1-219-765-8600

carol@inkwellcoaching.com

Crown Point, IN

mobile-logo
Top
June 4, 2026

Why I’m Loving LolliPeppers™

If you’ve never heard of LolliPeppers™, let me introduce you to your new summer best friend. These are Sunset’s seedless mini sweet pepp

admink
Food, Fun, Health
May 28, 2026

Eating for Your Body Type

Last week we talked about the three main body types, ectomorph, endomorph, and mesomorph, and how to figure out which one sounds most like you. If you

admink
Food, Health
May 21, 2026

Do You Know Your Body Type

Have you ever noticed that your neighbor can eat pasta every night and never gain a pound, while you look at a breadstick and your jeans get tighter?

admink
Health, Hope
May 14, 2026

Your Body Isn’t Broken, Just Confused

You’ve done everything right. You cleaned up your eating, cut back on sugar, maybe even started walking every morning. And yet… the scale

admink
Food, Health, Hope
May 7, 2026

Eat the Pizza. Here’s How.

Here’s something that might surprise you: pizza is not automatically the enemy of good health. I know. Take a breath. Sit with that idea for a s

admink
Food, Fun, Health
April 29, 2026

Tiny Seeds, Big Story

There’s something about pomegranates that feels a little special. Maybe it’s the color. Maybe it’s the way you have to work just a bit to get to

admink
Food, Fun, Health
April 26, 2026

Chocolate Crunch Protein Balls (No-Bake)

Makes: ~16–20 ballsTime: 10 minutes + 20 minutes chill Ingredients 3/4 to 1 cup rice crisps Note: I use gluten-free chocolate crisps and omit the ch

admink
Recipes, Treats
April 23, 2026

That Sneaky Sabotage Problem

If eating well, getting to the gym, and sticking with healthy habits were only about knowing what to do, most of us would have it figured out by now.

admink
Family, Food, Fun, Health
April 15, 2026

When Food is Healthy Enough

Fresh off my Arbonne conference, I found myself thinking again about how often we make food harder than it needs to be. After 21 years with a health a

admink
Food, Health
April 8, 2026

Healthy Foods That Get Overhyped

Some foods, as I mentioned last week, have a rough reputation. Others get treated like they’re on a pedestal. This week let’s cover some foods tha

admink
Food, Health

When Food is Healthy Enough

April 15, 2026
0
0
Food, Health

Fresh off my Arbonne conference, I found myself thinking again about how often we make food harder than it needs to be. After 21 years with a health and wellness company, I have seen plenty of trends come and go, but practical habits still seem to help people the most.

Healthy eating can feel complicated.

Somewhere along the line, food stopped being something we simply ate and enjoyed and turned into something we evaluate from every angle.

Is it organic? High in protein? Low in sugar? Whole grain? Homemade? Anti-inflammatory? Approved by someone on Instagram with a refrigerator full of glass jars?

It is a lot.

And for many people, it makes eating well feel harder than it needs to be. 

The truth is, not every food has to be perfect to be a good choice.

Think good, better, best.

Sometimes a meal falls short of expected health standards. It is not beautifully plated, made from scratch, or nutritionally flawless. It is just healthy enough. And in real life, healthy enough can go a long way.

Take flavored yogurt. Is plain Greek yogurt with berries and nuts a great option? Sure. But if flavored yogurt is what you enjoy and what you will eat, that is still a whole lot better than skipping breakfast and then prowling around for pastries by 10:30.

The same goes for canned soup. Homemade soup is wonderful, but opening a can, heating it up, and having it with a sandwich, fruit, or a few crackers does not mean you have failed at lunch. It means you fed yourself. You have energy to sustain you for the afternoon.

Rotisserie chicken, frozen vegetables, bagged salad, canned beans, instant oatmeal, peanut butter toast, eggs, and even the occasional freezer meal can all help support real-life healthy eating. They may not be exciting. They may not be trendy. They may not look like something from a wellness retreat menu.

