I’ve been blessed to meet so many inspiring health babes through my Institute for Integrative Nutrition partnership over the past two years.

Desiree Taylor is one such light beam.

Certified Holistic Health & Lifestyle Coach, and Founder of Free Yourself Holistic Health, Desiree has an infectious personality and a smile that lights up the room. Endlessly passionate about wellness, Desiree not only embarked on a personal journey to heal herself through natural medicine, but she now works with her coaching clients to help them make lifestyle changes that produce real and lasting results.

Please welcome Desiree. xx

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What inspired your journey to wellness?

My journey to true health and happiness has been long, sometimes hard, always evolving, but the best thing that has ever happened to me! A gift from the universe I like to call it… my personal awakening!

4 years ago I was living what I thought was a great, “healthy” life….I was playing elite level hockey, partying like a rock star and working ridiculously hard, all whilst ignoring the constant colds, flus, allergies and stomach problems I had and I masked my underlying symptoms of anxiety and depression, with food and alcohol addiction.

My life was fuelled by processed foods, caffeine, sugar, very little sleep, no self-love and I raced through life at one hundred miles an hour! Living this ‘burn and churn lifestyle’ with no-regard for what I was putting into my body and no self-worth brought my world crashing down to a complete stop… literally a stop! I could not get out of bed for months, I could not wash my own hair or walk to the toilet without my heart racing like I had run a marathon… I had developed chronic fatigue syndrome accompanied with underlying adrenal fatigue, gut and hormone disorders. Despite multiple doctors and hospital visits, no-one could help me so I decided to take things into my own hands and embarked on a journey to help heal myself!

4 years later and I now know what true health and happiness is. I finally feel ‘AWAKE’ for once in my life, everything I view and experience is with a clear mind, I have more energy than I have ever had, more passion for life, more purpose in my days, I never struggle with controlling my weight, I never need to diet and I am a better person who is thriving, not merely surviving!

My journey of healing through good food, lifestyle choices and learning to change my thoughts and mindset, inspired me to become a Certified Holistic Health Coach. I now strive to help women overcome their personal struggles so they can live fulfilled, happy, healthy lives with purpose, passion and more energy and vitality!
 

What’s the best thing about being a Health Coach?

There are so many rewards with being a health coach, I get to immerse myself in what I love to do every day so I am constantly learning and evolving myself, but most importantly I feel privileged and grateful to be a part of someone’s journey back to their true state of health and happiness. The best thing is when I see the changes take place in my clients not only physically, but emotionally as well which creates a ripple effect into other areas of their life. Just playing a part in making someone feel better about themselves is a gift.

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What’s your favourite way to keep fit?

I LOVE yoga! I try to do a small yoga practice of at least 10 minutes a day just to move my body through breath if I do not have time to do a full session. I have also just started playing hockey again after 4 years, which I never thought I would be able to do, but with perseverance and a dream…anything is possible!

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How do you practice self-love and care?

I am a BIG believer in self-love and care… I had to learn this the hard way through previously pushing myself and putting others first until I was forced to stop. Every day I check in with myself and listen to my body! If I need to rest, I will… even if it means missing a party or taking a day off work. I give myself the time and space I need to heal when I am feeling run down and make sure the foods I eat are full of nourishment! I have learnt to self-love by accepting myself unconditionally in all my glorious weirdness and embracing my imperfections! I also speak my authentic truth unapologetically no matter how confronting or different my views are to those of society.
 

What’s your favourite way to relax and unwind?

Meditation is one of my favourite things to do daily to relax, ground myself, unwind and remind me of what life is all about… success comes from stillness and I always gain perspective, answers and creative flares when I meditate. I reconnect with my true self, the infinite… I also love watching space movies or sci-fi, I am a bit of a nerd!
 

What’s got your toes tingling with excitement right now?

I am super excited to be launching ‘The Busy Woman’s Eat for Energy Diet’ App in January, as well as a 4 week online e-course later in 2016. The sky’s the limit and I cannot wait to see what the universe has in store for me…
 

What’s your favourite healthy recipe?

This Vegetable Fried Rice!

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Vegetable Fried Rice

Desiree Taylor
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 1/4 cup of tamari sauce
  • 1/2 sweet potato cut into small pieces
  • ½ eggplant cut into small pieces
  • 1 to mato diced
  • 1 onion diced
  • 1 bunch Bok choy
  • 1 capsicum diced
  • 1 cup peas
  • 3 cups of pre-cooked brown rice
  • 2 chilies
  • Chopped ginger & garlic to taste or approx. 1 tablespoon each
  • Salt + pepper

Instructions
 

  • In a wok or large pan, sauté onion and tomato is some good quality oil until soft.
  • Add in chili, garlic, ginger & simmer for a few more minutes.
  • Add in sweet potato, eggplant and capsicum pieces and cook through until sweet potato is soft. (Keep mixing so the vegetables do not stick to the bottom and if this happens you can add a tiny bit of water.)
  • Add in Bok choy, peas and tamari sauce and cook through until bok choy has wilted
  • Add in the pre-cooked brown rice.
  • Mix vegetables through the brown rice and leave on low for 5mins to heat through.

 

Yum, that looks amazing! Thank you so much for sharing with us, Desiree. xx

Get to know this inspiring health babe better:

Via her Website + Facebook + Twitter + Instagram + YouTube.

Plus, check out my interview with Desiree in Sexy Sobriety.
 

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