Category: Healthy Living

I love sharing tips and tricks for a high-protein well-balanced way of eating. My goal is to show you that eating healthy can be easy, affordable, and delicious.

Know the Gospel of Grace

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Gospel of Grace: Spiritual Health Comes First

If you only make one change for your health, let it be this- know the Gospel of Grace. If your spiritual and eternal health isn’t in order, then don’t even think about your physical health. The importance of that pales in comparison. This life is temporary. Sure, eating healthy and exercising can give you a better quality of life, but what’s the point if you’re headed for an eternity in Hell? I know that sounds rough, but the truth is loving no matter how hard it is.

Gospel of Grace: Assurance of a Healthy Eternity

We went to a memorial service recently. That and the fact that we’ve unexpectedly lost two different young family friends this past year has me thinking about what really matters. I praise the Lord for the fact that I know they put their trust in the Gospel of Grace and will spend eternity with the Lord instead of being separated from Him (in Hell). I also thank the Lord for the fact that I have this same assurance. If I die today or in seventy years I know exactly where I’m going.

Gospel of Grace: Have You Trusted in it?

As we consider your spiritual health I have a question for you to think about-

Do you know where you’ll spend your eternity?

Think about your answer and we’ll circle back to the question. I want you to be absolutely 100% sure on this matter. I desire for your spiritual health to be thriving.

Gospel of Grace: The Bad News

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23

According to Romans, a book of the Bible, we’re all born spiritually sick. We all have a sin sickness. This can look like selfishness, anger, lust, pride, lying…the list goes on and on. It’s like we’re born with a cancer we can do nothing about that’s slowly killing us.

God is equally just as He is loving. This means that He can not just “let it slide” when we sin. If a human judge let the guilty go free in our day, we would call him corrupt. But God is not corrupt, He is a perfect judge. Because of this, He can not let anything imperfect into His presence (heaven). The standard for perfection isn’t measured against the girl next door, it is measured against Him alone. And we do not measure up.

The bottom line is that our sin sickness is sending every one of us straight to Hell, no exception. We all have it. Nobody (except for Jesus) is born free of this sin sickness.

It’s terrible news, isn’t it?

But the story doesn’t end there. There’s good news. There is a cure.

Gospel of Grace: The Cure

God is equally loving as He is just. He saw this bad news and provided a solution to the problem.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  John 3:16

God’s son is Jesus. Though He never sinned, He was condemned as a criminal and died on a cross. He did not die because He deserved it. He, in His matchless grace, traded Himself (the innocent) for us (the guilty). He took the punishment upon Himself for us so that we would not have to. God placed all sin upon Jesus, He paid for it all. No word, work, or ritual that we could do could pay this astronomical price. To God, only Jesus’ blood is a satisfactory payment.

And He didn’t stay dead.

He rose from the grave victorious, defeating forever the power of sin and death.

Let’s circle back to John 3:16. It says “whoever believes in Him has eternal life”. Think about the cancer idea again. Let’s say it’s terminal. But you find out a doctor has developed a procedure to cure it. Are you immediately healed because the cure exists? No, you would have to trust that his cure would work and have the procedure done. That’s the only way the cure could personally do you any good.

Similarly, you have to choose for yourself to trust in Jesus’ payment for you on the cross. That is the only way His cure would personally do you any good. As a result of your trust in Him He freely gives you eternal life with God (Heaven) instead of the punishment you rightly deserved (Hell).

Once you trust that, your sin sickness no longer determines your destination. Instead, Jesus’ perfection determines your destination. Because Jesus’ payment satisfied God nothing you can do (good or bad) can change His mind.

“He (God) forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.” Colossians 2:13-14

Gospel of Grace: Where Do You Stand?

Let’s circle back to your answer to my question. If you’ve trusted in Jesus, your eternity with God in Heaven is sure, if you haven’t trusted, the opposite is true. My prayer is that if you haven’t already, you will choose today to trust in Him.

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” John 3:17-18

Gospel of Grace: Further Resources

If you have more questions about spiritual health, leave a comment or send me an email (eliza.noel.writes@gmail.com). I’d love to talk with you! Here are some other good resources as well.