But they can still do the job.

I think one of the biggest problems with healthy eating is that people imagine the “right” choice must be the best choice every single time. It has to check every box. It must be fresh, balanced, colorful, full of nutrients, and preferably made in a peaceful kitchen while no one is asking where their soccer shoes are.

Meanwhile, actual life looks a little different.

Sometimes it is 6:15 and everyone is hungry. Sometimes you are tired. Sometimes your day got away from you. Sometimes the healthy choice is not the perfect meal. It is the good-enough meal that keeps you from eating chips over the sink while wondering what happened.

There are times when I’ll cook macaroni and open a can of soup for Mr. Non-Compliant. (For my new readers, Mr. NC is my dear husband.) It’s a “go-to” for emergency situations. I can be happy eating sardines and almond crackers. WHAT?  NO VEGETABLE? Well, sometimes that happens in our house too.

Healthy enough might mean scrambled eggs and toast for dinner. It might mean white rice instead of brown because that is what your family (and Mr. NC) will eat. It might mean store-bought hummus, pre-cut vegetables, or a turkey sandwich with some baby carrots on the side. It might mean doing the easy version instead of no version at all. 

That is not giving up. That is being practical. And it’s still better than fast food.

A food does not have to be perfect to be helpful.

A meal does not have to be impressive to nourish you.

And a realistic choice made consistently will usually serve you far better than a perfect plan you cannot maintain.

So, this week, instead of asking whether a food is the healthiest thing imaginable, maybe ask a more useful question:

Is this healthy enough for real life today?

A lot of the time, that answer is, it’s more than enough.

Much love,
Health Coach Carol

“It’s not about perfect. It’s about effort. And when you bring that effort every single day, that’s where transformation happens.”—Jillian Michaels

Healthy Foods That Get Overhyped

April 8, 2026
0
0
Food, Health

Some foods, as I mentioned last week, have a rough reputation. Others get treated like they’re on a pedestal.

This week let’s cover some foods that get a little too much glory.

Before anyone clutches their green smoothie and sends me a not-so-nice email, I’m not saying these foods are “bad.” Many of them can absolutely fit into a healthy way of eating. But somewhere along the way, certain foods picked up a wellness halo so bright that people started treating them like they were automatically healthy no matter what.

And that is where things can get a little fuzzy.

Take smoothies, for example. A smoothie can be a great breakfast or snack. I enjoy them several times a week. But not all smoothies are created equal. Some are loaded with fruit juice, sweetened yogurt, syrups, and enough calories and sugar to count as dessert in a cup. Just because it is sippable and colorful does not mean it is a nutritional superstar. 

The same goes for bottled green juices. They sound so virtuous, don’t they? Drink this and suddenly you feel like the kind of person whose picture is on the cover of Health magazine. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But many bottled juices are low in protein and fiber and surprisingly high in sugar. You may get some vitamins, but you may also be hungry again an hour later.

Protein bars can be another example. Some are convenient and helpful, especially on busy days. Others are basically candy bars with better marketing. A long ingredient list, lots of added sugars, and a fancy wrapper do not automatically make something a smart everyday choice.

Then there is yogurt. Yogurt may be a helpful addition to your diet. It can provide protein, calcium, and beneficial bacteria. Beware: some flavored yogurts have so much added sugar that they are giving donuts a run for their money. The better option is plain Greek yogurt with fruit added at home and maybe a drizzle of honey. Not as glamorous as those cute little fruit filled individual servings, but certainly more pedestal worthy. Oh, and more economical. Make your individual servings in those cute little containers that keep falling out of your cabinet.

And let’s not forget gluten-free packaged foods. If you need to avoid gluten these products can be very helpful. But gluten-free does not automatically mean healthier. Cookies are still cookies, crackers are still crackers, and chips wearing a gluten-free label are not suddenly health food.

