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Kim’s Easy Pesto Recipe: A Delicious Way to Eat More Greens This Spring

 

🐿️ What’s Your Spirit Animal?

Your spirit animal is a fun and symbolic way to reflect the values and traits you hold dear. For example:

  • 🦋 Butterflies = Transformation
  • 🐈 Cats = Independence
  • 🐬 Dolphins = Playfulness
  • 🦅 Eagles = Freedom

So with spring greens just around the corner, I thought I’d share one of my spirit recipes—because yes, recipes can reflect our values too.

🥬 Kim’s Favourite Pesto Recipe: Versatile, Nutritious, and Freezer-Friendly

This homemade pesto recipe checks all the boxes for me:

✅ 1. It’s a green powerhouse

Leafy greens like kale, spinach, arugula, and Swiss chard are nutrient-rich and full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Pesto is a delicious way to eat more of them.

✅ 2. It’s freezer-friendly

Like any time-saving, squirrelly soul, I love a recipe that lets me batch cook and freeze for later.
This pesto freezes beautifully—hello, future-me dinners!

✅ 3. It’s ridiculously versatile

Use it as:

  • Pasta sauce (obviously 🍝)
  • Sandwich spread (think brie melt)
  • Pizza base (try goat cheese, mushrooms & arugula)
  • A marinade or drizzle for grilled meat, fish or poultry
  • Stir into mayo for a pesto aioli for fondue or seafood

✅ 4. It’s forgiving and flexible

You don’t need a specific set of ingredients:

  • Any leafy greens
  • Any nuts or seeds (pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, almonds…)
  • Any hard, flavourful cheese (like aged cheddar or Gruyère)

Mix, match, and use what you have on hand.

✅ 5. It’s delicious (#MakeHealthyDelicious)

Yes, it tastes that good.
Because healthy eating should never feel like a punishment.

🎥 Watch the Video: How to Make My Easy Green Pesto

Click the link below to watch the short tutorial (and yes, the video may look vintage—but the recipe is timeless!).

➡️ Watch Kim’s Green Pesto Recipe Video

🌱 Make the Most of Spring Greens

Early spring greens are some of the freshest and most vibrant of the year—don’t let them go to waste!
Make a batch of this pesto, freeze some, and get creative in the kitchen.

💬 I’d Love to Hear From You!

Tried the recipe?
Discovered a new use for it?
Drop me a note—I’m always excited to see how others make it their own.

Reach out HERE

Cheers,
Kim

P.S. 🧡 Know someone who’s looking for a way to eat more greens?

Share this post with them!

 

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Tired of Yo-Yo Dieting? Here’s Why Sustainable Weight Loss Coaching Works

 

Is It Finally Time to Get a Handle on Your Nutrition and Weight?

Maybe you’re here because you’re finally ready to tackle those extra pounds.

Or maybe weight loss isn’t the main goal—but deep down, you know getting your nutrition on track could resolve a bunch of pesky issues like:

  • Low energy
  • Mood swings
  • Digestive discomfort
  • Brain fog
  • Poor sleep

🎯 Sound familiar?

You’ve Tried Everything… and Nothing Sticks

If you’ve been stuck in the on-again, off-again cycle of dieting and starting over—
…you’re not alone.

Maybe you’ve tried:

  • Keto
  • Intermittent fasting
  • Juice cleanses
  • Gym challenges

…only to land right back where you started.

That’s exactly why I do this work.

🎥 Watch: Why Weight Loss Became My ‘Sneaky Niche’

Tune in to this short clip where I share my confession—and how I got into the world of weight loss and habit change coaching.

Spoiler: it’s not just about the weight. It’s about freedom, confidence, and feeling like yourself again.

Why Coaching Works (When Diets Don’t)

Let’s not kid ourselves—changing habits is hard. Especially the ones tied to food, stress, and daily routines.

That’s where coaching makes all the difference. With the right support, you can:

  • Break the start-over cycle
  • Build habits that stick
  • Stay focused and accountable
  • Feel confident in your food choices
  • Finally understand what works for you

This isn’t about willpower.
It’s about having a plan, a guide, and a safe space to figure it all out.

