Simply Inspired: Holistic Health Coach- Christa Thompson

 

It's a new year and we are setting goals to make a healthier change for 2016.  I know a lot of you are doing the same, so we have partnered up with one of our favorite health coaches to share with you some great tips and recipes. We are so excited to have Christa Thompson taking over our blog today as our "Simply Inspired" guest.  She is such an amazing and beautiful person inside and out.  Her story of how she became a Holistic Health Coach is truly inspiring! 

 

ABOUT ME 

Yoga pants, horses, fitness, cooking and my family – these are just a few of the many things that describe me, Christa Thompson. Here are some others: Christian. Holistic Health Coach. Daughter. Sister. Wife. And, my all-time favorite, Mother.  

I am originally from the beautiful small town of Osakis, MN. I now live in Alexandria with my husband, Randy, and two kids, Danza and Ryker.  To say I have a strong passion for fitness, health and nutrition is an understatement. I love helping people and in the process, I hope to build authentic relationships with them and I hope I can help them reach their goals and see their full potential.  

 

I love healthy foods that taste good and help heal the body. But, here’s a little secret...I also love sweets, too! And every now and then, I may indulge in an adult beverage or two! I am a firm believer in working to find balance. I follow the 80/20 rule. Eighty percent of the time I eat very clean, but I am human, and allow myself to have those “treats” occasionally and fully enjoy them with no guilt!  

Some of my other loves:

●        Country music

●        Workout clothes (seriously, you can NEVER have too many yoga pants, right?!?!)

●        Laughing

●        Girl time

●        Goals

●        Teaching (I am a former school teacher and that is why I love helping people learn.)

●        Sports

●        Spending time with family

●        Tattoos (I have several.)

 

Also, I have to share that some people may say I am brutally honest and I have to agree. I know how to be sassy when needed and I stand up for what I believe in. I have learned to be authentic with myself. We all should learn how to do that. 

 

HEALTH AND NUTRITION 

My interest in health and nutrition stems from two major life events. The first, is that I had a severe eating disorder that controlled everything about my life and me. After many years, and LOTS of prayers, I realized that I didn’t want to be THAT person anymore. I also realized that I was the only person who could change me. So, I started to dabble in learning about health and nutrition. I started educating myself. No one else was going to do it.

The second, and most important life event, was the birth of my daughter, Danza. She was born at 23 weeks, weighing in just shy of one pound. Yes, ONE pound. She spent a total of eight months in the hospital before finally coming home. She dealt with, and continues to deal with, numerous medical issues. Danza is primarily fed through a feeding tube, but can eat real foods at times. To try and make an extremely long and complicated story short and simple, Danza has a motility disorder in her small bowel - food doesn’t move through it like it should, which causes vomiting. This in turn caused her to have trouble gaining weight and to grow. Unfortunately, the doctors had no answers except feeding her directly into her jejunum (the middle portion of her small intestine). I was told there was not a cure for her motility disorder. 

So, I took matters into my own hands. I researched non-stop and found nutritionists to help me. In time, we were finally able to feed her in her regular feeding tube, and not directly into her jejunum. There was finally no vomiting and Danza began to not only feel better, she began to grow. And, this was all due to giving her body what it needed - nourishing food that was not only good for her, but helped her to heal and grow! Because of all of this, I decided to go back to school to learn more about holistic health and nutrition. I found an online school that is known for its holistic approach - the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) and from there, my whole career path changed.

A CHANGE IN CAREERS

  

My initial career path led me to be an elementary teacher, which is what I intended to do in life - teach. When Danza was born, my teaching career ended. Or so I thought. Fortunately, God showed me that he had other plans for my life. He helped me see that with the knowledge I gained through IIN, and a new super-foods nutrition program, I could still teach. I could help people and drastically change their lives for the better. I never expected to feel so passionate about what I do, or to be so rewarded for helping others reach their goals through health and nutrition. One of the ways I am able to do this is through the super-foods nutrition program, which I wholeheartedly believe in! The products are healthy, nutritious, and full of the vitamins and nutrients our bodies need and deserve. Through this program, I get to have authentic conversations with people and I get to develop amazing relationships. I absolutely LOVE what I do!

TIPS FOR SUCCESS IN YOUR JOURNEY TO BETTER HEALTH 

Here are just a few suggestions to help you in your healthy living journey:

 

●   Plan and prep your meals - I do this on Sundays and get the whole family involved.

●   Find easy family recipes - Resources are endless! 

●   Read labels - know the ingredients you are putting in your body

●   Piece together a daily plan so it works overtime, not overnight. Keep it clean, keep it simple, keep it healthy – Just be consistent. 

• Try healthier substitutes - such as almond or coconut flour instead of regular flour; using almond milk or cashew milk instead of regular milk; using plain Greek yogurt and flavoring it with fresh fruit and raw honey instead of low-fat regular yogurt; using raw unrefined honey instead or pure maple syrup instead of sugar; using coconut oil (organic, unrefined) instead of vegetable oil; using brown rice or quinoa pasta instead of regular pasta; or using almond butter or sun butter instead of regular peanut butter.

One last tip and it’s one I strongly believe in: Learn to love your body. You can change the outside all you want, but until you change the inside, how you look will never truly matter!

 

FAVORITE RECIPES TO SHARE

 

Protein Puppy Chow

3 oz Dark chocolate chips

1/4 Cup almond butter or organic peanut butter

1/4 Cup raw honey

1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil

1 tsp Vanilla extract

4 1/2 Cup Corn Chex cereal

2/3 Cup un-denatured vanilla whey protein powder (I use Isagenix IsaPro)

In a pan on the stove, melt the first five ingredients together. Then, in a large bowl, pour the melted mixture over the cereal. Once the cereal is well coated, sprinkle the protein powder on top. I lay mine out on a big cookie sheet so it has time to cool and not clump together.

Healthy Lasagna

2 lbs grass fed beef (sometimes I use ground turkey as well)

1 box brown rice lasagna noodles (can be found in the organic section of a grocery store)

1 32 oz container of 4% cottage cheese

3 cups mozzarella cheese or cheddar cheese, shredded

1 cup spinach

1 jar Newman’s Own Sockarooni tomato sauce

1 can black olives

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tbsp coconut oil

2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Brown ground beef in coconut oil on low heat. Add chopped garlic and cilantro. Drain excess water. Cook pasta noodles, drain, rinse in cold water and set aside to dry. Time to layer the lasagna. Place cottage cheese in 4.8 quart Pyrex baking dish. Place lasagna noodles side by side on top of cottage cheese. Top with ground beef, 1 1/2 cups cheese, 1/2 cup spinach and half of the tomato sauce. Add one more layer of lasagna noodles and layer on the remaining ingredients. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until cheese is golden brown. 

"If you really want to do something, you'll find a way; if you don't you'll find an excuse." - Jim Rohn
 

~Christa

Facebook: Christa Thompson – Holistic Health Coach

Instagram: @christajthompson

Email: kraveun@gmail.com