Even salads can get overhyped. A salad sounds like the poster child for healthy eating, but once it is buried under crispy toppings, sweetened dried fruit, cheese, and heavy dressing, it may not be the light and balanced meal you’ve been led (or misled) to believe. Again, not wrong. Just not always the nutritional angel it pretends to be. 

I’m not here to put the kibosh on your favorite foods. I simply want you to be aware that foods aren’t always what they are marketed to be.

A truly healthy way of eating usually looks a lot less flashy than social media would have you believe. In the real world it means simple meals made from real food. Protein. Fiber. Color. Enough to satisfy you. Foods you enjoy. Meals you can easily make that work for your body and in your life. Not perfect, just a little bit better.

Some foods deserve more credit. Some deserve a little less hype. And most of them are probably somewhere in the middle.

Much love,
Health Coach Carol

“Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.”—Michael Pollan

Six Foods With a Reputation Problem

April 2, 2026
0
0
Food, Fun, Health

Some foods have terrible PR.

They are not trendy. They are not glamorous. They are not showing up in beautiful little bowls on social media with chia seeds sprinkled just so. Some of them may even remind you of old diet plates, strange childhood lunches, or the back of the pantry.

But occasionally, some of these foods deserve a fresh look.

Because a bad reputation does not always mean a bad food. 

Sometimes it just means the food is misunderstood.

Take cottage cheese for example. It has taken its lumps over the years, and not just literally. For a long time, it seemed to belong to the world of pathetic diet lunches and outdated meal plans. But cottage cheese is actually a pretty handy food. It has protein, it is easy to pair with fruit or tomatoes, and it can work as a snack, breakfast, or light lunch. Not bad for something people have been making fun of for decades.

Then there are potatoes, which have somehow gotten blamed for all sorts of things. A plain baked or roasted potato is not the same thing as a fast-food fry or a loaded restaurant side dish swimming in cheese sauce, butter, and sour cream. Potatoes are filling, affordable, and a good source of potassium. They are not the villain. In many cases, they are just caught hanging around with the wrong crowd.

Popcorn has its own image problem. People tend to think of movie theater buckets or microwaved bags with mystery butter flavoring. But plain popcorn is a whole grain. It is crunchy, satisfying, and can be a great snack when you want something salty and fun.

And let’s hear it for frozen vegetables. Fresh vegetables may get all the attention, but frozen ones quietly save dinner all the time. They are convenient, reduce waste, and are often frozen at peak ripeness. In real life, frozen broccoli you actually eat beats fresh broccoli that turns limp in the produce drawer while you “mean to get to it.” Oops.

The same goes for canned beans. They are not fancy, but they are fast, budget-friendly, filling, and full of fiber and protein. Rinse them, toss them into soup, salads, tacos, rice dishes, or pasta, and suddenly your meal has more staying power.

And then there are eggs, which seem to get dragged into a new round of debate every few years. Are they in? Are they out? Are they good? Are they suspicious? Meanwhile, eggs just keep being simple, versatile, and useful. Scrambled, boiled, baked into something, or turned into a quick dinner, they are still one of the easiest real-food proteins around.

The bigger point is this: healthy eating does not have to be trendy, expensive, or impressive.

Some foods are humble. Some are plain. Some need a better marketing team.

But that does not make them bad choices.

In fact, some of the foods with the biggest reputation problems are the very ones that make healthy eating easier, more affordable, and more realistic.

So, if you have written off a few foods because they seem boring, outdated, or unfairly guilty by association, it may be time to reconsider.

Not every good food comes with a halo. Some just come in a tub, a can, or a freezer bag.

Easter Blessings

For Christians, Holy Thursday through Easter (or Pascha or Resurrection Sunday), is the most holy time of year.

As a child, after weeks of fasting that usually meant giving up chocolate, Easter Sunday was a glorious celebration. I still remember my special Easter basket, filled with beautifully decorated eggs, a chocolate Fannie May bunny, nutroll, homemade bread, and of course, jelly beans.