💬 Ready to Chat?

Reach out  and we’ll set up a free call to explore how we can work together on your nutrition, lifestyle, and goals.

Whether your focus is sustainable weight loss, more energy, or simply feeling better in your body, I’m here to help.

Cheers to taking the reins!
– Kim, xo

P.S. 🧡 Know someone who needs this message?

Share it with someone you love. It might be just what they needed to hear.

 

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5 Delicious Ways To Eat More Greens (that you’ll actually LOVE)

Leafy greens are nutrition powerhouses but how do you get them onto your family’s plate?

Leafy greens are a staple at my house now… but it wasn’t always the case.

 

Here are my top five tips for getting the leafy greens in:

 

1. Wash them and have them ready to go:

I know this one’s obvious. Try a colourful mixture of spinach, lettuce, grated red cabbage, grated carrot and chopped green onion. Having this mixture prepped and ready to go is almost a guarantee that most of my meals will include a nice colourful side salad. Not to mention only having to do the cleanup once.

Pair the salad with this delicious dressing

 

Having sturdier greens like kale or Swiss chard washed and prepped makes it easy to throw into stir fries, stews, egg or bean dishes. These greens will not affect flavour and wilt down in minutes..

Delicious fritatta recipe

 

 

2. Soups; with the cooler weather here soups will be making a comeback. Add finely chopped leafy greens (such as spinach, parsley, Swiss chard, beet greens, collard greens…) generously to soups at the very end of cooking. The leafy greens won’t affect the flavour but will definitely boost the nutrient content.

Check out my delicious Hearty minestrone with a silky sweet potato base recipe

 

3. Meat loaf; meat loaf can handle a lot of greens and even the fussiest eaters won’t balk at the greens once they taste this flavour-packed recipe. Try it as a meatloaf as described in the recipe or use the seasoned meat for stuffed tomatoes, zucchinis or peppers.

Sexy meatloaf recipe

 

4. Pesto; you may have heard me talk about pesto before but it’s such a delicious way to get the greens in as well as a great way to conserve them, that it deserves another mention.

Check out my easy seven minute pesto demonstration video

 

5. Smoothies/green juice; smoothies are an easy way to get greens into your day. When I make this recipe, I make a giant batch and freeze some. Make the most of your time in the kitchen.

 

Green juice recipe

 

I hope this inspires you to use up those greens before they wilt.

 

Reach out  if you’d like to set up a FREE consult to discuss your health goals and come up with a strategy to get you there.

P.S. Share this with someone that needs some inspiration 💚

 

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Nutrition L’Ecuyer Private Client Highlight: Meet Amélie

Meet Amélie.

 

Amelie discusses her experience with Nutrition L'Ecuyer, metabolic Balance for PCOS, weight loss and skin issues

Amélie is a beautiful young professional, a new mom and a published author.

Amélie reached out to me for PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) slight weight gain and skin issues.

PCOS is characterized by irregular periods, hirutism, thinning hair or hair loss from the head and weight gain.

 

She also struggled with PMS (cramping, headaches and fatigue), eczema, dry skin, cravings and was not awakening rested. She occasionally had sluggish bowels.

 

Amelie’s cholesterol levels were borderline. Her MD agreed to give her a grace period to attempt to correct her levels before starting her on a statin medication.

 

 

Amélie opted to go with a Metabolic Balance program.

 

 

2 weeks in; she was down 8lbs. She was experiencing less inflammation in her neck and shoulders and less intense headaches before her period.

 

2 month in; she was down 19 lbs. She was losing less hair. Her bowels were regular, she had less cravings and less cramping before period time.

 

7 months in, she has lost a total of 20 lbs, her periods have resumed a regular cycle. She is reporting better skin and better energy.

 

Follow-up blood tests showed lowered cholesterol levels avoiding the need for cholesterol medication.