5 Habits That Improved My Menstrual Cycle Health

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Menstrual Cycle Health: The Fifth Vital Sign

The menstrual cycle is referred to as the fifth vital sign by Lily Nichols and Lisa Hendrickson-Jack, the authors of “Real Food for Fertility” (a book I highly recommend). They say that how your cycle is doing is an indicator of your overall health, just like your heart rate, body temperature, respiratory rate, and blood pressure are. A cycle length outside of the range of 24-35 days could be a sign of an underlying health problem.

Please note, while I am a certified health coach, I am by no means a doctor. I’m just sharing what worked personally for me in hopes that it will be helpful for you.

Ever since I was a teenager, my menstrual cycle has been inconsistent and often far too long. And from talking to friends, I know I’m not the only one who has experienced this. Personally, I was quick to Google symptoms and come up with all kinds of scary diagnoses for myself. It turns out, all I needed was to make some simple healthy lifestyle choices. This might not work for everyone, but I highly recommend shooting for consistency with these five habits for up to a year and seeing what happens.

Menstrual Cycle Health: 5 Healthy Habits

These are the five habits I implemented the year my menstrual cycle finally became regular.

  1. Exercising regularly.
    A few months before my cycle started consistently being in the normal range (24-35 days), I started exercising regularly. In the beginning, this looked like lifting heavy weights for an hour in the gym. Now this looks like twenty-minute workout videos done in my living room 3 times per week. Different budgets and schedules will allow different things. Just move your body somehow.
  2. Taking Inositol every night.
    Inositol is a supplement that’s also called Vitamin B8. It’s mentioned in the Trim Healthy Wisdom book as a recommendation for women who have PCOS symptoms. Aside from improving menstrual cycle health, it also improves sleep quality. I’d probably taken this consistently for at least 5 months before I saw an obvious change.
  3. Cutting out sugar and refined flours.
    Real Food for Fertility states that diets high in sugar are often associated with hormonal imbalances and other issues. About 10 months before my cycle changed for the better, I started cutting out sugar and refined flours. Maybe 4 months before the change, I started taking that more seriously. I still don’t stick to it perfectly, but now most sweets I eat are sweetened with natural sweeteners, and most baked goods I consume have been soured, soaked or sprouted. My reason behind these things was because they were kinder for my blood sugar levels and therefore helped me maintain a healthy weight. Turns out what’s kinder for my blood sugar is also kinder for my menstrual cycle health.
  4. Focusing on protein.
    I always knew protein was important, but I didn’t understand just how important until recently. Trim Healthy Wisdom set a new standard for protein goals and I started taking that seriously. Again, when I started doing this it was so I could reach and maintain a healthy weight. But it turns out it also affects my menstrual health. See this recent post by Trim Healthy Mama to read some of the many benefits of protein.
  5. Eating well-balanced meals.
    God created all the food groups, and it turns out to be healthy women we need all of them (crazy how it’s almost like he knew that, huh?). I don’t cut food groups out. I make sure that every day I get at least a little bit of both healthy carbs and healthy fats. I’ve grown to crave both. If it’s been too long since I’ve had a fat meal, I start to feel it and quickly make a peanut butter smoothie or something with lots of butter and cheese. The same goes for healthy carbs.

I’m not sure which one of these habits played the biggest role in making my menstrual cycle regular, but my guess is that they all played a part. Many of these habits I implemented simply because I chose to live the Trim Healthy lifestyle. At that point, I wasn’t specifically thinking about menstrual health. Implementing little healthy lifestyle changes goes a lot further than we realize.

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Make Some Healthy Changes

If you’re looking to make healthy lifestyle changes, but don’t know where to start, I’d love to help. Being a certified healthy lifestyle coach, my job is to teach and cheer ladies on in their health journeys. I’d love the opportunity to walk alongside you! If you want more details about the health coaching packages I offer visit my health coaching page. I also offer a free 15-minute phone consultation. I’d be honored to get to know you and where you’re at!