Food connects us, invokes memories, comforts during tough times, helps us celebrate everything.

If you celebrate Easter, and even if you don’t, I hope your Pascha Sunday is filled with your favorite people and foods.

May you enjoy the blessings of spring and new life.

Much love,
Health Coach Carol

“You are here. You are loved. God is good. And that’s enough.”—Brandon Heath, from his song That’s Enough

Post-Workout Protein Without the Panic

March 26, 2026
0
0
Food, Health

For years, fitness culture has pushed the same message: if you do a strength workout, you had better get protein into your body within 30 minutes or you are missing your chance.

That idea has been repeated so often that it almost sounds like a law of nature.

But is it really true?

Not exactly.

There is a reason protein gets so much attention after strength training. When you challenge your muscles, your body needs the raw materials to repair and rebuild. Protein helps support that process. So yes, protein matters.

What is less clear-cut is the old “30-minute anabolic window” idea. Research over time has shown that this window is probably much wider than once believed. In other words, your body does not slam shut like a tiny post-workout garage door if you do not drink a shake on the walk to your car. 

That is good news for normal people.

If you eat protein at breakfast, lunch, dinner, or as part of a snack later in the day, you are still supporting muscle repair and maintenance. For most people, the bigger issue is not missing the magical 30-minute mark. It is waiting until dinner to eat most of their protein.

That matters even more as we get older.

Many women, especially in midlife and beyond, do a decent job at dinner but come up short earlier in the day. Toast for breakfast, a light lunch, then a solid protein serving at night is common. The problem is that your muscles do better when they get protein regularly, not all at once.

So if you strength train in the morning and do not eat until lunch, is that ideal? Probably not. But it is also not a disaster.

A more helpful question is this: Am I getting enough protein over the course of the whole day, and am I spreading it out fairly well?

That is where the real opportunity lives.

Think less about chasing the clock and more about building a day that includes protein more than once. That might mean eggs or Greek yogurt at breakfast, chicken or tuna at lunch, a balanced snack in the afternoon, and then your usual dinner protein. It does not have to be fancy, and it does not have to be a shake or supplement.

Which brings us to another question: does the type of protein matter?

In real life, not as much as the internet likes to suggest.

Whole foods work. A protein shake works. Greek yogurt works. Cottage cheese works. Chicken, fish, eggs, tofu, tempeh, edamame, beans, and other protein-containing foods can all help. Some protein sources are a little richer in certain amino acids that are especially helpful for muscle protein synthesis, but for most healthy adults, this is a “fine-tuning” issue, not the main event.

The main event is still this: get enough protein, and do not save all of it for dinner.  

So no, you probably do not need to panic and gulp down protein within 30 minutes of your workout. 

If you like a post-workout meal or shake, great. It can be convenient and helpful. But if your schedule means you eat protein an hour or two later as part of a normal meal, that can still work just fine.

The best protein strategy is not the one with the most hype.

It is the one you can do consistently.

Strength training helps tell your muscles, “Stay strong.” Protein helps give your body the building blocks to follow through. Both matter. But the clock matters less than we once thought.

Join Me for The Spring Energy Reset

On Saturday, March 28 at 9:00 AM Central, I’ll be hosting a free Zoom conversation called The Spring Energy Reset, where we’ll talk about simple ways to help your body adjust to the change in seasons and feel more energized heading into spring.

If you’ve been feeling a little sluggish, off-schedule, or out of rhythm with these back-and-forth Midwest weather shifts, you are not alone. We’ll cover simple Ayurvedic-inspired food ideas, gentle movement, sleep support, and realistic daily habits to help you feel more like yourself again.

You’ll leave with practical ideas you can actually use, without extremes, pressure, or a complicated plan. Save your spot today by sending me an email: carol@inkwellcoaching.com. 

Much love,
Health Coach Carol

“Protein, meanwhile, helps you feel fuller longer. It’s also important for strengthening bones and building muscle.” — Maya Vadiveloo

« Previous Page