Hi, I’m Erica! I am a recent graduate of The University of Southern California, with a bachelor’s degree in Communication at Annenberg. I am currently a holistic health and wellness coaching student, but have been actively learning about the health industry for the last five years. I am passionate about all things food and health related, and am focused on fusing these two, often conflicting, passions together. Like most people, I absolute love to eat, and used to “live to eat”. However, throughout my journey of pursuing a healthy diet and lifestyle, I have come to realize that we should all live by the motto: eat to live. This core health idea was the inspiration for creating Nourishing Nosh: a guide to help you eat better to live better, all while indulging in some of the most delicious and nourishing foods the world has to offer! I believe that the path to great health is paved by small positive lifestyle changes, and if you commit to making these small changes daily, you will achieve all of your personal health goals, whether it’s to lose weight, gain muscle, aid digestion, reduce stress, enhance moods, increase energy, or even cure sickness! Reaching these goals can seem daunting, as there is a lot of contradiction in the world of nutrition; however, it is my goal to make reaching these goals, and achieving a healthy lifestyle, simple, delicious, and enjoyable, so that you will feel amazing every day!
So, how can I help you?
If you are looking to drastically change your diet, or just figure out ways to incorporate more health into your diet without compromising on taste, I would love to help! Along with offering nutritional advice, I will provide an easy to follow (and easy to maintain) guide for healthy diet and lifestyle habits that seek to balance both your physical and psychological well being.
Click the “Health Coaching” tab above to find out more details and get closer to reaching those goals!
“Most people have absolutely no idea how good our bodies are designed to feel. We get used to feeling mediocre at best, and forget that it’s possible to wake up feeling energized, enthusiastic, and invincible—just like we did as kids!”
My Health Journey
The reason why I am so passionate about nutrition, and confident that I can help you, is because I was able to help myself, with food—nutritious food— as my foundation.
Growing up, I was well fed by two loving parents who loved to cook. My father loved to cook one thing in particular: meat, and lots of it. I mean, we had an entire refrigerator in our garage devoted to storing large frozen quantities! So, having meat as the largest portion at every dinner was pretty typical for me. We would also have a serving of vegetables, and a starch, such as pasta or potatoes, etc. This plate portion breakdown of meat, starch, and veg is pretty typical for American households, so at this time, I was convinced that eating this way was the best thing for me.
Luckily, I inherited my petite mother’s frame, and was able to maintain a slim figure throughout high school, despite a high caloric diet filled with lots of meat, carbs, sweets, and all other naughty indulgent foods! It wasn’t until college, however, that those extra pounds crept up on me, and the dreaded “freshman ’15” became a reality. I became unhappy with my weight and body image, and desperately wanted to do something about it. I knew that I did not want to go down a path of body-insecurity, or go diet-crazy and deprive myself of the food I loved and craved. So, I found myself at a crossroads: continue to eat and drink unhealthy foods and be unhappy with my body and self, OR take an interest in my health and find ways to eat nutritious foods to look great, but feel even better.
I had the incredible opportunity of taking a semester off of college to travel to amazing countries in Europe, as well as Australia! It was through my travels that I realized eating healthy doesn’t have to mean boring, small measly portions that lack flavor and excitement. I quickly gave up “counting calories”, and began “counting nutrients”. In other words, I became concerned with eating foods that were low in calories, and high in nutrients, and basically flipped my childhood plate proportions upside down. I transitioned into eating mostly vegetables, fruits, beans, and grains, and supplemented this with small amounts of meat, fish, and starches. I have now cut out dairy almost entirely from my diet, and limit gluten products as well. In doing so, I have reached my ultimate goal weight, and feel fantastic about my body! Not to mention, I have high energy throughout the day and FAR fewer cravings for those naughty indulgences.
My point is: no two people are the same, so no two nutrition plans should be the same. Every body functions differently, so different foods may work for some, and fail for others. However, the simple habits of drinking more water and cutting back on dairy, alcohol, and processed foods will always be an important step in the direction towards a healthier life.
I am committed to determine YOUR individualized plan that helps you reach your goals and feel great doing so. My nutrition guidance will allow you to transform your health, while noshing on nourishing goodies 😉
Once I started to just listen to my body, it gave me all of the answers; it told me what I should be eating and what I shouldn’t be eating. Tune into what YOUR body is telling you. Stomach grumbling after a meal? Pay attention to what you just ate. Extremely thirsty throughout the day? You probably are consuming too much salt and not enough water. Lethargic around 3pm and need that caffeine boost? You probably aren’t getting enough nutrients in your diet!
When you start to feed your body the stuff that it wants, and skip the stuff that it disagrees with—it will cooperate exactly how you want it to!
I can promise you that with an appetite and an open mind, I can help you change the way you think about food, so you can start EATING to LIVE!
My happy place: Here is where most of my photo editing, blog posts, recipe brainstorming… and recipe testing…happen!
Follow me!