Hi! I’m Melinda Mrachek Staehling (Mer-AHH-check STAY-ling), and I use she/her pronouns. You can call me Mel.

When I was a toddler, I loved messing around in the kitchen and making “mixtures” on the floor with pantry items and the odd Pyrex and spatula.

My headache story also starts at a young age. I remember awful attacks when we traveled, especially when the weather changed quickly. My mom had migraine up until menopause, which put an imprint on me as a kid.

I wanted to work around food as soon as I could, and my first job was in a mall coffee shop steaming lattes.

From the restaurant floor to wellness warrior

I traveled up the restaurant ladder to locations in Los Angeles and Las Vegas as a sommelier and general manager. Then I burnt out.

A decade of struggle with chronic health issues led me off the restaurant floor, seeking fewer late nights with a more reasonable schedule. I sold fine wine in Southern California and on the Las Vegas Strip.

Meanwhile, I fell down an internet healing rabbit hole, discovered functional nutrition, and self-tested all the restrictive diets like keto, AIP, elimination diets, and, when I got more into fitness, counting macros.

I was caught in the grips of wellness culture and throwing darts to solve issues with histamine, intense food reactions to everything I ate, and crushing hormonal migraine.

As a lover of cooking and food experiences, I finally found that cutting out entire food groups, lists of Yes/No food rules, so-called “clean” eating, and hyperfixating on the amount of pecorino on my pasta was not the move for me.

Creating the next chapter

I went all-in on a career change and started at the very beginning with actual (not Blogosphere) nutrition education, my first biochemistry classes, a bunch of mistakes, many client sessions, and seeking out supervision from experienced colleagues with medical nutrition therapy, disordered eating, and eating disorders.

My years in hospitality taught me to show up for my clients with warmth, an open mind, and inclusivity.

When I’m not working, you can find me hanging out with my husband and our dog Mary, knitting fuzzy accessories, and exploring the Pacific Northwest.