Fresh Tart

Are you doing everything right but gaining weight, feeling exhausted, and starting to worry you’ll never feel like your healthy, normal self again?

As women approach their 40s, 50s, and beyond, new rules apply.

Stresses get bigger, life gets busier, hormones shift, and so do nutrient needs.

That can make you sad and resigned or…hopeful and ready to learn some new moves.

Many of my clients are doing so many things right but not enough to get the results they desire. That’s frustrating because when you’re making the effort, but not seeing results, it’s scary.

Sad even.

What if you were damn close to getting it right but you just needed some clarity and guidance?

Life is ALWAYS BUSY. Always. Waiting to dive in means you never start. Or change. Learning how to nourish your changing body - on the fly - is the path to success.

When you work with me, we meet 4 times on Zoom and get very specific about how to eat for strength, energy, nourishment, and results.

No guessing. Also: no deprivation. This is about getting full, eating color and flavor and fresh and simply prepared food.

It’s funny.

Shoot me a DM if you’re ready to get it right and to see if I still have spaces open.

xoxo Stephanie

It’s not about lack of willpower.

It’s probably not stress eating.

You’re…hungry and under-nourished and your brain is trying to tell you to make some changes.

Eat a real breakfast.

Eat a real lunch.

Plan a nourishing snack.

THEN see how your evenings go.

xo Stephanie ❤️

Need guidance to get on the right track? Let me know.

One of the best ways to beat the afternoon cravings that derail your health goals is to…

…eat a protein-rich breakfast.

Not just any breakfast, mind you. A breakfast that includes 30 grams of protein, some berries or veggies, and a moderate amount of starch.

That combo is shown to lead to eating naturally fewer calories - and easily making better food choices - the rest of the day.

That’s a pretty powerful effect!

You’re probably guessing what 30 grams of protein looks like for breakfast and you are likely under-shooting it.

It takes some effort to get it right, so I put together these free recipes for you. They’re make-ahead, super delicious, and create breakfasts that change your day.

Grab your copy at the sign up link in comments below and enjoy!

I love the miracle of a good paradigm shift.

That moment when an idea you’ve been struggling with, a problem you’ve been wrestling to solve, morphs into understanding and you finally get the lesson.

To me, coaching is offering reflection and paradigm shifts. New ways to look at old problems. Oftentimes the solution is something quite simple, but, we are all a bit blind to ourselves.

And when it’s not simple, when a big change needs to happen, then shifting into baby step mode and from perfection to progress is the path. And that’s fun too.

I wish you lots of curiosity, humor, and paradigm shifts in 2024.

xoxo Stephanie

Link to listen is in comments, below.

I had an EPIC conversation with these two outstanding men - Ben Quam and Charles Awad - this week. Their Libations for Everyone podcast is smart and hilarious and deep and I was honored to sit and chat with them about food, writing, reading, sensualism, debauchery/deprivation/moderation, cooking (of course), friendship, being tall, foot pics, and fragrance. Among many other things! 💫

I was dreaming of a French getaway and so I brought some picnic treats, namely pork rilletes, roasted grapes, tuna butter (it’s delish, I swear!), cornichon, mustard, and we sipped Charles’ Pernod.

I laughed a LOT. Too much? Never. 🤣

*** C O A C H I N G F L A S H S A L E ***

This weekend only! Sign up now at a discount, start when you like.

In four sessions, learn how to eat for energy, deliciousness, weight loss, keeping and adding muscle, busting cravings, and knowing how to eat wherever you are.

Get out of the starve/overeat rut that is so easy to fall into and that zaps energy, feels depressing, and steals your ability to feel strong and like your best self.

Our goal is vibrancy - energy, humor, healthy mindset, strength, ease around food, feeling good in (and out of ha) your clothes, a plan. ❤️

There’s no time like right now. If you’re tired of your rut, let’s go. Link in bio.

If you have a loved one who would love coaching, send me a DM and we’ll set it up.

xoxo Stephanie

Happy Thanksgiving from Wyoming. ❤️

We held Mom’s memorial this past Saturday and it was one of the best days of my life. My friends and family filled a room at with love and laughter and respect.