 

Her doctor was pleased with her overall results and encouraged her to continue her new habits.

If all of this sounds like a miracle cure – It is not.

Amélie’s results are directly related to the amount of effort and determination that she dedicated to this process.

The sweet, gentle soul pictured above comes with an inspiring core of strength and determination. Her success is all on her.

 

What I didn’t mention was that:

👉Amélie shifted her mindset around cooking and food prep and is deliberately working hard at bringing her amazing creativity to the kitchen.

👉She has cleaned up her foods, ingredients and products.

👉She is prioritizing sleep and managing stress.

👉Not to mention the fact that she’s overhauled her diet while working and raising a two year old.

 

 

Unfortunately conventional medicine doesn’t prioritize diet and lifestyle if it even gets an honorable mention. As if, how we nourish ourselves and live our lives doesn’t matter to our overall health.

Many people feel doomed, trapped or powerless when faced with health issues.

 

I share these testimonials to inspire you that you have agency.

 

I’m still always blown away by the power of diet and lifestyle.

Here are a few words from Amélie:

 

Q. What has been the most surprising?

 

A. J’ai été agréablement surprise quand mes tensions musculaires se sont soudainement volatilisées. Je n’avais jamais fait le lien entre l’alimentation, l’inflammation et la douleur musculaire.

Q. What was your overall experience like?

 

A. Cette expérience a été bénéfique sur toute la ligne! Elle m’a ouvert les yeux sur plusieurs aspects, notamment comment me nourrir avec des ingrédients de qualité.

Q. What has been the biggest takeaway for you?

 

A. La plus belle réalisation que j’ai faite suite à cette expérience est que j’adore cuisiner. J’aime essayer de nouvelles recettes et de nouveaux aliments. Prendre le temps de bien faire à manger m’apporte une grande satisfaction!

Q. What was the hardest part? What was the best part?

 

A. Je dirais que la partie la plus difficile, c’est tout simplement de débuter. Une fois que tout est en marche, on voit rapidement des résultats et on ne veut plus revenir en arrière!

Q. What was it like working with Kim?

 

A. Kim est très attentionnée et à l’écoute de ses clients. La santé d’autrui lui tient à coeur, et elle fera les recherches nécessaires pour vous aider dans votre parcours.

Q. Would you recommend this to friends?

 

A. Absolument! J’en parle déjà à tout mon entourage!

 

Merci Amélie for letting me show you off.

Kim

P.S. Share this with someone you love💙

Reach out if you’d like to set up a chat: nutritionholistique@gmail.com or click HERE to get started

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Pay Attention To The Ordinary

I’ve been pursuing coach training as a way to help clients with some of the things that they bump up against when they embark on changing habits and improving their health.

Things like:

-Sabotaging behaviour

-Resistance to doing the things they know make them feel better

-Nasty self-talk and buying into their stories.
For example; ‘I can only be happy once I’m a size 12, 10, 8…’’ ‘, ‘It will only work if it’s punishing and restrictive and hard” or another great one ‘’Who am I to do nice things for myself…’’

 

 

During my training, we were warned against doing something called stealth coaching.

This is basically unsolicited coaching and it mostly happens with close friends and family, in other words; coaching on the sly.

Apparently I’ve been doing it a little 🙈

 

 

A few Fridays ago, on a walk with my kids, we were chatting about our week.

After going on about the week’s trials and tribulations, Kiki asked me a great coach-like question.

‘’How can you make next week better?’’

Stealth coaching payback.

 

 

Here’s what I came up with:

 

Could I practice falling in love with what I already have right now?

My family, my friends, my changing 50-something year old body exactly the way it is…

Could I slow down and savour my delicious food, really listen to the person talking to me, watch the sunset right to the end…?

I have to confess, I’ve had to come back to it many times.

It’s so easy to get caught up in the vortex of incessant thoughts. I go days where I get sucked into my drama and my stories.

My monkey brain seems programmed to be restless, wanting the next thing, challenge, goal, pleasure, more, more, more…

Is the purpose of life really to get more-of? All of this was inspired by THIS GREAT BOOK.

