Amanda Liska, Certified Teacher & Integrative Nutrition Coach

29/03/2024

Did you hear the EGGcellent news?! 🥚 🍳 (I know, corny- but hey, I taught elementary school for 12 years🤪)… A study was conducted that found that eggs DO NOT negatively effect cholesterol 🙌🏼 🎉 Eggs have gotten such a bad rap through the years, when they really should be considered a superfood. They are high protein, low in calories, contain vitamin D, A, E, K, and a significant amount of B vitamins. For lunch today I made myself and my girls eggs with avocado and an arugula salad (I always add greens when I can! 🍃) topped with EVOO, lemon juice, and Himalayan Sea Salt. I ate about four eggs, two cups of arugula, and 1/4 of a small avocado. This meal is approximately 450 calories, 27 grams of protein, 30 grams of healthy fat, and loads of vitamins 💪🏼💪🏼♥️🥚🍳

19/03/2024

As we say goodbye to winter ❄️ and welcome the spring 🌼, we are reminded that it is our time to BLOOM 🌷 . The beginning of a new season is a great opportunity to revisit our habits. Check in with how you feel both physically and mentally. Have the CONFIDENCE to make a few small intentions that can add up to a big difference in both your mental and physical health. Get outside more ☀️ (even on these cooler early spring days), drink more water 💦 , eat more fresh foods 🌱, move that strong body, and most importantly- take time every day to stop and breathe 🧘🏻‍♀️ . Happy Spring!☀️ 🌷💦🌬️

09/05/2022

Happy Mother’s Day💗a few days ago marked 8 years from when I lost my first baby. She was diagnosed with Trisomy 18 and the pregnancy was not viable. We made the impossible decision to end the pregnancy when I was 16 weeks pregnant rather than continue to carry until she passed. I remember a few days later going Mother’s Day dinner at my aunt’s, my body still sore and heart aching for what could have been… rewind to just a few years before I got pregnant and I was diagnosed with PCOS and told I would not be able to conceive without some type of intervention. That baby was a miracle— she was proof that what I was doing to heal my PCOS was working. Although she was not able to survive, she made me the mother I am today— I never felt as sad as I did when we got her diagnosis, and I use that sadness as a reminder to not take a day for granted. I have three beautiful little girls who are everything my heart ever dreamed of. I am so grateful! If you are a bereaving mother, a mother who has been trying and trying but yet to get or hold a pregnancy, a mother who has been told she cannot conceive on her own— Mother’s Day is hard, my heart aches for you, and I am sending you love and hope 💗

17/03/2022

As a busy mom there is seemingly no time to cook for yourself, let alone plan and make healthy meals. Even I have considered my kid’s leftovers and some cookies or pretzels “lunch” 🙈 Squeezing in greens is a top priority in my diet (and for my children). Here I are some of my solutions for the “I have no time to eat” lifestyle so many of us are living:

1.) Always keep hardy greens on hand. Kale, chard, and romaine are my favorites. When stored properly they last much longer than most produce. Use them to top most meals with some nutrient dense leafy greens. Also, always keep a bag a frozen spinach— toss a handful in smoothies for the whole family (we say they are “power greens” to make us grow strong!)

2.) Make it simple— I am a huge fan of leftovers so I often add those leafy greens to my leftovers so that I have a substantial amount and yet little-time or thought needed lunch.

3.) Don’t recreate the wheel if you don’t have to. I used to make so many salads with different dressings from scratch, it was wonderful… but then I had three kids and can’t for the life of me get myself to make a salad from scratch (except my super easy kale salad that takes two minutes to make). I’ve become a huge fan of salads in a bag. I stretch it to make two salads and I top it with a protein to keep me satiated. My wonderful friend recently told me about Trader Joe’s yummy pre grilled chicken that makes this super convenient!

Just remember, we’re all busy in our own way and often our own diet and health take the backseat. But we CAN do this. For me I find I eat healthiest and keep my healthy habits strong once I figure out simple and easy ways that I can stick to long term. In the end we all just want to be healthy and feel our best. Adding greens in whenever we can is one way to accomplish that. I hope these little tricks can work for you, too! 💚 🥬 💪🏼 ☘️

16/02/2022

Nine months in 🤰🏻: Nine months out 👶🏼 this third pregnancy was hard— nine months of nausea, food aversions, back pain, lower ligament pain, rib pain, lack of sleep… and the first few months postpartum were pretty rough, too. I had chronic back pain— it was uncomfortable to even sit and nurse my baby. While I was researching surgeons I came across information about how a weak pelvic floor can cause lower back pain. I then found an awesome program (thanks ! 😘), called the Ab Rehab by Nancy Anderson. As I am nearing the end of that program I can honestly say that it has helped SO much with so many postpartum issues and particularly with my lower back pain that is nearly gone. I am beyond grateful that I can carry and play with my baby and her sisters without any pain! 🙌🏼

