Hi there! Welcome to Hungry Hobby! 

I'm an Arizona-born and raised food lover who started blogging over a decade ago while juggling grad school and learning to cook on a student budget. What began as a way to share my journey to becoming a Dietitian has grown into a collection of 600+ recipes—each one created to nourish your body without skimping on flavor.

While I do post EVERY recipe I make here on the site, you can also follow along with me on Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and Youtube!

My story isn’t your typical food blogger origin story. I wasn’t raised by a foodie or handed down generations of cherished family recipes, but I love food all the same. I grew up in the ‘90s with a single mom who relied heavily on fast food to keep things afloat, and when I wasn’t with her, I was with my grandma, who served up traditional Southern poor man’s food—think canned green beans, fried spam, and fried frozen okra.

Honestly, food wasn’t even on my radar. I ate that way (read mostly fast food) through college, where I earned a degree in business management. But trying to lose the weight I’d gained in college (more on that below) changed everything. I realized how little I knew about both nutrition and cooking—and that realization led me to pursue a master’s degree in nutrition.

Overwhelmed (and fascinated) by everything I was learning, especially cooking, I started a blog to document the journey. I graduated with my Master's in Nutrition, became a Registered Dietitian, and a few years later, that blog eventually became my full-time job. 

From meals that worked for a newlywed couple on a budget to recipes that fuel a now “middle-aged” (ugh) mom of three maintaining a 55-pound postpartum weight loss—this space has always been about what works in real life. Today, Hungry Hobby is both my full-time food blog and my private functional nutrition practice, and I feel so grateful to share it with you.

What you'll find on Hungry Hobby:

• 🥗 600+ Real-Food Recipes – Nutritious, flavor-packed meals designed for busy families and real-life routines.
• 🍽️ Healthy Hacks & Meal Prep Tips – Because I love to cook… just not at 5pm on a Tuesday with hangry kids melting down.
• 🧠 A Balanced Nutrition Philosophy – Whole foods when it counts, smart shortcuts when it makes sense—plus an eye on macros and calories for sustainable results.
• 📚 Free Resource Library – Includes weekly high-protein meal plans, downloadable recipe ebooks, and functional health guides to support gut health, hormones, and metabolism.
• 🛍️ Friday Favorites & No-Nonsense Picks – Weekly recaps of everything I’m loving as a millennial mom, Dietitian, and fellow human trying to keep it together—spicy book recs included.

What you won't find on Hungry Hobby: 

• 🚫 Diet Culture Nonsense – No 1,200-calorie meal plans, detox teas, or fear-mongering about carbs here
• 🥱 Complicated Gourmet Recipes – If it requires a blow torch, ten specialty ingredients, or three hours of your life, it’s not making the cut 
• ❌ One-Size-Fits-All Advice – Your nutrition needs are as unique as your schedule (and your kids’ snack demands). No cookie-cutter plans here.
• 🎉 Food Shaming or Ingredient Snobbery – I’m not clutching my pearls over red dye 40 at a birthday party, but I’m also not sautéing with Splenda or serving glow-in-the-dark yogurt at home (usually.) 

To get you started, here are a few of my most popular recipes:

• Banana Oatmeal Muffins
• 25 Trader Joe's Dinner Ideas
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Mug Cake
• Oat Flour Banana Bread
• Protein Powder Pancakes

I'm so glad you are here! If you have't already make sure you can access the Library of Resources where I share weekly meal plans (FOR FREE), recipe ebooks, and nutrition guides!

Want to know more about me? My Weight Loss Story & Passion for Metabolic Recovery

In 2009, I’d gained about 25 pounds in college and lost it the millennial way—on a steady diet of willpower, excessive cardio, and 1,200 calories a day of ultra-processed food. I didn’t know how to cook, and I definitely didn’t understand real nutrition or sustainable weight loss.

I signed up for one of those online calorie-counting programs that gave me a cookie-cutter goal: 1,200 calories a day. And while I did lose the weight—thanks to extreme deprivation and hours of cardio—I had no idea I was wrecking my metabolism, destroying my hormones, and setting myself up for a long road to recovery.

After coming off birth control, I didn’t get a period for five years. My metabolism was in the tank. I struggled with a debilitating back injury. It took thousands of hours, dollars, and deep personal work to begin rebuilding—not just my body, but my understanding of what health actually means.

I’ve since devoted my career to learning everything I can about hormones, metabolism, and functional nutrition—and helping others avoid the path I took the hard way.

And I healed my hormones, metabolism, and was able to get pregnant naturally three times. 

After each of my pregnancies, I lost 50–55 pounds the right way—focusing on whole foods, balanced nutrition, and incorporating strength training. It wasn’t fast (each time took about a year), but it was sustainable, and I’m proud of every step of that journey.

I took everything I learned—both from my own hard-earned mistakes and my professional training—and poured it into my metabolism course (Fuel to Fire: Metabolism 101). It’s the resource I wish I had back when I was relying on 1,200 calories and cardio to “fix” my body.

I also fixed Mr. Hungry's IBS and chronic migraines with a functional nutrition approach (see my functional medicine profiles with IFM and healthprofs.)

The blog—and its related social channels—have become a space where I share what actually works: for me, for my clients, and for my family. It’s where my life as a Dietitian intersects with my life as a mom of three (all six and under as of 2024).

Somewhere along the way, I discovered that I love cooking—even if I had to teach myself. That said, I don’t love cooking at 5pm on a weeknight with three hungry, chaotic little humans. So I share the meals we love—the ones that get us through this season of life with some joy and a whole lot of flexibility.

I’m honored to have you along for the ride!