My mom would have been astonished, which I love.

I’ll post below the thank you portion of my remarks. We left for Wyoming the next day.

Have a wonderful and delicious holiday. I most certainly am, here with Dad, Susanna, David, Etta, Ian, Blair Bear, and Stacey. ❤️

———————————————

I want to thank Dad, Susanna, Nathan and Samantha, David and Etta, my Meyer aunts and cousins, Mom’s incredible friends, my incredible friends, and my beautiful sister Stacey by telling a brief story. The night that Mom died, I was already texting several friends, because she was supposed to have arrived at the hospital and did not. When I learned of her death, I texted them back. I called my sister, who called Dad. The next morning, coffee was pressed into my hands. That day and into the following days, flowers arrived. Food arrived. Poetry arrived. Money arrived. Dinner invitations arrived. Friends from near and far called and wrote. Friends came and sat with me. Dad & Susanna are hosting this memorial. My friends planned this entire event, the menu, the playlist, the flower arrangements, the notecard, taking family photos, Stacey and I did literally nothing except show up here this evening. We’ve been hosted for a full-moon burn party, we’ve had help cleaning out Mom’s apartment. We have been checked in on and loved and supported at every turn and I will never forget this level of consistent and faithful love. I love you all so much and on behalf of Kirsten, who I think would be quite amazed by this party, and on behalf of Stacey, and myself I thank you with all of my heart.

My beautiful mother passed away last Thursday. My sister and I are heartbroken.

And we’re also relieved that she is no longer in pain. She fought vigorously to live on her own, despite vision loss and frailty. She, my sister, and I have walked some tough paths together, and joyous paths too, and laughed our asses off about it all. Laughter has been our balm and our glue.

A note about my mother, who was gorgeous. She was really fu***ng smart (and liked to swear, so I feel free to say that). She devoured information and formed strong opinions which was sometimes fun and sometimes not fun at all. She loved education, and earned a later in life masters degree, but she never really found a career groove. She was in turns a speech pathologist, a realtor, a therapist, a paralegal. She didn’t like having a boss, which is a problem, and so I like to imagine that in parallel universes she was (is!) a forensic scientist, a marine biologist, a private investigator, and the head of an advocacy group of some sort. She loved all of those things and absolutely loved sticking it to the man, especially a corrupt man.

She also championed her daughters. I have walked through my entire life knowing that I could do no wrong in my mother’s eyes…except beg for her to move into assisted living. That super pi**ed her off. But otherwise, I walked on water. It is hard to imagine the loss of that level of admiration and support.

A note about my sister, who has cared for my mother in the most pure acts of unconditional love I’ve ever witnessed in my life. I am in awe. ❤️

THANK YOU for your kind notes and words, we are so grateful.

With love,
xo Stephanie

So much more to post - recipes galore! - but my last night at Sun West was spectacular.

Dad fried quail that he himself shot (and Red fetched) in Tennessee. Fired up a propane burner on the driveway. Heated the oil and we heard a bear huffing in the grove. Ope!

I made panzanella-esque salad and we enjoyed that view while listening to Waylon, Willie, and the boys on vinyl. It was perfect.

Thanks to and .meyer1 for creating a place for us all to be together. Twenty-seven years and counting.

So I heard it’s been hot in MSP… 🤣🔥🥵

Summer food fun so far…

Focus for me is on berries, watermelon, peaches, tomatoes, cherries, corn, arugula, herbs, green beans, new potatoes. I plan on beating these to death until the season is over…

Batch cooking proteins like chicken, beef, hard boiled eggs, tuna salad so they’re ready to go and kinda riffing on the rest because it barely needs cooking.

Drinking a LOT of Hoplark hop water and Phony Negronis. Yum. Def the sips of Summer 2023 for me.

What are your summer faves?

If you’re stuck in a food rut, LAB has been shining a spotlight on creativity and inspiration in the kitchen.

Read here for Pinch of Yum, Fit Foodie Finds, and my suggestions for shaking things up with your cooking!

