Welcome to Always Nourished!
Oh, HEY THERE!
I’m Becca and I’m the holistic nutritionist, food lover, recipe creator, photographer and gal with PCOS behind Always Nourished.
Thanks for stopping by!
“MAKING CHANGES TO MY NUTRITION AND PRIORITIZING PCOS-FRIENDLY FOODS HAS BEEN LIFE-CHANGING FOR ME…”
I’m here to help women manage their PCOS with food, nutrition and lifestyle shifts so that they can stop the PCOS struggle, take control of their symptoms and finally start feeling like themselves again (because relying on the Pill is not the only option!).
MORE ABOUT BECCA
The best way (in my opinion, of course) to start taking control of your PCOS and your periods (without having to rely on all the meds) is to get serious about your nutrition and the foods you put into your body. Prioritizing the right foods, cooking my own food and (most importantly!) ACTUALLY enjoying the foods I eat have been key to my PCOS success.
Since being diagnosed in 2018, I have learned so much about managing my PCOS (and ALL the symptoms that come with it) so I’ve made it my mission to share what I’ve learned so you don’t have to struggle with PCOS like I did.
Because it hasn’t always been this way for me
MY STRUGGLE WITH PCOS…
Being diagnosed with PCOS was devastating for me. I wasn’t expecting it at all (I barely knew what Polycystic Ovary Syndrome even was) and when my doctor told me the news she didn’t give me many options for managing it.
It took me months and months of brutal periods (or no period at all), suffering from all of my other PCOS symptoms and being convinced that my body was against me before I realized that the food I was eating was having a negative impact on my PCOS and my hormones.
Here’s the truth…
When I was diagnosed with PCOS I was a practicing nutritionist and I really thought I had a great handle on healthy eating – I was eating more plant-based, taking tons and tons of supplements (seriously, so many supplements) and loading up ALL the trendy ‘health’ foods and superfood products I could find. I really thought that I was doing what a nutritionist should be doing.
Except I was still really struggling. My periods were brutal and unpredictable and left me dealing with acne and wild PMS. My anxiety was at an all-time high and I could barely manage it most days. I was constantly hungry (more like hangry) and exhausted all the time. And finding clothes that fit (and that I felt comfortable in) was a never-ending battle.
I knew I was SO done with letting my PCOS control my life but it wasn’t until I was challenged to take a good look at exactly what I was putting in my body that everything changed for me.
Added sugar (and lots of it in the form of ‘healthier’ all-natural sweeteners, like maple syrup), packaged ‘health’ foods (the labels and marketing of these products totally had me fooled), and so many ingredients that trigger inflammation in the body (poor quality oils and even more sugar to name a few) were staples in my diet and they were wreaking havoc on my hormones, periods and PCOS.
What’s worse is that not only were these ‘health’ foods I was obsessing over contributing to loads of inflammation in my body, but they were also sending my blood sugar and insulin levels on a wild ride each and every day (I truly believe this is the real reason why my PCOS symptoms and periods felt so out of control constantly).
I made some serious changes to my food choices and my lifestyle and promised myself I’d make my health and periods my number one priority.
And it wasn’t too long after I made that promise to myself that my periods started to improve and I actually started having predictable monthly cycles (where I ovulated and everything!) without having to go back onto the Pill and the other symptoms I was really struggling with started to improve as well.
That’s when I knew that my new PCOS-friendly diet and lifestyle were here to stay for good.
ABOUT ALWAYS NOURISHED RECIPES AND RESOURCES…
This blog was first launched in the summer of 2015 with the goal of sharing the healthier food I was eating with the internet. Over the years it has grown and evolved and what was once a completely gluten-free and vegan recipe blog turned online resource to inspire you to ditch the junk and eat more real food now focuses specifically on inspiring women with PCOS to take control of their PCOS symptoms and unpredictable periods with food and nutrition.
Eating for PCOS is about prioritizing real, whole foods that will nourish and help heal your body, reduce inflammation, stabilize your blood sugar and insulin levels and balance your hormones.
My goal with each recipe and resource I publish here is to show you that eating for PCOS doesn’t have to be complicated. I want to inspire you to eat more PCOS-friendly foods (in the most delicious ways), to get into the kitchen and make your own food (homemade is always best) and to ACTUALLY ENJOY all of the foods you are eating.
My cooking style (and therefore the recipes you find here) prioritizes tons of flavour (bland and boring food is the worst!) and PCOS-friendly foods and ingredients (these will nourish your body and your periods) while not spending too much time in the kitchen (I want to enjoy making my food so I make it as simple and easy as I can).
