Health. It’s always that nagging force in the back of your mind that you don’t truly make enough time for. If today is the day you do want to make the time, meet Katharina Knoll, JENESEQUA‘s health food expert and founder of Behind Foods, a fantastic holistic health resource. Always full of a sense of wonder about food and life in general, her approach to health is infectious. With that, it’s only fitting that she become a holistic health coach. While Katharina isn’t writing about eating seasonally and the art of sushi, she’s completing her education to become just that. Part of her education at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition to complete this journey includes offering a free health history consultation. If you’re at a point in your life where you want to make a lifestyle change, you can contact Behind Foods or info@behindfoods.com for more details. But before you share your story and life goals with Katharina, here is a little bit of her story and journey toward nutrition:
JNSQ: What inspired you to get involved with nutrition?
KK: I’m not sure when my parents really started to get interested in nutrition, but I remember at a young age reading through their encyclopedic books about health. I also remember discussing a lot of topics with them about health-related things as well. I think it all started really when my mother started to have troubles with her achilles and her inflammation with arthritis. My parents have been interested in alternative methods, and I’ve been interested in them as well. I also struggled with an eating disorder starting at about age 11 for about 10 years. Since I really took an active stance in my recovery I’ve been interested in nutrition as a way to show I care for myself and respect myself. I spent so many years in a dark place, hating myself, and really putting my body through a lot of wear and tear. I’ve found that finding ways to heal with whole foods and cooking delicious meals has helped me find a profound peace with food (just one component of an eating disorder). I’m also interested in helping clear up myths about nutrition in this society. I don’t want to be a know-it-all, but I also think that a lot of people fall into the trap of thinking that fat-free and fad diets are the key to being healthy. Or popular food brands labeling products as “whole grains” or “all-natural” or “0 trans fats” while keeping hush hush about their misleading advertising.
JNSQ: What does a holistic health coach do exactly?
KK: As a holistic health coach, I support my clients through a six month program to make step-by-step changes to their food and lifestyle, so that they permanently reach their goals. Essentially, helping clients to help themselves. And, I will support them to do so in a way that’s enjoyable and easily integrated into their lives. As you may have figured out by now I have a deep interest in health and healing, and enjoy sharing this knowledge with my friends, colleagues, and family. I decided to increase this knowledge and learn, in a formal training program, how to live a better life through eating well and taking care of myself.
JNSQ: Education?
KK: I am currently enrolled at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City. I am not only learning to improve my life, I am also receiving very detailed and careful instruction on how to coach others around food and lifestyle choices. It’s an exciting time for sure!
JNSQ: Tell us about Behind Foods.
KK: Behind Foods approaches food with fascination, and we believe that it cultivates a more wondrous outlook on life. “Eat well, live fully” is one of Behind Foods’ philosophies. Culture can inspire a wonder about the origins of things. Curious about foods and traditions from around the world get me to find, cook, and research all about them. Intended to share my finds with you, Behind Foods is a passport to anywhere–even back in time.
With the knowledge I’ve attained so far I see that each person is unique and Behind Foods offers services to meet the individuals’ needs and tastes. Services offered, such as:
- Education through workshops, cooking classes, and programs
- Menus for events, the home, meal plans, etc.
- Creative projects: editorial work, photography, and recipe development
JNSQ: What are your goals?
KK: As for goals, I hope to reach out to a wide audience, and feel that I am apart of a movement that is much needed in this society. Even when I make art I want to impart something profound and memorable for others. I think the best way to do that is helping to create an experience for the person that will be unique, but also speaking to idea of what it means to exist as a spiritual being and the connection we have with the world we live in. Maybe that comes from my deep appreciation of life and past experiences where I have really seen how precious and fleeting it all can seem. I want to inspire a connection with life, sense of spirituality, the art of living, and to essentially help people.
Author: Alexis Sargent Photos: Toning the Om. Katharina Knoll.