New mantra: Let me remember to pay attention to the ordinary, not just the extraordinary.

What are you taking for granted?

Share this with someone you love that deserves a little peace.

Cheers,

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Nutrition L’Ecuyer Private Client Highlight; Meet Julie

 

Meet Julie:

Julie is a beautiful young client that works as a professional cook.

Her main reason for reaching out to me was for weight loss.

She had noticed, however, that the weight game played heavily on her mental health and she wanted a more holistic and balanced approach that focused on overall health, rather than just the number on a scale.

Julie had already done some work in this department and she was better equipped with mindfulness and stress management tools than most people twice her age.

She struggled with fairly regular headaches that cleared up almost immediately once she increased her water intake.

She was also catching frequent lung infections and was not awakening rested.

 

 

Julie started on the Metabolic Balance program.

2 weeks in; she was down 17 lbs She felt great and was grateful for supportive family and friends during the initial reset period.

1 month in; she had shed 22 lbs. At this appointment I encouraged Julie to get curious and to make connections between clean eating, her stress, mood and focus.

We discussed the gut-brain connection and the importance of a healthy gut and probiotic and prebiotic foods when addressing emotional or stress disorders.

Julie noticed that her mental health suffered when she stopped eating as clean. She noticed more fogginess, worse mood and more feelings of insecurity and doubting herself.

4 months in and Julie was within 3 lbs of her goal weight and had lost a total of 35 lbs.

She is catching less infections and has been awakening rested.

Julie is rocking this experimentation stage.

She’s making the important connections and recognises how her stress can derail her.

She is remembering to use her amazing stress management skills when she notices that she’s slipped into stress eating or snacking.

Julie’s talents as a cook are also a bonus. She knows how important it is, for long-term sustainability, to make her healthy food taste good.

Moral of the story: There are no miracle cures or programs. But, sustainable change is always possible especially for folks like Julie that are ready to show up and play the long game.

 

Let’s get clear on what Metabolic Balance IS and IS NOT.

It is/does:
✅A diet and lifestyle program
✅A program that naturally helps lower inflammation in the body
✅A program that naturally helps balance hormones – particularly insulin
✅Provide a template and a reliable tool to manage health and weight
✅Involves an initial, short ‘strict’ phase that enables you to detoxify, alkalinize and reset

It is NOT
🚫A miracle cure
🚫A diet
🚫A fix-all-cure all
🚫A rigid or restrictive way of eating
🚫An all or nothing approach to food

Here are a few words from Julie:

Q.:What has been the biggest takeaway from doing this work?

A.:My biggest takeaway would be that Metabolic Balance isn’t just about losing weight but more about clean and healthy eating and as well about how comfortable you are in all of this and all the challenges you are willing to face. Metabolic Balance is all based on you, Kim will be there with you every step of the way, you are not alone in this.

Q.:What has been most surprising?

A.: The most surprising part of Metabolic Balance is how much society has over blown portions. I’m surprised at how satisfied I am with smaller portions.

Q.:Would you recommend the program and working with Kim?

A.: Yes!!! Absolutely!! I can’t recommend Kim enough, and I have loved working with her. She has helped me so much it’s unbelievable.

Congratulations Julie for showing up, doing the work and for being such an inspiration 💜

Kim,

P.S. P.S. Reach out by email at nutritionholistique@gmail.com or click HERE to book a no-strings-attached discovery call to see how you can get started.

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Rocket Fuel Anyone?

Have I ever told you about how Hughie likes to feed our car with high test fuel on road trips, especially if there are mountains involved?

I always feel weirdly resentful of our car when he selects the expensive stuff but I figure he knows what he’s doing…

On one particular trip, after filling the car with the premium stuff, he suggested grabbing some lunch from a fast food joint.

Well… that got my knickers in a knot.

”How can you dump rocket fuel into the car and feed your body garbage? ” The whole verbal onslaught probably went on much longer, but you get the gist.