Local Food Blog Stars Share How To Get Out of a Cooking Rut — LAB As LAB explores the many ways we can get creative in the kitchen and take the stress out of gathering, we asked a few of our local favorite foodies how they break out of a creative rut and bring the fun back into cooking.

Hi, Barbie!

Which one resonates? 💕

Woof, I came for your nut butter and wine. 🤣😈

Hey healthy lady, I see you beating yourself up for answering the siren call of The 3 C’s - crackers, chips, and chocolate - around 4 pm each day.

There’s an art and a science to warding off cravings and luckily, it’s pretty delicious.

Your bod is asking for food, so give it food! The right food.

I love to hear about your cravings and help you honor them, soften them, and understand what they’re trying to tell you.

We are gorgeously designed for food to bring us enormous pleasure. Eating relieves stress, delivers fun and joy, and of course, provides vital nutrients.

Life is happier when you learn how to work with that built-in joy instead of against it.

To learn more, see link in my bio for working together. 🥰

xoxo Stephanie

You asked, here are my tips!

If holidays and vacations throw you waaaaaaay off your normal routine and actually kind of stress you out, it doesn’t have to be that way.

I want you to go to barbecues and on trips and enjoy the food and the experience without having the wheels come off!

It’s 100% possible, especially if you think ahead a bit and plan for success and deliciousness.

Steal these tips and ideas and DM me to learn to do this always. The word “life-changing” gets tossed around a bit loosely but in this case, it’s the truth.

Happy 4th! ❤️🤍💙

If you’re feeling confused, you are not alone.

Should I eat breakfast or intermittent fast? Are carbs good or bad? Why am I starving at 4 pm? Why does my tried-and-true routine no longer work for me?

In these few slides, I’ve shared three simple, basic tips that if implemented consistently will clear up a lot of confusion, help you meet your health goals, and keep you feeling great.

1. Eat 30 grams of protein for breakfast, for lunch, and for dinner, and another 10-15 grams for a snack. Spreading out adequate protein throughout the day keeps hunger in check, especially toward the end of the day when the wheels can come off.

2. Accept the fact that you’re too tired to be a healthy chef on the fly. I know you have good intentions, and even a fridge full of healthy ingredients, but if you’re tossing quite a lot of that food because you’re too wiped out and busy to actually cook it, then your process is failing. Meal plan. Start making extra whenever you do cook. Do quick batch cooking sessions once per week (boil eggs, make tuna or chicken salad, make a condiment that tastes great with rotisserie chicken, boil a batch of quinoa or rice).

3. Accept that creating healthy habits is going to feel uncomfortable and have a plan for working through it. Talk with a coach or therapist, journal, do breath work, go for walks, dance it out, all of the above - we talk through all of these in Project Vibrancy Coaching so that instead of quitting, you create new tools for pushing through and meeting. your. goals.

See the link in my bio or DM me if you need support for learning how to do any or all of these three and get yourself in a groove that makes you look and feel your best.

This is assembling more than cooking but being a good assembler, as in one who can assemble a filling, healthy bowl of deliciousness, well that’s something pretty great.

I love cooking. Obviously. I cook for a good portion of most days. But I’m also a damn good assembler and maybe that’s even more important for eating healthfully, quickly. (If you meal plan with Project Vibrancy Meals you too are a good assembler of batch cooked items. 🥰)

This assembled salad fits my basic formula for a balanced, filling, nourishing meal: 30 grams of protein (beef + edamame + yogurt) plus 20-30 grams of carbs (potatoes) plus fiber/plants (greens + scallions + pepper) plus healthy fat (avocado + olives + chimichurri).

It could have been leaf lettuce, dill, cucumber radishes, shrimp, egg, red onion, quinoa, with yogurt ranch dressing.

The takeaway is that it’s just as relevant and creative to be an assembler as it is to be a cook. Make your fridge the salad bar of your dreams and have fun. 💚

Join me April 21-23 for a whole weekend of wellness fun!

We're thrilled to welcome Stephanie Meyer as a speaker at our upcoming Grand Wellness Weekend April 21-23!