Easy No Recipe Trim Healthy Mama Friendly Meal Ideas

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The other day I vlogged about all of the meals and snacks I ate throughout my whole day (you can find that vlog at the end of this post). Here’s the fun thing about the food I ate- I didn’t plan ahead, and I didn’t use recipes. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I’m all about meal planning and recipes. Other times I just don’t have the brain space (or maybe budget) for that. This particular day, I kept it simple. All I did was look to see what was in my fridge, throw it together, and eat it. There are endless ways this can be done, but here’s what I did just to get your imagination running.

Simple No-recipe THM-friendly Meal Ideas

  • Scrambled Eggs (S) So many options here! I mixed random veggies I found in my fridge and some sausage in with my eggs. I also wanted just a few carbs and something sweet, so I sliced up a few strawberries on the side. For your scrambled eggs you could add in whatever meats, cheese, egg whites, literally any vegetable…the list goes on and on. You could even throw the eggs in a low carb tortilla for a breakfast burrito.
  • Lavender Tea (All Day Sipper) I wasn’t ready for caffeine yet, but I wanted a warm drink. All I put in the tea was stevia so it would be considered a sipper and not interfere with any of my fuelings. You could do this with any kind of tea! Another favorite hot drink of mine has been Good Girl Moonshine made with hot water. But if you’re avoiding recipes don’t do that one!
  • Coffee with Cream, Small Spoonful of Peanut Butter, and EAA’s for protein (S) Not much more to say about that. I’ve been enjoying a mid-morning coffee break, and I always try to get some protein in and some sort of snack along with it.
  • Soup and Strawberry Protein Kefir (light XO) The soup was actually leftover from a previous meal, all I had to do was reheat it. When I originally made it I boiled thinly sliced potatoes in fatty bone broth, added other veggies, canned chicken, gelatin, and seasonings. Again, this is something you can make with literally whatever you have in your kitchen. I’m sure you could make it any fuel type as well. I wasn’t sure there was enough chicken left in the soup so I supplemented protein with my strawberry kefir drink. Here’s what it was- scoop of whey protein, kefir (you could use almond milk), dash of stevia, and strawberries quickly blended.
  • Whole Wheat Sourdough Toast with Jam (E) Honest confession here, this snack did not have protein like it should have. It would have been a better snack if I had added another protein drink or some cottage cheese. Just including this so you know I’m not perfect.
  • Chicken Stir-fry with Brown Rice (E) This was another just grab all the veggies and cook them up meal. I fried the veggies in a little bit of coconut oil and drizzled a sauce over them. My sauce included chicken broth, brown sugar truvia, ginger powder, paprika, soy sauce…but there are so many ways you can do it. In my opinion, you can’t go wrong with a quick stir-fry. I used instant brown rice and cooked some chicken in my Instant Pot. But you can use whatever meat you want! You could also omit the rice and add more oil to make it an S.
  • Skinny Chocolate (S) Ok, this was one thing that was from a recipe. But in my defense, it was already prepped. I didn’t have to make it that day. You could also buy some Lily’s chocolate or really dark chocolate for an easy on-plan dessert fix.

Simple THM Meal Ideas on Instagram

Where are you on your health journey?

As a Certified Trim Healthy Lifestyle coach, my goal is to make healthy living simple and affordable for other women. I do a lot of just using ingredients that I have and I want to teach other ladies how to do that as well. Are you confused by all of this S and E stuff? One-on-one coaching or my self-taught course could be a good fit for you. Already understand Trim Healthy Mama, but you need accountability and new ideas? Consider joining my group coaching program. Wherever you’re at, I would love to chat with you. I offer a free phone consultation with no commitment. You can sign up for that below.

Pear Butter//THM-Friendly E, Low-fat, Sugar-free Spread

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My THM-Friendly recipe for Pear Butter is simple to make, sugar-free, and will help your home smell delicious.  I used to make Acorn Squash bread and apple butter for Thanksgiving each year. This year, I decided to make healthy alternatives, and I went with pear butter instead of apple butter because it’s what I had on hand. You could use different kinds of fruit with this recipe. Consider trying it with apples and/or plums!

Health Benefits of the Pear Butter

  • Pears are nutritious. This fruit is in season in Autumn, high in fiber, and good for your heart health. You can learn more on Healthline.com .
  • It’s a healthy carb source. If you spread some of this on a slice of soured or sprouted bread you’ll be getting just the right amount of carbs for a Trim Healthy Mama E meal. Just have a protein drink or some other lean protein on the side.

THM-Friendly E Recipe for Pear Butter

Ingredients:

  • 12 pears roughly cut into chunks (don’t bother peeling them)
  • 1 cup water
  • ¼ tsp. Pure Stevia Extract Powder
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
  • 1 tsp. Cinnamon
  • ½ tsp. Nutmeg
  • ½ tsp. Cloves
  1. Place all of the ingredients in a pot or crockpot and cook on low until the pears are very soft. After that, let the mixture cool before blending it in a blender. Use immediately or store it in the fridge. This goes great on soured, soaked or sprouted bread! I’ve also added it to oatmeal.

Download this THM Friendly E recipe card!

Pear Butter Free Download Recipe Card Trim Healthy MamaDownload

Where are you on your health journey?

I love learning more about health! The plan I follow (Trim Healthy Mama) balances food groups beautifully, cuts out sugar, and emphasizes the need for high protein. It’s super personalizable for budget, preferences, allergies, phase of life, and goals (weight loss, gaining muscle, healthy weight gain, working through health issues, getting more energy, etc.).

Are you interested in learning more about healthy living?

As a certified Trim Healthy Lifestyle Coach my goal is to show ladies how healthy living can be affordable, simple and delicious. If you interested in learning more schedule a free 15 minute health consultation!

My Trim Healthy Mama Journey: 2025 in Review

Eliza Noel4 Comments

2025 was my year for growing in health. Let’s back up real quick. I’m the odd person who loves Mondays. I love the fresh start to the week and healthy routines. Because of that, I also love New Year’s. I love reflecting on the past year as well as looking forward to the new one. This past year, I turned back to the the Trim Healthy Mama ways of eating. And this time I took it way more seriously. On top of that, my husband started coaching me in doing heavy weight lifting. Getting to do healthy living alongside my husband is so sweet! Having someone else help keep me accountable is absolutely the best.

If this post and health in general catches your interest, please sign up for my email list now. I send free recipes and helpful tips there.

My Trim Healthy Mama History

I talk a bit about my Trim Healthy Mama story on my health coaching page, but I wanted to talk about it here, too. Trim Healthy Mama is a healthy way of life (not a restrictive diet) that includes all the food groups and is super customizable. There are tweaks you can do whether you’re wanting to lose weight, gain weight, are pregnant/nursing or are in menopause. There’s a way of doing it that fits every stage. I was first introduced to this plan by my parents back in 2012. Then, as I grew up, I had a loose understanding of what it was.

At age 19 I spent a summer in Tennessee and got to know the creators of the plan, Pearl Barrett and Serene Allison. After getting to know them, I decided I wanted to start eating the Trim Healthy Mama way myself. I was at an age where if I ate ice cream and treats several times a week it would actually start showing up in my weight. I knew as a young adult that my health was my responsibility.

I made healthy choices for a while, but how well I stuck to it fluctuated depending on life circumstances. The toughest time to stick to it was when I was in Bible school. By the end of my two years there, I’d gained 20 lbs., my energy was low, and my immune system wasn’t great. This brings us to 2025.

My Trim Healthy Mama Journey in 2025

The Story

After Christmas 2024, my husband and I knew something needed to change. Our goal has always been a healthy and active lifestyle, but we weren’t actively making healthy choices. January 1st, we got back on the Trim Healthy Mama plan just using knowledge I had from previous times I had been on it. I started off the year without knowing the importance of protein and struggling to find easy go-to recipes. Looking back, I realized previous times I’d done Trim Healthy Mama, I hadn’t been eating enough. That’s not the proper way to do Trim Healthy Mama. It’s not a plan of starvation, it’s a plan where you fuel your body and are satisfied by healthy foods. Let me share some specifics of how our health journey grew this past year.