 

 

The recipe that I’m about to share is my version of green rocket fuel.

Over the years, whenever I’ve felt:

run down,
like I was catching everything that was going by
like my skin had lost its glow
like my energy was down around my ankles
cold sores coming on every two minutes
like my weight was creeping up despite doing all the things…

I’d mix up a few batches of juice, give my bod some love, and all would be well.

 

 

As things would improve I’d inevitably let the rocket fuel habit slip.

I’ve repeated the cycle several times over the last 10 years or so.

Now I (mostly) stick with it…

Ever notice how we stop paying attention to our health and bodies when everything is going well?

 

I love pairing a small glass of the juice with my breakfast and even sometimes when lunch is rushed (aka when I don’t have time to prepare veggies or greens.)

Our bodies were designed to extract the nutrients that it needs from real food.

And let’s be real, when else would you eat greens or vegetables at breakfast?

Get the recipe HERE

 

A few things to keep in mind :

-If you aren’t a recipe follower and want to go rogue; stick with mild-tasting veggies. Some other ones that aren’t in the recipe: avocados, beets, fennel, swiss chard, carrots, romaine lettuce… Mix it up.

-Stick within a colour palet. Mixing spinach and blueberries will result in a nasty-coloured end product that won’t be appetizing. What your food looks like really does matter.

-Beets will turn everything pink, pair them with berries.

-Add a bit more fruit or honey if you’ve got picky skeptics that aren’t into green stuff. You can only make one first impression.

-Avoid gulping the juice. ‘Chewing’ it, or at least swishing it around in your mouth to mix it with your saliva will lighten the load on digestion.

-Finally, I highly recommend using a blender to make the stuff. Juicers remove precious fibre. Almost no one gets enough fibre.

Here’s the machine I use:

Bottom line; your body machine deserves the high test stuff.

I’m not claiming that this will cure everything that ails you, but it sure is a nice thing to do for the amazing body that you call home.

Try it for a couple of weeks and let me know what you notice. I read and answer every response 💚

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The Lessons From 2023

I hope you managed to carve out a little time for yourself over the holidays to reflect, rest and recharge your batteries.

I did.

Here’s what I came up with:

Going slow helps me go faster

For years, I’ve had this belief that if I wasn’t busy, I wasn’t worthy. I wore busy as a badge of honour.

What I was mostly doing was spinning my wheels.

Overwhelm, stress and anxiety used to send me into a tailspin of activity.

I’ve been trying to change those old patterns; slow down and get more quiet when those feelings come up.

”Being brings balance to doing” Richard Strozzi-Heckler

It’s a work in progress, but I’m almost positive that I’ve been getting more done by doing less. Go figure.

 

Boundaries

A boundary that I tried to stick to in 2023 was around social media and screen time.

My rule is no screens before sun.

Getting daylight (especially that light around sunrise and sunset) is really good for my sleep and overall wellbeing.

Reducing scrolling time is good for my focus.

Getting to bed earlier (turning off Netflix) is also good for me.

 

If my food is my fuel, then exercise is my joint lube

Yoga and more recently Pilates have been the final pieces to my inflammation puzzle. Shout out to my amazing teachers; Elizabeth and Amy.

Regular, targeted movement combined with the right foods, help me stay pain-free.

I wish I’d known this when I was thirty.

 

Comparison is the thief of joy

I like podcasts and follow different inspiring people.

But consuming too much, even if it’s positive, educational and transformational, can have a negative influence on my peace.

When I start shoulding on myself, and comparing myself… it never ends well.

My path, my speed, my journey.

 

 

Give up controlling

When I feel the urge to get in and fix someone else (usually my husband – bless his heart).

It’s a sure sign that I need to turn the focus back to myself and deal with my own shit.

I can’t control others – everyone has their own path.

I’m in charge of me and that’s it.

 

 

I’ve packaged these up and presented them as though it’s been a linear process.

It hasn’t been. I’ve been working on some of these things for years now.

It’s messy and it will never be perfect.