09/02/2022

As a mom I think every one of us can admit to skipped showers here and there and occasionally being too tired to wash our faces at night 😬… Having a nightly facial routine is not just important for how we look, but also for how we feel. Aside from washing your face every night and following a good skincare routine, on those nights when things are going smoothly (ya know, when the kids are asleep at a decent time, chores are all done, you have a little bit of energy)… Roll your face! There are so many wonderful benefits to this affordable ritual and you just need a few minutes. I have a few different rollers I like to use. Most popular are made from stones like Jade (pictured) and Quarts. Rolling in an upward motion (NOT how Scarlett is demonstrating 🤪) increases blood flow, reduced puffiness, detoxes the lymphatic system, and activates collagen (which in turn reduces wrinkles 🙌🏼 ). 💋🙌🏼💁🏻‍♀️ Your skin is your largest organ, take the best care of it ❤️

07/02/2022

The reality is that regardless of how someone’s life may look from the outside, time to time everyone of us struggles. Sometimes it’s day by day, hour by hour, or if you have toddlers and infants— minute by minute! (Or is it second by second?🤪)… Full disclosure, I recently found myself in a cycle where I was too busy taking care of everyone else that I forgot to take care of myself. My mental health was in jeopardy. So, I decided to try something new and started going to therapy. Through this I realized that I need to start taking the very same advice that I have suggested to people for years— suggestions I used to follow easily, but lost track of somewhere while being pregnant and sick with toddlers at home while working during a global pandemic 😵‍💫. The point is, life isn’t easy, adulting isn’t easy, mothering isn’t easy, and remember to take care of ourselves along the way— isn’t easy. BUT it’s important. In order for you to show up and be the best wife, mom, employee, daughter, sister, friend— you must first take care of yourself— you must be the best YOU! Having a little help, someone to talk to or coach you along the way can really make a difference.❤️

05/02/2022

05/02/2022

04/02/2022

29/11/2021

Today we started solids! We follow the WHO and the AAP recommendations and exclusively breastfeed until 6months. In addition, as with all three of my girls, I make sure THEY are ready (because every baby is not the same!)… Savanna has great head and neck control, she is sitting up unassisted in her chair, she’s showing interest in food (like a lot— hard for me to eat around her these days!), and she is putting everything in her mouth. We start with avocado, then sweet potatoes, banana (great for masking other, more pungent foods like spinach, kale, broccoli), and other fruits and vegetables. We skip the cereal as it doesn’t provide much nutritional value and doesn’t help build a palate for healthy foods. Most importantly, breast milk or formula should remain the main source of calories for your baby for the first year, so nurse/bottle before and after each feeding if possible and start with just a tablespoon of food at a time and gradually increase as the baby and her appetite grows. 🥑♥️ 🤱🏻 👶🏼🍼

29/11/2021

Great information to consider when purchasing cookware. Many of us have/had Teflon non-stick. If it’s in your budget consider a safer option:

A new report on cookware testing from The Ecology Center is full of a wealth of important information and we highly recommend that you read it. The safest cookware is made of the good old stuff - stainless steel, cast iron, glass, etc. Not enough is known about the safety of the new ceramic non-stick surfaces and for that reason, we have avoided them. If you think about it, Teflon has been around for 70 years and it's only recently that the truth about its toxicity has been coming out. We especially love our cast iron pans. When they are well seasoned, they are just as good as nonstick cooking surfaces and they're safe as well. What is your favorite cookware? Happy holiday cooking. Be well ❤

Read the report: https://www.ecocenter.org/healthy-stuff/pages/what%27s-cooking
Read the new update: https://www.ecocenter.org/healthy-stuff/reports/whats-cooking-2021-update

20/03/2019

“The days are long, but the years are short”... being a mommy requires being okay with eating all three meals while one baby nurses and if you’re lucky enough, another sits on your lap simply because she wants to be close to you both as she attempts to spray hand sanitizer on your meal... Although those moments can be chaotic and perhaps irritating— it’s the sweet nighttime snuggles, both babes asleep, one wearing her swim goggles (of course), drooling, and all that really make this mom thing the best thing in the entire world. ♥️

04/03/2019

On February 21st, at 10:24pm we welcomed our second baby girl, Scarlett Rose 🌹 I have not posted since early in my pregnancy because I was suffering with hyperemesis gravidarum (chronic nausea and vomiting). As a health coach I tried everything I knew that was natural, sought advice from my homeopath, ginger, lemon, sea bands- you name it- nothing worked before making the decision to take Zofran for the safety of my growing baby and myself. Now that I am feeling almost back to myself, I would like to use this platform to share tips on what I learned and am doing/did differently to prepare for labor, caring for a newborn, breastfeeding, and getting myself back into shape. If you have any questions, please feel free to post below or private message me. I look forward to doing what I love and do best— connecting and sharing with other women and mothers on this journey. ♥️

29/06/2018

Made pancakes for breakfast this morning, also made them by substituting two eggs for two flax eggs. These were really yummy! 🥞

14/06/2018

It’s been about six years since I was diagnosed with PCOS, completely infertile, bloated, and acne prone at 23 years old. Fast forward to this week when I got blood work back that showed my progesterone levels are high (the hormone us PCOS girls usually don’t have much of).... there is no magic pill (well there is, but they have terrible side effects)... if you really want to heal your body and cure your PCOS, it’s all about what you put in your body and how you handle stress.

24/03/2018

My meditation buddy 🐾 🙏🏼🕉💕✌🏼