She'll lead our brunch session on Sunday morning, providing attendees with the top five wellness tips to implement as soon as they return home. Stephanie will also perform a demonstration on Saturday, discussing condiments that transform simple ingredients into a meal you will love, brimming with antioxidants, phytochemicals, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats.

Stephanie is a culinary coach at Fresh Tart, recipe developer, cooking instructor, author, food photographer, and health coach passionate about transforming health and lives while enjoying clean, nutrient-dense, and beautiful food!

✅Learn more about Grand Wellness Weekend and see the full schedule here: http://ow.ly/3baA50NwcYq

I’ll eat healthy food tomorrow. 🙃🤓

Entertaining is my happy place. Especially in the colder, cozier months, right? There’s something about being warm and together indoors while it’s dark and cold outside. A metaphor for the best of friendships and relationships. Not pictured: creamy cauliflower soup (without cream) with chili crisp. Cheesy GF flatbread (with plenty of cheese). Too much wine (on my part - I got all celebratory and forgot I can’t drink much wine anymore, ouch). Dance party clean-up. 💃🏻

If you took my Quick Soups class in 2022, you’ve got the soup recipe! If you have Kickass Condiments E-book, you’ve got the chili crisp recipe! Links in my bio to both!

Smorrebrod!

Or sorta. I taught a blast of a smorrebrod-inspired “cooking” class yesterday for a group of 30 Bremer employees in their office building. We couldn’t actually apply heat to anything, so I came up with an open-faced sandwich situation, with the goal of 1) big flavors, 2) healthy ingredients, 3) prettiness, and 4) creative fun!

I think we hit the mark. I fried (a lot) of gluten-free bread in olive oil ahead of time - my little secret technique for making GF toast damn tasty, especially if holding it for a few hours. I made toppings ahead and the group assembled the sandwiches beautifully.

We made:

Smoked Salmon Butter, Sweet Pickled Red Onions, Capers (my personal fave)

Hummus, Bacon, Sweet/Sour Pickles

Avocado, Radish, Egg, Everything Bagel Seasoning

You guys, the smoked salmon butter. It’s a thing. It would be perfect for Thanksgiving snacks! Here’s how I made it:

Smoked Salmon Butter
Makes about 1 cup

Note: I didn’t add raw shallot or scallions because I was topping the toasts with pickled red onion. If you plan to serve unadorned with crackers, I would add 1 tablespoon of minced shallot or 2 tablespoons of minced scallion before processing and omit the onion powder.

8 ounces smoked salmon (I used Trader Joe’s Smoked Sockeye Salmon, which I thought was really delicious and mild)
8 ounces room-temp Kerrygold salted butter (I would only use this butter)
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 cup fresh dill fronds
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon sea salt (more to taste)

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Taste and add more salt if needed. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before using.

Pictured here is unsurpassed joy.

Though young, Nate & Sam have already been together for 6 years. They met as sophomores at Marquette University and by the end of their junior year, I would catch myself thinking of Sam as my daughter-in-law. I mean, anyone would want Sam as their daughter-in-law! She’s brilliant and kind and funny and generous. And of course I’m biased, but I’m quite sure any parents would be thrilled to claim Nathan as their son-in-law.

But the reason my subconscious kept categorizing these two as already married was because of how they have always treated each other and how they have already faced challenges together. They are a team. Their (many) gifts are beautifully complementary. They challenge each other to grow and stretch. They see their life as a shared adventure.

As I said in my toast, I’m not sure what more any of us could want for them.

And so, this wedding was a gorgeous, glowing, love-filled exclamation point on an already successful and proven relationship.

Samantha’s family hosted the most beautiful wedding I have ever been to. The heartfelt ceremony in perfect weather, the flowers, the music, the food, the thoughtful details at every turn. And most of all the gracious and crazy-fun people. Medler family, you know how to throw down, hell yeah! I am thrilled you have embraced Nathan as your own and I’m selfishly thrilled to call you my family too! THANK YOU and ! ❤️

And thank you to the rest of my family for not just showing up, but for being all in. My immediate family, my L2 girlfriends, and my ex-husband and his partner and family and friends traveled from afar, made toasts, did readings, stood up for the groom, ran errands, kept everyone fed and hydrated, and charmed the pants off everyone. I do run with quite a pack and being together for 4 days of celebrating was a dream come true. It’s always so hard to say goodbye to loved ones at the end of such a magical event.

