Area wellness and lifestyle coach shares the love in debut cookbook
In the words of Sandi Kern, “Safe, sustainable food is a recipe for success.”
And her first book, “Desire to be Well: Recipes and Wellness for Health and Happiness,” is filled with recipes so good you won’t even realize the dairy and gluten are missing.
While some watched “Tiger King” and others tried their hand at sourdough bread during COVID-19 lockdown, Kern, who founded and runs the virtual health and lifestyle coaching practice Desire to be Well, penned her debut cookbook. The 187-page book is filled with “information and inspiration” and, while it only took a little more than a year to write and publish, the book was in some ways a long time in the baking – er, making.
“I was sick for about six years,” said Kern, who lives in East Washington with her husband and two sons. She spent those years battling swelling and digestive issues, and chronic fatigue. “It just got progressively worse. Nobody could help me. It took a long time to figure it out.”
She decided to embrace holistic nutrition.
“I took the leap of faith and that’s what made all the difference,” she said.
That, and the red pepper cashew cream sauce she shares in “Desire to be Well.”
“That was the recipe that changed my life,” Kern said. “I created that out of complete desperation. ‘If I don’t have some pasta with cream sauce…’ I got my blender. There were all sorts of tutorials. I think that’s probably the recipe that changed my life.”
Her health struggles and healing through nutrition inspired Kern to go back to school; she earned a certificate in integrative nutrition coaching from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and graduated from The School of Applied Functional Medicine.
“This is the wave of the future,” said Kern, whose holistic approach to health focuses on the mind, body and spirit. “There is no ‘disease.’ There is ‘dis-ease.’ Just because somebody says you have an autoimmune issue doesn’t mean it’s forever. I want to try to relay this health information that is so important to so many people … in a way that’s easy to understand.”
“Desire to be Well” is a colorful invitation into the world of cashew cream sauces and silky, kid-approved avocado pies. Before readers are gifted allergen-free dessert recipes – yes, dessert comes first – clean blocks of text offer insight into common health issues and tips for cooking with ingredients some may have never used before.
Readers will connect with Kern’s personal stories, woven throughout, and selfies – there’s a photo of her soaking cashews, proof she’s tested all the methods and recipes – and appreciate the cute conversion charts.
“This is food that your entire family is going to love,” said Kern. “And they’re going to benefit. It’s delicious, it’s good for you.”
Though Kern loves coaching and leading groups at her lifestyle and wellness practice, she’s excited to reach more people with “Desire to be Well.” the book was released on Amazon Oct. 29, just in time for the holidays.
“It’s my first book and I’m so excited,” Kern said. “It’s everything that you crave, but done in a healthy way. It’s all about loving yourself through nutrition.”
She added, “Food is love. Food is medicine. The ultimate act of … loving your body is nourishing your body with the food it needs to thrive.”
”Desire to be Well: Recipes and Wellness for Health and Happiness” can be purchased directly through the author’s web site at https://desiretobewell.com/book or at Amazon.com.