not a mandate to shrink yourself—it’s an invitation to feed the strongest version of you. We dig into why the old rules stop working, how cultural pressure to look “ageless” seeps into our plates, and what a kinder, smarter approach to food can look like day to day. If you’ve been “good” all week yet still feel tired, hungry, and frustrated, this conversation will feel like a deep exhale.

We break down a simple,...

Your 30's kitchen did its job—fast, convenient, and forgiving. 

But when hormones shift, muscle declines, and sleep gets touchy, those old habits can leave you drained. Let's walk through a midlife kitchen upgrade that feels doable: smarter food choices built around protein, fiber, healthy fats, and color; a few high-impact tools that remove friction; and a mindset shift that turns cooking into a creative act of self-care....

What used to work for your body in your 30's doesn't seem to work anymore. The skipped meals, low-fat foods, and calorie cutting that once helped you bounce back now leave you tired, hungry, and struggling with your weight. There's a reason for this – your midlife body requires a different approach to nutrition.

The midlife plate isn't another restrictive diet or complicated eating plan. It's a fra...

Ever feel like your body betrayed you somewhere in your 40s or 50s? Like you're doing everything "right" but the weight keeps creeping on? You're not alone—and contrary to what you might have heard, it's not your hormones causing the problem.

The reality of midlife weight management is both simpler and more complex than most wellness influencers would have you believe. While menopause itself doesn&...

Feeling overwhelmed by all the midlife fitness trends bombarding your social feeds? You're not alone. From weighted vests to protein obsession to step-counting fixations, the wellness world has become a maze of contradictory advice that leaves many women feeling like they're failing—even when they're doing their best.

In this revealing episode, I dive deep into the most pervasive fitness trends dominating th...

The wellness conversation around menopause has become saturated with quick fixes and expensive products while real food has disappeared from the dialogue. Heather Carey critiques the current landscape where protein shakes, weighted vests, and GLP-1 drugs dominate instead of focusing on nourishing, whole foods.

• Menopause has become big business with many "scam artists" selling unnecessary supplements and diets

What if you didn’t have to move to the woods to live a more content, intentional life?

In this action oriented conversation with Elizabeth Bruckner, author of The Homesteader Mindset, we explore how everyday habits—not remote acreage—can transform your relationship with food, home, and health.

From fermenting your first jar of sauerkraut to growing a single basil plant, Elizabeth shares practical, approachable ways to reconnect with ...

Most women are handed a prescription or a supplement when menopause hits — but what if the real foundation for feeling better starts with small, everyday changes?

In this episode, Dr. Olga Morton, a physician trained in lifestyle medicine, shares the six evidence-based pillars she uses to help women navigate menopause with less overwhelm and more clarity: a mostly plant-based diet, movement, stress relief, better sleep, stronger rel...

If you are curious about alternatives to Menopause Hormone Therapy, Dr. Chloe Weber and I dive deep into the world of Traditional Chinese Medicine and how customized herbal formulations can offer powerful support through menopause, whether you're taking MHT or seeking natural alternatives to manage symptoms and support overall wellbeing.

• Chloe explains how Chinese medicine differs from Western approaches by addressi...

What would you do if your 37-year-old husband had a stroke out of the blue—while raising six kids, including twin babies? That’s the moment Allie’s world turned upside down and became the start of a total shift in how her family approached food, health, and healing.

Frustrated by vague advice like “eat a heart-healthy diet,” Allie dove into the research and discovered the power of a plant-centered plate—especially the role of fiber ...

What if a humble pizza shop could hold the history of an entire family?

In this heartwarming episode, Erica D’Arcangelo shares the extraordinary legacy of her Italian immigrant grandfather, who began working in Pennsylvania coal mines at just nine years old—and went on to found a beloved pizzeria that became the cornerstone of a three-generation family story.

Erica brings us inside the walls of that 65-year-old institution, where the...

Ever found yourself staring into the refrigerator, completely drained by the thought of cooking yet another meal? After decades of feeding others and managing everyone's food preferences, midlife often brings a peculiar relationship with cooking – what once felt like an act of love now feels like just another chore to check off your list.

This burnout is completely normal. The mental load of cooking isn't just about the ph...

From dreaded adversary to unexpected ally, menopause transforms from something women merely survive into a doorway to authentic living. This candid conversation between two menopause specialists—one navigating perimenopause in her 40's, the other firmly in menopause at 57—delivers the straight talk about hormones, fitness, nutrition, and identity that's missing from most menopause discussions.

Erika Shannon revea...