Nate and Sam, you are surrounded by a tribe of loving adults, probably more than you’d like sometimes (!) but you’re stuck with us. We adore you. We have your backs. We cheer you on. It’s nauseating. I’m not sorry.

I love you.

GF pizza crust baked as flatbread. (Recipe on Fresh Tart.)

Topped with butter, radishes, herbs, pistachios, and .

That is all. Happy Friday!

I absolutely love this time of year. It makes eating a rainbow of colors a fun game to play.

It’s pretty easy to fall into a rhythm of roasted hash for brek (add veggies, a little potato or sweet potato, and a protein to a skillet, drizzle with a bit of oil, roast for 20 minutes while you solve Wordle and Quordle).

Then a big salad (aka Seinfeld 🤣) for lunch. More veggies, more protein, drizzle of a lovely Kickass Condiment, some marvelous fruit for a treat. 🍒🍑🥝🍌🫐🍓

Perhaps a simple soup or stir-fry for dinner. What a delicious joy.

I’m that nerd who loooooves to think about all of good things all of these glorious polyphenols are doing in my gut and body. Not to mention the bounty of vitamins, mineral, fiber…sheer bliss for a nutrient seeker. 🤣

I batch cook proteins, starches, and condiments a la Project Vibrancy Meals so these come together in just minutes. The feedback I love the most from PVM is, Wow, I am eating so many more vegetables and I have so much more energy because of it.

There’s a link to a free meal plan in my bio - if you’re not taking advantage of this time of year, it’s not to late to learn how!

🥬🥦🌽🍅🥑🍆🫑🥕🧄🍠

Colorado, you gorgeous beast, it is no mystery why I thought long and hard about moving back to Minneapolis last fall.

I do love you so.

Love the healthy lifestyle and food, which just isn’t quite as firmly baked into the culture in Minneapolis.

I like to think it’s shifting a bit though and I hope I’m playing my small part. Better ingredients, lighter meals, less booze, more vegetables. Just more balance and not so much heaviness and constant decadence. That’s why I coach my clients, what I write into recipes, what I teach in classes, how I cook for myself.

Healthy, nourishing food is so beautiful and fun and delicious. What a playground! I love cooking for my family and for (a very select few) clients. I’ve had the unique pleasure of both this past week.

I’m teaching a Breakfasts Batched class on Zoom on Wednesday night! It’s not too late to sign up, link is in my bio. You’ll get your shopping list immediately. We’ll be making 5 amazing, healthy breakfasts, many of which can be frozen. Healthy breakfasts change whole days and routines! You don’t want to miss this one.

***GIFTS TO YOUR FUTURE SELF***

When I’m lacking in motivation, I think about working ahead - getting my kitchen put to bed for the night, batch cooking/chopping, setting out workout clothes before I go to bed, filling my Hydro Flask with water at the end of the day, jotting down a quick to-do list for the next morning - as gifts to my future self.

I really think about how happy those things make me to stumble upon.

Like Hey, a present, yay! Acts of service are tooooootally my love language so it makes sense that I enjoy doing these things for myself. I love presents too, so double win. 😜

Here are some other things I think of as gifts to my future self:

- Labeling the food I put in the freezer. This is also a gift to my budget. 🤣

- Waiting to see if I want an end-of-day glass of wine until AFTER I’ve eaten something. I often don’t.

- Snacking on radishes or other raw veggies while I cook dinner so I don’t just eat dinner while I cook. (I am SO guilty of doing this.)

- Making extra. If I’m boiling an egg, I boil 6 eggs. If I’m making tuna salad, I make several servings. I have obviously created a business out of this concept so if you are stuck, I can help. 😉 I offer a free meal plan (link in my bio) so you can give it a whirl.

- As soon as I feel even a bit tired, I get ready for bed. Even if I don’t go to bed right away. When I wait too long, the inertia makes me dread my skincare routine instead of enjoying it.

