Healthy Chicks

Happy Friday, loves! Don’t forget to check out Wednesday’s post on incorporating bone broth into your diet, including a discount from local Boston company Five Way Foods.

Speaking of nourishing food, that brings me to this week’s feature on Healthy Chicks in the Community, a weekly series highlighting rockstar women doing their thang in the wellness community.

As I’ve mentioned before, when I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s I started working with Parsley Health, a high-tech medical practice dedicated to putting the patient first and helping you discover your root cause. Once you sign up for a membership, you’re paired with a Functional Medicine Doctor as well as a health coach.

Lucky for me, I was paired with Elisa Haggarty of Culinary Farmacy who — you guessed it — is this week’s Healthy Chick. I absolutely love Elisa’s whole foods approach to wellness, as she “prescribes” nourishing real food before medication or unnecessary supplements. In a world that I feel is overmedicated and on every pricy supplement in the book (yes, some are necessary), I think it’s refreshing to go back to the basics and use food to help the body heal.

Elisa has taught me so many nuggets of wisdom, from recommending tart cherry juice before bed to help boost melatonin production for a healthy sleep to sharing her incredible digestion elixir with me. She also shares my belief that food is fuel, and dieting is not the answer. Want some nuggets of your own? I’ll let this super smart wellness babe take it from here!

NAME: Elisa Haggarty

DESCRIBE YOUR BUSINESS/LINE OF WORK: I am a Functional Nutritionist and Lifestyle Expert. I work privately and also for two health tech start ups, Parsley Health and Chosen Experiences.

WHERE YOU LIVE: Brooklyn, NY.

HOW YOU SERVE THE COMMUNITY THROUGH YOUR WORK: I provide my audience the opportunity to see how rewarding and enjoyable it is to make dietary and lifestyle upgrades. I believe I am a voice of reason in the realm of nutrition and health dogma. I believe how we view our food and how we eat is just as important as what we eat.

NUMBER ONE PASSION OUTSIDE THE JOB: Playing basketball.

INTENTIONS/GOALS YOU HAVE FOR YOURSELF IN THE NEXT 3 YEARS: To travel to two new continents and bring the companies I work for to the next level in terms of health outcomes and optimizing the user experience. Personally, to continue embracing “maitri”– unconditional loving kindness towards the self and others.

ONE PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’D TELL YOUR CHILDHOOD SELF: The world is rooting for you, embrace who you are.

FOODS THAT MAKE YOU FEEL ALIVE & BRING THE MOST JOY:
Cacao
Avocados
Green Plantains
Greens of all kinds
Truffle Fries

SONG THAT MOVES YOU: “River” by Leon Bridges

THREE FAB THINGS ABOUT YOU:
1) I am a twin to Catherine Haggarty. She is my best friend and one hell of an artist.
2) I believe I make the best chocolate chip cookies on the planet.
3) I don’t own one pair of heels. I own 3 pair’s of Jordan’s. 🙂

FAVORITE BODY PART & WHY: My eyes. People seem to compliment me on them a lot but mostly, they allow me to see this dynamic world. Of all the senses, I think sight is most powerful.

I GET MY INSPIRATION FROM: Moving and being in nature; unplugging is where I recharge and feel most connected to what needs to happen in life.

EXERCISE THAT MAKES YOU SHINE: Playing basketball!

SOMETHING IN YOUR “WELLNESS TOOLBOX” YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT: Quiet time, after 10:00am; I need silence and quiet.

GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: I feel most proud of myself for sitting with depression in my early 20’s. I didn’t run, I faced it, got to know its texture, smell, feel and learned to let it pass. I ran daily, talked to people, journaling, prayed, counted my blessings and got to know the nature of the mind. Those were some hard years but I believe they have prepared me to face the world with a robust toolbox of self healing and a perspective that allows me to stay grounded amidst chaos.

FEMALE LEADERS YOU LOOK UP TO: Andrea Nakayama of The Functional Nutrition Alliance, Pema Chodron, an American Buddhist Nun and the women in my family.

IF YOU COULD PICK ONE PERSON TO HAVE DINNER WITH, WHO WOULD IT BE & WHAT WOULD YOU MAKE THEM: I would pick my Nanna and Grandma. They have passed away but I never got a chance to cook for them and they both really loved each other and a good meal. It would be a blast. I’d probably cook them a hearty red lentil pasta with a beef bolognese.

GO-TO MANTRA OR INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE: “No feeling lasts forever. Just keep moving” -Pema Chodron

MESSAGE YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE WITH OTHER HEALTHY CHICKS: Every day, you have the chance to influence the expression of your genes. Every meal, every jog, every early night in bed helps set you up for success. Health isn’t about expensive retreats or supplements; it’s about what you do on a daily basis.