The giant bowl of Lacy Waltermeyer’s “Soon-to-be-Famous Avocado Salad” was emptied in a flash at a cooking event at Spud’s Produce Market last month. One attendee threatened to lick the inside of the bowl.
“People were just so receptive…and there was really nothing fancy, just pairing things together,” Waltermeyer says.
She chopped and scooped as customers nibbled on hummus-stuffed cucumber slices, dates filled with goat cheese and a skewered version of a tomato, basil and mozzarella salad.
Despite the simple combinations, many are intimidated by the preparation of fresh fruits and vegetables, Waltermeyer and her business partner, Diane Boesenberg, say. What to serve beyond a plate of crudités?
The two know how to answer that question, but they’re brimming with more than recipe ideas. In fact, they’re trained to educate people about cooking and the importance of food to health. In June, they launched Wellness from Within, an Olympia-based nutritional therapy practice.
Waltermeyer and Boesenberg promote wellness and a positive body image for their clients, offering health guidance based on in-depth, individualized assessments. The two have a passion for “health over the scale,” encouraging clients to shift their thinking and goals from weight loss alone to overall health.
“We focus on healing with whole foods and nutrition and supplements,” Boesenberg says. “We do a lot of nutritional counseling and teaching people how to balance foods for whole health.”
Services listed on their website reflect the philosophy. They offer not only individualized and group nutritional therapy but longer format jump-start programs and practical services such as cooking classes, meal planning and a “kitchen clean-out.”
They approach their work with an infectious, positive perspective and employ the same can-do attitude with clients that helped them transform their Eastside office into a warm, re-floored classroom and consultation space.
Clients seek help for a variety of needs, such as irritable bowel syndrome, lack of energy or dissatisfaction with weight. Though goals vary, the big picture is always the same: to address a person’s overall health by examining food and drink intake and providing guidance to help clients alter food and lifestyle choices.
“There’s so much you can do to help a person – nutritionally, with supplements and good food and then eliminating a lot of foods,” says Boesenberg, who has eight years of experience in the field.
One of Waltermeyer’s clients, Marci, started out seeing her for help with maintaining an exercise routine. After a number of sessions she realized that if she didn’t address her lifestyle choices comprehensively she would feel the same on her upcoming wedding day as she did much of the time: sluggish and jumping from one soda craving to the next.
One of the first nutritional goals Lacy laid out for her was “hydration, hydration, hydration.” Marci says she was severely dehydrated and addicted to diet sodas, which she consumed at the rate of 14 cans per day.
Following Lacy’s guidelines, her cravings abated within a matter of days and by continuing with her individualized program, she was able to make the switch to water. It worked.
“In the process of giving up the diet soda, I lost 20 pounds. Which was not the goal. The goal was never to be a size zero,” she says. “It was always to be healthy and vibrant on my wedding day, and I was. And I can’t thank her enough.”
Two months after her wedding, and a year after her initial appointment, Marci continues weekly appointments at Wellness From Within and says she feels “fantastic.”
Waltermeyer and Boesenberg are thrilled with results such as these from their clients, but they aren’t surprised. The two, who met because they’re next door neighbors, are both certified nutritional therapists through the Nutritional Therapy Association, an international organization that has its roots in Olympia.
According to the group, “Nutritional Therapists are trained to help each client find the right types of whole foods that will restore balance and enhance their ability to heal.”
Practitioners in the field, which was formerly rolled into the overarching discipline of naturopathy, employ a holistic approach to health of the body and the way it relates to food for a particular person. They hold that a different nutritional approach is required for each person, a concept called “bio-individuality.”
Waltermeyer and Boesenberg see this play out over and over again as they evaluate clients, assessing their views of and habits surrounding food, and suggest custom routines and lifestyle changes.
“People aren’t necessarily very in touch with their bodies,” Waltermeyer says. “They feel like, ‘Oh that’s completely normal to have pain after I eat every time…that’s just who I am.’ So they don’t recognize that as a symptom.”
It’s a far cry from one-size-fits-all dieting programs. Though they do offer programs designed for people whose primary concern is weight loss, they don’t wish to brand themselves as a weight-loss clinic, a label they say doesn’t come close to encompassing all they do.
“We do guidance and helping to create meal plans,” Waltermeyer explains, “but really we want to teach people how to heal their bodies with foods and also eat for life.”
Lacy’s Soon-To-Be-Famous Avocado Salad
6 large avocados, peeled, pitted and chopped
4 tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeds removed and chopped
1 head of garlic, smashed
1 red onion, finely chopped
6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 teaspoons lime juice
sea salt and pepper to taste
Mix avocados, tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, jalapeno, garlic and red onion together. Stir in olive oil, vinegar and lime juice. Gently stir in feta and add salt and pepper to taste.
This is great by itself, used as a dip or on top of a grilled chicken breast.
Upcoming Wellness from Within events:
Pioneer PTA Healthy Kids’ Lunch Class
Wednesday, January 16
6:00-7:00 p.m. in the Pioneer Elementary School Library.
Wellness from Within at Spud’s Produce Market
Thursday, January 17
5:00-7:00 p.m.
115 McCormick ST NE, Suites 2 and 3
Olympia, WA 98506
(360) 915-2187
wellnessfromwithin@hotmail.com
More information on Lacy:
