Batch Cooking/Meal Prepping: I will lightly sauté up a huge wok of onion, red/yellow/orange bell peppers, zucchini, red cabbage, mushrooms, and broccoli along with a pot of cauliflower rice, wild rice, or quinoa. I’ll incorporate some sort of protein like organic tofu, salmon, or organic chicken thighs. Then through the week I will spice the food towards different flavor profiles – I’ll add rosemary, thyme, parsley and garlic for a hearty profile; ginger, tamari, sesame oil, and hot chili oil for an asian inspired kick, or cumin, oregano, garlic and chili powder for a Mexican vibe.

HIIT: My wife and I subscribe to BeachBodyOnDemand and if time is limited we do a 20-30 minute HIIT workout at home as hard as we can go and invariably feel incredible and wiped out afterwards! My wife has drilled it in to my head “Kyle, there are no such things as off days when it comes to your health. You will always have excuses to put it off until tomorrow.”

Journaling/Gratitude: At the end or beginning of a busy day I have found immense benefit even in 3-5 minutes of centering my spirit and reflecting on the day. I’ll write 3 things I’m thankful for from that day. Or what is one kind thing someone said/did for me today, one kind thing I did/said to someone else, and what is one thing I learned today.

This is literally the most unfair question, but if I had to choose one, wellllll….Mediterranean/middle eastern!!! Hummus, baba ganoush, roasted vegetables/kabob, chicken and beef shawarma with all the sides of pickles, and radishes, tabouleh, and endless spice combinations. And yes, when I’m in ultra cheat mode I do eat a big fluffy warm pita bread and finish off with some sweet delicious baklava. ((Oh and yes, the Mediterranean diet has been shown to have some of the highest impact on insulin resistance, heart health, longevity, satiety, anti-inflammatory, etc. etc. but who cares about that, it takes freaking amazing!!!) If you’re asking a top 6- Mediterranean, Mexican, Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, and Spanish.

I think I’m part rabbit because I absolutely love a heaping pile of fresh sliced red/yellow/orange bell peppers, cucumber slices, and celery. Oooohh that crispy crunch!

I love cooking! It is incredibly therapeutic/relaxing and satisfying for me to create a meal. I love starting with a random mix of ingredients and coming out with a tasty cohesive palate of flavors. I even bought all the hardware to make my own sausages/brats – a meat grinder/sausage stuffer/etc. So fun!!!

I love to play piano and guitar and sing. Grew up playing music in church and it has stuck with me to this day. I can sit and play piano for an hour and feel like 30 seconds has passed.

“How I Built This with Guy Raz” – an NPR podcast/show which is super inspirational. It interviews founders of amazing products and companies and tells their story; how they ended up transforming simple ideas into humungous success stories. It reminds me that everyone starts off somewhere, often with nothing more than an idea and with hard work and some good fortune, the possibilities are endless!

Oh gosh, I’m super boring, anything with a strong driving beat and not too many words, haha! I really don’t have a favorite- I usually run in the silence of the woods/trails at Kennesaw Mountain, and when I’m doing HIIT or weights whatever the instructor/gym has playing.

I felt called into healthcare in the first place being motivated by a passion to do work overseas.  I’ve worked in Rwanda, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, India, Cambodia, Mexico, Honduras, and Dominican Republic.

From there I started off as an RN on a Stroke and Heart Failure/Cardiac unit in Southern California.  I was devastated to see how chronic disease destroyed the health and wellbeing of otherwise amazing people.  I quickly became convinced that I wanted to help prevent people from ever having to even be admitted to the hospital for these issues in the first place.  I decided that becoming a Family Nurse Practitioner was one way I could do my part in helping to fight the costly and deadly epidemic of chronic disease. After spending 6 years working in the ER, Urgent Care, and Primary Care I’ve found our health care system with all its downright miraculous advances in acute care has truly failed us in the primary care and prevention of the most common killers.  Desperate for a better way forward I was led to the Functional Medicine Approach to health and wellness — An integrated systems biology approach that emphasized Food and Fitness First as the primary healers rather than pills for all ills. Here we can see dramatic shifts as chronic disease is reversed, heart disease and cancer prevented, depression and anxiety lifted, Longevity and quality of life extended.  This is the future of medicine and I’m beyond excited to be a part of it.

The Wolverine

1. Because I was the Wolverine from X-men as a child in our neighborhood X-men club and
2. As a real life animal, they are fierce and ferocious hunters who will span over 15 miles in a day in search for its next meal – thats how I feel often – I love to cook and I love to feast!