Meet this empowering woman who started ‘Around the Plate’

Surrounding yourself by empowering women is extremely important. I have had the privilege of working with a ton of amazing women over the years and recently I had the opportunity to interview another one. Meet Kati, I met her via the internet but we were able to meet for coffee and become fast friends! She is truly beautiful and I am so blessed to share more about her with all of you!

Check out my interview with her: 

1). Kati, I have enjoyed getting to know you! You are an amazing woman and the founder of Around the Plate! Can you share more with us your mission with your company?

At Around the Plate, our primary mission is to help as many people as we can discover joy and confidence at the table. Our approach is different than what you might expect, but really, our desire is to help people enjoy a variety of foods without all the judgement. Food is meant to be a good thing, but our dieting culture has twisted its purpose. Instead of seeing our food as a source of nourishment and pleasure, it’s often viewed as something we need to strictly control or manipulate in order to look a certain way. At Around the Plate, we believe nutrition should be about providing yourself with foods that support your body, not an attempt to try and change your body.

2). What has created your passion to help others rediscover their confidence?

My passion is rooted in my faith. My husband is a pastor and core to our belief is the idea that all people have an intrinsic self worth – because they are loved and they are valuable. Unfortunately, I’ve seen too many people, women in particular, not feel worthy of love or able to appreciate who they truly are because our culture puts so much value and pressure on women to be perfect and look a certain way. This impacts the way we feel about our bodies and the foods we eat. I hope that through the work I do women feel more confident not just at the table but in other aspects of their life too. Because as you begin to appreciate yourself, you start building assurance that you are indeed amazing and worthy of being loved.

3). What is intuitive eating and mindful eating practices? It is something I don’t think people always understand. 

Intuitive eating and mindful eating practices are sometimes hard to grasp because they are so radically different than the weight-centric approaches we are more accustomed to. Essentially, both require us to trust our bodies more – something that we are often dissuaded from doing. There aren’t any rigid rules either – instead, mindful eating is all about practicing awareness and intention when it comes to your eating habits while intuitive eating is about relearning how to rely on your body’s internal cues to guide them.

What I love about intuitive eating and mindful eating practices is how they have the potential to bring enjoyment back to our meals and snacks. They also require us to get to know more about how our body works, and if we pay close enough attention we begin to realize that our bodies do SO much for our benefit EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. This awareness, and the body appreciation it promotes, can change our lives in so many more positive ways than a diet plan ever could.

4). As a dietitian, why did you decide to take this route instead of another one with your degree?

It took me a little while to get to where I am today, but I couldn’t imagine myself doing any other sort of RD-related work. The work we’re doing at Around the Plate matters and I hope that everyone we come into contact with feels just a little more positive about food, their bodies, and how the two work beautifully together. Food doesn’t have to be your enemy, or even your frenemy, it can be a valuable asset to your everyday life.

5). How has working with Self Love Beauty helped you and your company?

Self Love Beauty extends our message beyond the table and amplifies the work we do by encouraging women to be confident in their own skin. Our goals are very well aligned and I’m proud that we get to work with an organization that wants to make the world a better place by cultivating self-love across the mid-Michigan region and beyond.

6). As an empowering woman yourself, what advice have you been given to grow in your own journey to self-love?

The best advice I ever received was to practice being patient with myself. Learning to love who you are requires getting to know who you are and it has taken me awhile to get there. But everyday I try to put into practice what I preach – to approach life with a sense of curiosity, to never take myself too seriously, and to deliberately set aside time to do the things that bring me joy.

7). Last time we chatted you spoke about being a foster mom, which I absolutely find amazing! Can you share more about that with us?

Yes, my husband and I became foster parents almost three years ago and just saw our two foster daughters reunify with mom a few months ago. It was a great experience in so many ways I wasn’t prepared for. Don’t get me wrong, there were definitely some challenges too, but overall we were very happy to help support a family in our community who was going through a very difficult time.

8). In society, the focus is really around women right now but as a mother of two boys, what advice are you providing them on self-love?

I want my boys to be confident in who they are and know that they can make a difference in the world. I also want them to understand what it means to treat all people with dignity and look for ways to make sure they can see the world from perspectives different than their own.

9). Lastly, how can someone work directly with you?

The best way to reach me or a member of my team is to visit our website at http://aroundthplate.org. We are currently seeing clients in person at our Midland and Mt. Pleasant, MI locations; however, are also available via virtual sessions across the state of Michigan. Appointments can also be scheduled by phone at 989-400-1478.