About Joanna Steven

 

Hi beautiful (no matter how sleep deprived or overwhelmed you are!) mama!

If you:

  1. Are a mom who says NO to spanking and YES to unconditional love (even though some days, it seems harder than climbing Mount Everest from the North Pole!)…

  2. Know deep in your bones that eating nutrient dense, healthy food is KEY to being the happy, relaxed mom you know you can be (even if some days you wish you could just chow down junk and not feel like crap later)…

  3. Believe that attachment parenting is what’s best for you and your kids, and it does NOT mean living a life of martydom (even if you are against sleep training and handing your kids to a full time nanny)…

YOU FIT IN BEAUTIFULLY IN MY TRIBE OF LIKE-MINDED MAMAS!

I am Joanna, single mom of 2 high energy boys who are 4 and 8 years old. I work with moms who are unconventional enough to want to go against the status quo of parenting. Moms who don’t want full time nannies, don’t expect their kids to sleep through the night at 5 months, and don’t want to occupy their kids with a bag of chips and a handful of fish-shaped crackers. Moms who, despite all this, believe it is their birthright to be happy, both for their sake and their family’s.

I am just as overwhelmed, sleep deprived, short on time, and obsessed with health and peaceful parenting as you are. My alone time is nearly non existent, and when I do get time off, I miss my kids like crazy. I constantly have to navigate my kids’ new picky eating habits, developmental growth that brings in new challenges when I thought I had it all figured out, and figuring out how to eat well while I do it, ’cause if I’m not eating well, I don’t function well!

I started blogging in 2004, looking for the ultimate way to be healthy and happy, and the best mama I could be to my future kids. I work with other moms (in a relaxed, non-preachy way) who don’t want to spend 18+ years unhappy raising kids who drive them crazy, while shoving unhealthy food in their mouths because that’s all they have time for. There’s a method to this motherhood roller coaster!

 

I started publishing ebooks before Kindle was a thing, am an Amazon best-selling author, and was featured in many publications and websites. I was the recipe girl for the Raw Food World newsletter, got GirlieGirl Army Chloe Jo Davis obsessed with my breastfeeding guide for raw foodists, got Elephant Journal a few viral articles with thousands and thousands of shares, was featured in Australia’s Yum.Gluten Free Magazine as well as the UK’s leading raw food magazine Get Fresh!, ran Raw Mom for Tera Warner, got interviewed by Kate Magic of Raw Living, Bridgit Danner of The Joyful Tiger, Glow with Grace with Angela Stokes, Raw Food Magazine, and much more.

I am opinionated woman, a lover of butter and high quality chocolate, and a sometimes reluctant vegetarian who knows she’s in this plant based thing for life.

 

I believe…

… That children are magical, and the greatest teachers we’ll ever have in our lifetime.

… That the first step to being happy is believing deep in your soul that happiness is your birthright.

…. That motherhood is so much easier when families get together to play, instead of going through the motions alone.

… That a big cup of hot cocoa with extra whipped cream is just what I need when my baby wakes me up at 5 AM on a Sunday morning.

… That raising children peacefully is the most important job in the world.

… And that when we mess up, apologizing to them is a beautiful thing.

 

I have used the massive research I’ve done on the art of being healthy and happy to…

 

… Spend over 6 years without sleeping through the night once, and be OK with that,

… Embrace co-sleeping and breastfeeding full term with joy,

… Raise a very high needs first child (who turned out to be a very smart Aspie) without losing my freakin’ mind,

… Spend most of my time with my children and still eat a healthy, nutrient dense diet…

… Without having a giant pile of dishes to clean like a martyr after the kids are in bed,

And so much more!

 

Today, while I am still learning and likely will never stop, I have discovered enough secrets of bliss-seeking mothers that I want to share them with you!

 

What have I published?

 

Many of my books are on vacation as I update them. My current publications are Smooth! Bubble Teas and Irresistible Drinks for the Smoothie Connoisseur, (a collection of my favorite water kefir recipes, green smoothie recipes, and chia seed drinks), BE Decadent – Guilt Free Recipes for Chocolate Lovers, (a collection of my favorite chocolate recipes, including paleo/raw cheesecakes, gluten free baked goods, and more), and the Nourished Village Cookbook (a collection of the many recipes I share with my tribe of like minded mamas in the Nourished Village.

 

I am also the creator of 2 programs/communities.

 

– The Remineralize Your body Now! program, a complete course covering nourishing, remineralizing ways to reach vibrant health through juicing, blending, fermenting/culturing of vegetables, sea vegetables and algaes, proper preparation of grains/beans, and much more

The Nourished Village, a nurturing community for moms and their families. The Nourished Village was created just for you, the mom who wears many hats and would be earning 6 figures if only she were compensated for all the work she does!

 

I currently live in the Pacific Northwest, where I spend my free time playing with my intensely joyful and energetic 2nd grader Franklin and preschooler Nicholas, who I co-parent with their dad Matt.

 

COME HANG OUT WITH ME AND MY TRIBE OF MAMAS WHO ARE JUST LIKE YOU!

 

2 comments on “About Joanna Steven

  1. Hello Joanna,

    Thank you for your post :-).

    I would like to ask you which food supplements would you recommend during pregnancy. I have been using green powders (Vitamineral Green, Ormus supergreen), chlorella, spirulina and marine phytoplankton but I am not very sure about their safety. I was also thinking about adding bee pollen and maybe some herbs (Reishi) to make me feel more at peace and calm. I am vegetarian and I have been trying to eat raw as much as I could. But it cools my body a bit so now, I eat raw only in the morning …..

    I would be happy for any tips.

    Thank you.

    All the best 🙂

    Pavla

    • Hi Pavla!

      With my first pregnancy, I used a few green powders. I did not at all with the second, as I was trying to rely on actual food instead (not that the powders aren’t food… You know what I mean!)

      I did not take any marine phytoplankton, and still don’t, mostly because of the price. Bee pollen now gives me a scratchy throat, so I don’t use it anymore. My son loves it, though.

      What I did not use with the first pregnancy was medicinal mushrooms. With the second though, I took reishi, and I’m still taking it now while breastfeeding (in tincture form, and I used to use capsules from Dragon Herbs).

      I know that I used to be influencial in the raw food movement, but I don’t recommend raw anymore, not fully anyway. In theory, it can be wonderful, but it requires a lot of supplementation during the childbearing years, and it’s all experimental. I recommend getting everything you need from food directly, and using supplements to be on the safe side, not to fill known gaps in the diet…

      I drink green smoothies almost daily, and protein shakes using either organic raw whey or Warrior Blend, I eat eggs pretty much daily (we have backyard hens), I eat ghee, pastured butter, and raw cheeses. I eat lots of veggies, drink lots of herbal teas, seasonal fruits, some sourdough bread (never regular bread), cultured vegetables (sauerkraut), not a ton of nuts and seeds… You can read about my diet and food staples here. I hope this helps!

      XOXO
      Joanna.

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