Today we’d like to introduce you to Morgan Doetsch.
Hi Morgan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
When I was growing up, my parents opened one of the most popular restaurants in town. They managed and cooked all the food themselves, and so I basically grew up in that restaurant. My first memories were in a kitchen, running around in a diaper taking orders. I was raised exposed to all types of food and learned to appreciate the beauty of flavors. This passion permeated through my family, eventually leading my brother to go to culinary school, and me being the baby of the family, I was fortunate to be able to soak up all this knowledge and experience from them.
When I was five, my parents divorced, which led to a big life change, a move, and an incredible bonus-dad. I decided to become a vegetarian at the age of six due to a bad trip through a meat market, and met with a nutritionist to help learn how to do so in a sustainable, healthy way. This journey even further developed my taste buds and my food preferences, as I would look around during lunch and be the only person with hummus and sliced vegetables, vegetarian sushi, beans, and seaweed. My mother is a phenomenal cook, so having her guidance was instrumental in learning to be confident and comfortable in the kitchen. When I started going through puberty around the age of 15, I was interested in exploring other healthy lifestyles after struggling with protein intake and anemia and decided to slowly introduce meat back into my diet. Although to this day, I don’t identify as vegan or vegetarian, I live a plant-based lifestyle 80% of the time.
The big wave that made me really reevaluate what health looked like in my life was when my mom was diagnosed with Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2018, and her diet and lifestyle had to really change. We were eating mostly all plant-based meals and were super cautious about label reading and the ingredients that were in our food. Although I had struggled with autoimmune issues before, during this time of high stress with my mom’s condition and experiences in my personal life, my autoimmune system crashed and I had a horrible flair-up. After years of doctors, countless blood tests, CT, MRI, no diagnosis but also every diagnosis, I felt like a prisoner in my body. My white blood cells were through the roof, my platelets were high, I felt like I was stuck in an unfamiliar body and didn’t know where to start or if I could ever feel like my active, happy self again. This called for another revamp of the way health looked like in my life, and led me into enrolling in the Institute for Integrative Nutrition to become a Certified Holistic Nutritionist. I believe in inspiring people into nourishing their bodies in an enjoyable, sustainable way, and am extremely passionate about sharing my knowledge, support, and experience with anyone wishing to recharge their health routines.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I would say one of the biggest struggles along the way was reframing my view of health. I grew up extremely active, playing competitive sports, dance, and eating ‘healthy’ food. But as we have seen, the food advertised as healthy and the diet fads in the 2000s, such as 100 calorie packs, veggie straws, calorie counting, body shaming in magazines, etc., is very misaligned with my current views of health.
Holistic nutrition is the belief that our well-being/health is a combination of our mind, body, and soul. Before starting my journey of becoming a Holistic Nutritionist, I still focused my energy on calorie counting, wasn’t reading nutrition labels accurately, and was unaware of the harmful ingredients added to what I believed were healthier food options. I would go through phases of ‘crash dieting’ for events, or doing intense hour workouts, and struggled to find a way to just live in a balanced, sustainable way. I didn’t look at factors outside of my nutrition, such as my sleep or stress, and only focused on working out and having a calorie deficit. I now practice intuitive eating and food freedom, and direct my energy towards buying foods made with real ingredients, free of chemicals or additives. I also believe our health is influenced by our habits off our plates, just as much as what is on our plate. Paying attention to our stress, sleep habits, relationships, careers, and other life factors are fundamental in balancing how our body runs. I strongly believe in an 80/20 lifestyle, where 80% of the time you are practicing these beliefs, but I also believe 20% of freedom is important to allow for the celebratory drinks and birthday cake and pizza parties. Life is meant to be enjoyed, and I believe your health practices should be simple, sustainable, and not require a ton of extra effort.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a Holistic Nutritionist and I specialize in working with clients to make sustainable, attainable, and practical healthy life changes that fit their current lifestyle. I believe long-lasting change starts with our small daily habits, on and off the plate. We will work together to explore areas of your life that feel out of balance and navigate how to find health practices that feel good and work for you. I believe in using food as medicine and taking a proactive, instead of reactive, approach to health.
We will discuss all areas of your life: your career, relationships, stress, sleep, nutrition, movement, and work together to find a way to balance and supplement habits into your life in an authentic, enjoyable way. I love that I have the opportunity to work with people on improving their quality of life and bring a positive refocus of energy into their wellness practices. I work with a wide range of people from various age groups and create individualized programs depending on their goals and their schedule. I create whole-food focused recipes and help clients navigate what health looks like to them. We’ll help you explore healthy foods and habits that add nourishment to your life and are enjoyable for you because health should feel good. I offer various services, whether that be 3 or 6 Month Individualized Programs, 1-on-1 Intensives, Pantry/Fridge Makeovers, Virtual Cooking Classes/Meal Prep, Recipe Requests, or On-Call Access to me as a resource (added to a package or individual service). I am extremely passionate, empathetic, supportive, and truly care about bringing fulfillment into my client’s life.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I have had a bunch of positive influences in my life, but my mom was definitely where I learned my fundamental appreciation for food and developed my cooking skills and flavor profiles. She hosted all of our holidays, cooked nearly every meal, and I loved spending as much time as I could with her in the kitchen. When she was diagnosed with cancer, I took it upon myself to relearn what health in this modern day really looks like, and start to look at health beyond just the food we eat. Since food has changed so much and is now loaded with chemicals, going back to the basics and eating real, whole foods is where I get my cooking inspiration from.
Pricing:
- 3-Month Program (entire program)-$350
- 6-Month Program (entire program)-$650
- 1-on-1 Intensive-$60
- On-Call Resource (per month)-$30/$60 (added on to program/individual service)
Contact Info:
- Email: nourishedandspiced@gmail.com
- Website: nourishedandspiced.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nourishedandspiced/
