Meet Amélie from Goodnesst
Can you please tell us who you are and what exactly is Goodnesst?
Sure Delphine, and thanks for giving me the opportunity to do so on your platform.
I’m Belgian, but I left my home country about a decade ago.
First I lived in Lausanne and Geneva with my husband and oldest daughter, who was one at the time. There I worked in a PR-agency and welcomed two more children to our family. About three years ago we traded the Swiss mountains for Amsterdam.
More or less at the same time Goodnesst – my nutrition coaching platform – saw the light. The name refers to “the goodness of nutrition” and its positive effect on the health and wellbeing of your nest.
With Goodnesst I help parents combine their hectic lives with optimal nutrition for themselves and their children. I do this through individual coaching, nutrition workshops, and my blog on which I share information and healthy, simple and family-friendly recipes.
I also wrote two ebooks, one about sugar-free snacks for kids, and one about healthy school lunchboxes, both containing useful information and tasty recipes. They’re downloadable for free on my website.
How did you come up with the idea of working with food?
I’ve always been passionate about health and nutrition. When I worked in PR I was mainly responsible for clients in the food industry. Throughout these projects I got the chance to work closely with dietitians and nutritionists. I remember thinking then how I would choose to become a dietician if I were 18 again.
When my second girl was born I took the leap to quit my corporate job and follow my passion for nutrition. I combined motherhood with a 3-year nutrition course in the US through distance learning.
When we arrived in the Netherlands I registered Goodnesst and started working as a nutrition coach. It’s a decision I’m still grateful for every day.
Can you tell us what a client can expect from your sessions?
How do you work?
Every client is unique and comes with a different set of background, issues, expectations, and motivation. Most of my coaching clients are pregnant women, or moms wishing to lose a few pounds, feel less tired (a common side-effect of parenthood, isn’t it?), improve their digestive issues, or work on their general health.
I work in English, French, and Dutch. A typical coaching plan takes about six months in which we meet around four to five times, either in person or through video conference. I follow-up each session with a summary report and relevant recipes. After the last session I send a detailed and personalized nutrition report my client can consult whenever she needs a little motivation. A kind of nutritional road book.
I find it important to understand the way my clients live and the impact their work and family have on their nutrition. All my recommendations and recipes are realistic and easy to fit into their lifestyle.
About three months after our last session I plan a follow-up call to see how things are going, and if desired we organise a few follow-up sessions.
Can you tell us a bit more about your workshops
Sure. I love hosting workshops because it gives me a peek into people’s lives and the things they struggle with in terms of feeding a family.
I give workshops on several topics such as “eating for vitality”, “school lunchboxes”, “reading labels”, etc. But the series I give most often is called “4 steps to a healthy nest” and is a complete guide to helping parents combine their busy lives with a healthy family. We talk about picky eaters, being more efficient in the kitchen, batch cooking, limiting sugar, breakfast, lunchboxes, etc. At the end of the four workshops, parents are armed with tons of information and about 80 recipes to implement at home. More information about my workshops for parents can be found here.
Are you specialised in a certain field?
I have lots of experience with weight loss and vitality because these are quite common topics, and I’m specialised in pre- and postnatal nutrition. We are just starting to grasp the impact of prenatal nutrition on the baby’s future health and its sensitivity to developing diseases like cancer, diabetes, and obesity. I guide women throughout their pregnancy and in the first months after delivery to help them get the right nutrients for them and their unborn child.
I’m also specialised in gut issues such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). This is a very common condition affecting more than 1 out of 10 people worldwide, and can greatly affect a person’s social life and general wellbeing. I guide people with IBS through a strict diet called FODMAP which takes from 4 to 6 months. All my IBS clients so far have come out of it almost 100% symptom-free.
If I never cook, what are your recommendations to start?
Do you have any cooking tips?
Not everyone likes to cook indeed or has the time or energy at the end of the day. That’s totally fine and there are many ways to feed yourself and your family right without much effort. One rule of thumb though is to avoid processed foods as much as possible. With processed I mean anything packaged and made with a long list of ingredients featuring sweeteners, preservatives, colorants, E-numbers etc. But also anything chemically refined like white flour and its derivate, or skimmed yoghurt or margarine.
On my blog I share easy recipes with less than 8 ingredients and maximum 20 minutes of prep time, and I teach my clients how to combine simple ingredients into a quick and balanced meal. Think about an avocado with an egg nested in the middle and a side salad for a quick and healthy lunch, or overnight oats for a breakfast on the go (you literally throw a few healthy ingredients in a jar, shake, and let the magic happen in the fridge overnight).
People who’ve been following me for a while know I’m a big fan of batch cooking. The idea is to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday cooking and prepping for the week ahead. I would typically make a batch of granola, tuna spread, Nutella and chia-strawberry jam for our breakfasts and lunchboxes, cook some quinoa or rice, pre-cut some raw veggies and steam some more, and make egg muffins with leftover veggies. A small effort that saves me a lot of time during the week.
Can you tell us what makes you happy?
Talking about food and nutrition ;-).
But above all, I love spending quality time with my husband and kids, cuddles, precious moments with good friends, and long walks on the beach or hikes in the mountains.
