About

Welcome and thank you so much for dropping by! My name is Michelle and I’ve been blogging about my weight loss journey since 2009. While my blog has had a huge focus on weight loss, these days I’m all about sharing my real food philosophy. 

I live in New Zealand, this is an incredibly beautiful country which I am proud to call home. I am married to my childhood sweetheart of 15 years and we have a gorgeous character bungalow on the coast. I run my own business doing clothing alterations and repairs and I have a huge passion for cooking, fashion, design and all things girly but I’m your typical kiwi gal who can change a car tyre, get messy in the outdoors all while wearing lippy! I’m certainly not afraid of hard work! I started blogging because of weight loss and I found it a therapeutic outlet to express myself.



I have been cooking and sewing since I was a kid, I was born to be a homemaker just like my Mum. I have always enjoyed creating beautiful dishes and beautiful clothing. My mum used to say to my siblings that watching was helping and they would just sit there and watch, until I came along and spoke up that watching was doing nothing! Suffice to say that I was in that kitchen helping from quite a young age! I take great joy in the kitchen, it is my therapy and a perfect Sunday for me is cooking hubby a nice big breakfast and then pottering around my house cooking and doing some DIY project followed by a spontaneous dinner with friends at ours. I love to spend time with my family and friends and to fill my home with laughter and love.

I who grew up loving all the typical Kiwi comfort foods like milky milos, marmite on toast, Macaroni Cheese and Potato Bakes! I am a total foodie and love all things related to food and now I have love affair with now growing my own fruit, vegetables and herbs. Life wasn’t alway so peachy, I’ve have a long history with health issues and although the majority of them are gone they sometimes rear their ugly head when I make less than stellar food choices which is why a Real Food approach is how I choose to eat.

I’ve dieted in some form since the age of 16 which was weight watchers, since then I have tried every diet under the sun and struggled with my weight for the majority of my life. At 28 I discovered Primal and have never looked back and I believe that the secret to keeping my weight off has been consistency and eating much of the same foods everyday. 

I don’t like to label myself in particular but I think if I could sum myself up it would be a “flexatarian” (Dr Libby term), I eat a lot of whole foods, loads of leafy greens, veges, starchy veges, fruits, some grains like quinoa and rice now and again, nuts & seeds and good quality eggs, seafood and pasture raised beef, pork, chicken and lamb, and good fats, yes that includes heart healthy saturated fats from natural sources such as butter, coconut oil and lard!  I minimise the processed foods and leave them to a treat day because I find it's really important to find balance.

Instead of getting into the nitty gritty of what balance of macros constitutes as “healthy” I instead focus on micronutrients these days, getting enough vegetables overall is hugely important and I think that’s the one thing we can all agree on. Most people will benefit from giving up fake foods like refined grains and sugars and highly palatable foods that nature could never compete with. While calories do count they aren’t the entire picture and when we focus on calories alone we aren’t nourishing ourselves.  Everyday I notice how food has such an impact on how I feel, food is our most powerful medicine or slowest form of poison and I truly believe that. After learning to grow my own food I have a whole new appreciation for the ecosystem. 

While my relationship with food and my body has been very disordered over the years, I was either on a diet or off a diet and with each one I would just gain it all back with interest. These days my weight is relatively stable and I am learning that in order to be free from the handcuffs of disordered eating I need to love myself for who I am and let go of the control! Not always easy for us women but it’s very empowering.   My change in attitude about weight and food didn’t just change over night, it has evolved over the last 5 years and for the first time in my life I am feeling far more connected to my body, mind and spirit and that feels so good.

This blog is my filter free happy place where I feel comfortable to share my crazy, my favourite design ideas, recipes and food discoveries. My hope is that when you leave my blog you feel encouraged and inspired to live your best life. Quoting the gorgeous Dr Libby "We all care so deeply because we have beautiful hearts”.