I test and retest (and retest and retest) recipes until I feel they are just right. If I don’t like something or am not confident in a recipe, I won’t publish it.
What you will not find here?
- An abundance of baking (I’m not a baker and I’ve realized that creating my own healthy baked goods from scratch is just not my thing and really stresses me out.)
- Gluten, dairy or tons of added sugar (removing these foods that I was sensitive to from my diet has been game-changing for me when it comes to managing my PCOS so I don’t eat them anymore and thus won’t be creating recipes with them any time soon.)
- Recipe nutrition information (I truly believe that if you’re eating real, unprocessed, wholesome foods the number of calories or grams of carbs per serving does not matter. I no longer provide the nutrition facts for my recipes for this reason.)
*Please note: Many of the recipes on this site were created before Always Nourished became PCOS-focused. This means that they may contain ingredients that I would not consider to be PCOS-friendly (ie. lots of added sugar or pro-inflammatory ingredients). However, because these recipes remain popular with longtime readers I’ve decided to keep them in the recipe archives. Please look for the note at the top of the recipe post if browsing through the recipe archives, consult the PCOS-Friendly Foods Cheat Sheet for more information on PCOS-friendly foods or reach out to me with questions.
If you try one of the recipes, I would love to know about it! Leave a comment on the recipe post and be sure to share a picture on Instagram using the tags @alwaysnourished.
A LITTLE MORE ABOUT ME…
Science, learning and food have been my whole life!
Most of my education and background is in geological sciences. That’s right – I studied rocks for almost 7 years!
I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Earth Sciences from Carleton University in Ottawa and pursued a Master’s in Geological Sciences from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. It was in Winnipeg where I realized my passion for food and nutrition and had a major change of heart about my career as a geologist. I launched a healthy food blog and started the Dietetics program at the U of M before having to relocate back to southern Ontario, where I enrolled with the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition to become a Registered Holistic Nutritionist.
In 2017, I complete the 2-year diploma program in Natural Nutrition and earned my Registered Holistic Nutritionist designation.
I loved every minute of learning about nutrition the holistic way and I’m so excited to be able to share that knowledge and how it applies to managing PCOS.
You can read more about my approach to holistic nutrition and my mission and values here.
More fun facts…
I grew up on a fruit farm so my love of real, wholesome food runs deep.
I love cheesy, reality TV (can we please talk about the most recent episode of The Bachelor!?). And I also love reading personal development books, beautiful mediations and that first sip of my morning coffee.
I love being busy and wearing many hats. Right now I’m a holistic nutritionist, founder, recipe developer and photographer, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend but my most favourite role of them all is mama.
Let’s get you started on your PCOS Freedom Journey!
Check out these resources to help get you started…
I truly believe that the best way to start taking control of your PCOS (without having to rely on all the meds) is to get serious about your nutrition and the foods you put into your body.
And the best place to start with that is the kitchen. This guide will help you stock your kitchen with nourishing, PCOS-friendly foods the Always Nourished way!
You want to start eating to manage your PCOS but not sure what to make? Grab this meal guide!
I created the PCOS Freedom Meal Guide to help other women struggling with PCOS get serious about their nutrition with delicious PCOS-Friendly recipes, an ingredient shopping list and so much more… all for FREE!
When I finally decided to make my health and my periods my top priority, everything began to shift for me – my periods started to improve and I was actually starting to have predictable monthly cycles (where I ovulated and everything!) and the other symptoms I was struggling with started to improve as well. That’s when I knew I wouldn’t have to go back on the Pill again to manage my cycle.
I create the PCOS Freedom Guide to help other women struggling with irregular periods (and all the annoying symptoms that come with them) too. In the guide, I’m sharing the exact four steps (I call it my Freedom Formula) to help me regulate my periods even with a PCOS diagnosis.
PLEASE NOTE: I AM NOT A DIETITIAN, OR PROFESSIONALLY TRAINED CHEF. I AM PASSIONATE ABOUT FOOD, NUTRITION, AND COOKING AT HOME! I SHARE ONLY THE RECIPES I ABSOLUTELY LOVE AND THE NUTRITION FACTS AND TIDBITS THAT I TRULY BELIEVE IN WITH YOU.
The content, programs, guides, and information I provide on this website are for educational purposes only. nourished the blog and/or Always Nourished does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, treatment or care. If you have a health problem, medical emergency, or a general health question, you should contact a trusted healthcare practitioner for diagnosis and/or treatment. Under no circumstances should you attempt self-diagnosis or treatment based on anything you have seen or read on this website.
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