The new book, Trim Healthy Wisdom, is 950 pages long and jam-packed with wisdom that I’ve started implementing in my own life and can’t wait to share as a health coach!

Highlights

  • We found thrifty ways to do healthy living. I learned to shop sales, focus on affordable ingredients, and use what’s already in my kitchen. “Eating healthy is too expensive” is an easy excuse, but I’m sorry, it’s not a good one. There’s a way to do it on any budget.
  • Tried out and chose our favorite go-to Trim Healthy Mama recipes. The first year of our marriage I think I made cooking harder than it needed to be. I often tried new recipes every night. This also made our grocery bill higher because I was buying a lot of ingredients instead of finding creative ways to use what I had. Now I’m better at just throwing together what I have or leaning on my favorite recipes. Here are a few that I love:
  • Lost the college weight. Remember that 20 lbs. of college weight I gained? I was able to lose it all! Healthy living isn’t all about weight (there are so many other factors), but it is fun when the scale starts reflecting the effort I’m putting in.
  • Healed a dairy allergy. My husband used to be allergic to dairy. We introduced homemade kefir (so easy to make!) into our daily diet and now he can handle dairy! It doesn’t work that way for everyone, but it could be worth a try. Also, kefir is incredible for your gut health!
  • Incorporated working out into our schedule. We found the cheapest bare minimum gym membership in our area and got one. Going to the gym together has been so fun. Nutrition is my specialty, but my husband knows way more about strength training than I do. I enjoy getting to learn from him. If going to the gym isn’t possible for you, there are always home workouts you can do!
  • Better immune systems. We got sick so many less times in 2025 compared to 2024. I think the healthy eating, specifically avoiding sugar, helped our immune systems a lot. Aside from just catching colds, I used to be nauseous a lot and now that rarely ever happens.
  • More energy. Healthy eating and working out has given me more energy. Of course, getting good sleep also plays into this.
  • The Lord grew me in the area of spiritual health, too. I absolutely love working on physical health, but that’s not nearly as important as spiritual health. Looking back, the Lord has helped us grow in such a sweet community and fellowship at our local church. He’s used the teaching there to grow me, correct my thinking, and convict me. The Lord showed me that I treated my devotional time as more of a checklist where I tried to get through my daily reading plan. More recently I’ve been enjoying just slowly working through different books of the Bible and prayer journaling as I go. It makes my time more about learning and fellowshipping with the Lord rather than “just getting it done and staying on track”.

Goals for My Health Journey in 2026

I’m so excited to keep growing and establishing healthy habits this next year! Here are a few things I’m hoping to work on.

  • Better circadian rhythm. I’m excited to learn more about how to have a better circadian rhythm. Some little habits I’ve started implementing are being outside as the sun rises and waiting to have a coffee a few hours after I naturally wake up.
  • Up my protein a little more. This year I learned about how foundational protein is. It’s the building block for essentially everything- muscle growth, weight loss, hair and skin health…the list goes on and on. For the past several months I’ve tried to get in at least four meals or snacks of 25 g of protein each. This next year I’d like to add on a little bit more.
  • More consistent strength training. I’d like to be more consistent with working out at least 3 times a week. It can be hard to schedule it in, but I know it’s so worth it.
  • Sharing devotionals on my blog. Like I said, spiritual health is the most important kind of health. I’d like that to be reflected here on Pure Healthy Living & Literature. I look forward to hopefully writing and sharing devotional thoughts here on the blog.
  • Coach other ladies along in their health journey. I’m so excited to start coaching other ladies in their health journeys! This is something I’ve dreamed about since I was 19 and I’ve put so much thought into this past year. I’m passionate about sustainable healthy living and I want to be part of other ladies’ health journeys.

Are you interested in growing in healthy living?

I would absolutely love to coach you along in your health journey. My goal is to get to know each individual woman and come up with a healthy living plan that fits their needs and lifestyle. Click below to schedule a free health consultation over the phone with no commitment. We’ll talk through where you’re at in your health journey, what your goals are, and whether or not Pure Healthy Coaching could be a good fit for you.

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