Today you get to "meet" Heather Bauer - founder of Bestowed - a monthly box delivery service filled with the latest and greatest health food products.
I "met" Heather in 2013 Kookie Karma {my company} was apart of their monthly boxes. I've always, of course, been a fan of this service and wanted everybody to meet them and get a taste of what they are all about. So I'm very excited to announce that we're giving away a FREE 3 MONTHS of Bestowed. We're giving this away to not 1 but 3 lucky PUREmama readers! YAY!
I had the opportunity to interview Heather as well. She's super cool. She's a mom. And she's an entrepreneur. I loved her from the moment I read her bio. I know you'll love her too and her Bestowed goodie box as well.
PUREmamas: Tell us more about Bestowed & your daily routine at the office?
Heather: Bestowed is a subscription service that introduces consumers to the best healthy food. Our model is about discovering healthy foods you'll fall in love with. Each month our members receive a box filled with 5 or more amazing nutrition & lifestyle products delivered to their door (all products are hand picked by myself and our team). After working with thousands of clients the last 12 years (I am a registered dietitian by the way!), I realized clients who successfully lost weight were still coming back...but for what, I asked??
Clients wanted my shopping lists, they wanted to know what was the best new cereal or bar or yogurt or dressing..and they shared it with their friends. And Bestowed was born...
Our typical bestowed day goes like this. I wake up and go for a run before the kids are up around 5:30. I always feel a run clears my head and my day is much better afterwards. Once our 3 kids are out the door (Zander, Harlan & Hayes) for nursery school my team hits the computers. We stay busy calling our brand partners, organizing logistics for the monthly box, work on press pieces and of course juggle all our social media channels--instagram, twitter, facebook and pinterest. On the days I work at my counseling practice Nu-train (in NYC, 3 days a week) I actually run to the train station with my back pack at 5:15 am, take the 5:47 train so I can be at my office on 70th and Park Ave by 7 am (I change in my office!!). I see clients back to back for most of the day, and when I have breaks I work on everything related to Bestowed. I take the 3:33 train back to Westport so I can be home by 5 with my kids. I love the commute because I can continue interviews, work calls, and use that hour to get a ton of work done!
P: Why health food? How did you get interested in health?
H: I LOVE health food! I am a health food junkie I guess 🙂 - I became interested in nutrition in high school. I was always a competitive runner and I learned early on how important my diet was in my performance. I was one of 3 kids growing up and my mom said I was always her "best" eater. I have always loved food, tasting new dishes, trying new foods and going to the food store. My love of food and interest in health made the field of nutrition a home run for me. Most people have this perception of health food tasting bad or healthy but that means tasteless. I have found the opposite. First of all, the cleaner you eat the better healthy food tastes!
Have you ever noticed when you fall off track and eat a ton of refined processed junk suddenly the apples and broccoli just don't seem appealing? Well the cleaner people eat, the cleaner their taste buds get and the better food all around tastes.
My approach in nutrition has always been lifestyle oriented. If you are a busy mom, that works, travels, commutes...you can STILL eat well and feel good. You just have to learn how to eat for that lifestyle.
P: You're a mother to 3 children, 2 of which are twins. You're a busy mom to say the least. Feeding kids well can be a challenge when you're not constantly managing. Do you have any rules at home when it comes to food?
H: I try to be relaxed with my kids about their diet, I don't want to make them crazy. BUT I am still a mom and of course at some point we all need some rules to keep our houses sane. The one rule in our house is one treat a day. My kids love to save this for dessert mostly--it could be an organic fudge pop or sorbet or baked apple. Lately we like almond milk with some organic chocolate powder mixed in...and we make hot chocolate. I also try to encourage them to pick one "fun" snack - like pirates bootie or spelt pretzels or late july cheddar crackers - and then it has to be a organic string cheese, piece of fruit, cut up veggies. I hate the idea of my kids snacking from 3-5 non-stop even though this is their hungriest time because they never eat their dinner. The one fun snack and then a fruit/veggie/cheese seems to help. So, I guess I have 2 rules, :).
P: Any tips for us? What is your kids' favorite lunch?
H: Try to be creative with your kids food and change it up. Get them involved as much as possible from food shopping (my kids are obsessed with going to trader joes and using their cute mini carts) to prepping their food. They can actually be great at chopping (with safe soft knives!), stirring and more. My kids are obsessed with NuttZo on whole wheat and I cut the sandwiches in shapes using cookie cutter (butterfly & car shapes). I take the NuttZo and add a packet of Nektar Naturals honey crystals (our newest favorite all natural sweetener--try this instead of syrup or agave). You heat up the NuttZo for 30 seconds with the honey and stir it, delish...and then I slice up bananas over the NuttZo. I always serve lunch with fruit, now they are all into pears and I sprinkle some cinnamon on top. I usually serve an organic yogurt tube that I keep frozen. My kids are all also obsessed with roasted seaweed.
P: Tell us about your weekend? What's a weekend like for your family in NYC?
H: We lived in Tribeca for years and moved to the suburbs, Westport, Connecticut about a year ago. We always wake up and run. We either take shifts, I like the early shift so I can be there when the kids wake up and my husband goes when I get back. When the weather is warm I use the double running stroller and my husband grabs the single and we'll run to the beach...its just about 4 miles from our house. When the weather is nice after our run we'll take our dog and kids to the beach or for a hike. We love to be outside as much as possible!! My twins still nap for over two hours, yay, so we race home by 12:30 to get them to bed.
While the boys nap I have special Zander time which could be going for a mani with her or playing with barbies or maybe a fun coloring session. Every Saturday night is date night. I usually feed the kids & bathe them before we go out. Recently the kids love having their own sleep over party the night we go out, so I put a blow up mattress between the cribs (its hysterical). I love it!!!
Sunday is the same except we try to go out with with kids for a 5:30 dinner. It's always interesting with 3 little ones being in a restaurant, not always the most relaxing but the kids absolutely love it!!!
P: Thank you Heather. What a fun life you have. Now for the giveaway...scroll down!
CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED BUT PLEASE ENJOY THE DISCOUNT CODE INFO BELOW:
ALL READERS WILL GET TO USE THE puremamas13 CODE AT CHECK OUT TO RECEIVE 20% OFF OF 6 MONTHS OF SUBSCRIPTION AWESOME. --- offer only valid through March 31st. So hurry!
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