My message for you is that slipping up, forgetting, falling back into old patterns WILL happen.

They’re only mistakes if you don’t harvest the learning.

 

What did 2023 teach you?

If you’re frustrated about some aspect of your health or weight, don’t stop trying!

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The Hammer Brigade

I was at a gathering the other day and the conversation inevitably turned to the benefits of food and diet.

I didn’t initiate the convo – it follows me around – I swear.

One of the beautiful gals that was there, that also happens to struggle with her weight, said in an exasperated and joking way;

”O.K. so you (pointing to me) stand on this side of me, and you (referring to the gal that started the conversation) get on the other side, and maybe if you both HAMMER it into my head, then maybe it’ll finally sink in.”

That comment, made as an offhand joke, is representative of a common delusion.

Let me explain.

A theme I see with clients, is this weird belief that if they punish themselves enough, with violent self-talk – hammer themselves enough – the universe will reward them with slim thighs, and all will be well.

It’s as if suffering and repenting will somehow make up for their food transgressions and then they’ll finally be over it. They’ll be fixed.

I even see clients that resist making their food taste good because they believe that success can only come from making themselves miserable and depriving themselves.

Ahhhh. Not true.

There’s a big difference between using processed, junk food to numb yourself, and honoring yourself and your body by making your healthy, wholesome food taste delicious.

Are you part of the hammer brigade?

If so, let me ask:

How has it been working for you?

Pay attention the next time that you feel like going on a binge.

If you’re doing it to numb yourself – then you likely have enough pain in your life.

How can adding to that pain ever help?

The solution will always be with less hammering and more gentling ❤️

Reach out  if you’re ready for sustainable change.

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Enzymes Baby

Its all about enzymes!

Enzymes are organic compounds that I like to call our body’s spark plugs.

Enzymes help us digest our food and fight off disease.

Our immune system relies on enzymes to function.

Enzymes can, and do become depleted.

In fact, when we’re deficient in enzymes to help break down our food, our body can actually rob the immune system of enzymes to aid in the digestive process.

That means that eating enzyme-depleted food puts a huge burden on our digestive organs and it can lead to a weakened immune system and allergies.

Some of the symptoms of enzyme deficiency are gas, bloating, indigestion, constipation, diarrhea, allergies, catching everything that goes by…

How are enzymes destroyed?

Cooking, heat treating, pasteurization, milling, refining, canning, irradiation, adding chemicals such as preservatives, flavoring agents, artificial colors, pesticides, herbicides… all severely deplete or inhibit enzyme activity.

For example, seeds that have been cooked or boiled will never sprout. That’s because the enzymes have been destroyed.

The solution:

1) Chew your food.
We naturally have enzymes present in our saliva. Careful chewing makes good use of these enzymes and helps lighten the load on digestion.

2) Incorporate a little more raw food
Make sure you have a little bit of raw with every meal. I’m not saying that you need to eat salad all day every day. Just consider a small raw garnish, side salad, or have a piece of (alive) fresh fruit instead of that (dead) cookie.

3) Incorporate fermented foods
Fermentation is a natural method of preservation that brings along a lot of enzymes,

Kefir, a fermented milk, is considered to be one of the richest sources of enzymes.

Some other examples of fermented foods are good quality yogurt, sauerkraut, raw apple cider vinegar, kimchi, miso, kombucha…

4) Get more sprouts into your diet
A little goes a long way. Throw some sprouts into your salads, on sandwiches or into smoothies

5) Select raw, unpasteurized honey

6) Select raw unpasteurized dairy whenever possible
Many clients that cannot tolerate conventional cow dairy, do fine with cow cheese that is made with raw milk.

7) Consider supplementing with plant enzymes if you struggle with digestion.
You’ll want to look for ingredients such as protease, amylase and lipase on the ingredient list. Your local health food store will be able to help you.

There are no magic bullets or quick fixes when it comes to healthy weight management or prevention. It’s all of the little changes that add up.

Reach out  if you’re ready to take the reins.

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