- I go for a walk upon waking up. This doesn’t work so well in the depths of winter in MN (LOL), but when it does work, it just makes my whole day better (and my sleep better too).

What are gifts you give to your future self?

It gets pretty fun when you make a list of things you love to receive and it just so happens they tend to be the things that make you happy and healthier too.

Have a great weekend!

xoxo Stephanie

‘Tis Healing Green Broth season now that fresh herbs and tender greens are growing like mad.

If you’re on my mailing list I sent you an asparagus version of HGB this past weekend. You should def make it, mmph.

The Healing Green Broth 30-Day challenge is free and super fun. Four emails where I teach you to make the best broth of your life (worth it for that alone) and then to buzz it up with greens & herbs into this smooth, creamy cup of zingy love. It’s seriously so yummy and energizing.

And filling! Lovely light meal or quick snack.

Sign up link is in my bio. ✅💚

Soooo many of you fabulous ladies have been coming through my free Spring Appetite Reset with the same frustrations:

What I’ve done in the past to be healthy and feel good in my body and fave clothes is no longer working.

The media will yell at you that it’s inevitable. That’s it’s normal to lose muscle and have your metabolism tank. Whomp whomp.

***It’s not true.***

What IS true is that we all lose muscle after our 20s if we don’t pay attention to keep and build it. And it accelerates after 40.

So…DO SOMETHING to keep your muscle and build it! Adjust your healthy eating and your workouts so you get maximum punch from them.

I love to teach you how. Sure, it requires some cooking, experimenting, and trying new things.

But the pay off is HUGE. I mean come on. It’s a no brainer, especially if you’re already putting in the effort.

You need some new moves in each new life stage and that can be exciting or depressing. That part is up to you.

I’m just here with ideas, knowledge, encouragement, success stories, recipes, shopping lists, and coaching.

This is not a diet. It’s a framework, for most people adding better more filling foods that allow you to drop weight spontaneously.

If you’re ready to do a better job of nourishing yourself and creating change, see Project Vibrancy Framework link in my bio and click to join.

We start our coaching calls next week!

Want to not be hungry all the time and meet your health, energy, and weight goals?

Start building meals that are filling and nourishing enough - without being too caloric for your energy needs - to keep you full and energized all day. (And that support good sleep and working out.)

Project Vibrancy Framework membership is now open. Recipes and meal plans, learning how to compose delicious and nourishing meals wherever you are, plenty of support for creating a plan for you that works, and cooking classes all work together to get you to your goals and to create new habits and lasting change.

Sign up link is in my profile. ❤️

Omg it’s finally, truly spring!

I did this free appetite reset last spring, and in the fall, and it not only helped hundreds (yay!) of you learn how to prevent cravings and lose weight, it set me up for a summer of healthy deliciousness too.

I hate being hungry. I resent the energy that it takes to expend willpower, so everything I create for you is to spare your willpower too.

I want to eat amazing food, feel and look amazing (vibrant!), have fun, and not be plagued with cravings for food that I know is going to yank me.

Tall order? Despite the obvious pun (I’m 5’11” ha), yes but I’ve figured it out.

And I’m happy to share it with you. If you’re a food lover, you put on a few pounds over the winter, you’re excited for summer, and you hate cravings, join the Spring Appetite Reset. Grab a friend and do it together!

Sign up link is in comments below!!!

If you’re not eating enough protein every day - enough varies by person and activity level, but for experiment’s sake let’s say at least 100 grams - you will be really hungry by the end of the day.

You will make slow (or no) progress lifting weights.

You will be sore and injury-prone.

Prioritizing protein, spread throughout the day, is the #1 key to getting a grip on your appetite and sugar cravings, to preserving muscle (and your metabolism!), and to building muscle. Several of my clients have called it life-changing.

If you can nail down adequate protein and 1-2 servings of vegetables per meal, you are on your way to vibrancy and creating the baselines for maintaining a healthy weight.

One because you’ll be properly nourished.

Two because you’ll be properly full and crowd out cravings for higher calorie foods.

And three because you’ll protect (and be able to grow) your muscle mass (aka metabolism).

💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