Coaching

“I’ve only been on my new diet for eight days, but thanks to Sally, they have been eight days full of wholesome, filling, and delicious food.”

Coaching is where we work together one-on-one to get you feeling capable about handling your food restrictions.  I coach in person and by a combination of phone and email.

Why would you invest in coaching?

Here are a few common reasons you may come to me:

• Your health care provider has suggested or determined that you have gluten intolerance, casein intolerance, or food allergies. You feel overwhelmed and/or stuck. You may feel exhausted from your life’s other challenges, and you feel unsure about being able to tackle this change even though it’s important to you.
• You have decided, based on your own research or your intuitive understanding of your body, that you need to avoid gluten and/or other foods.  You want guidance on how to manage cutting out those foods.
• You are undertaking an elimination diet to figure out which foods you (or your child) are having an allergic reaction to.
• You have been managing gluten/casein intolerance or food allergies for a while, but you feel stifled.  Possibly you are overeating to cope with emotions of loss.  Possibly you have tried to shift your mindset to food merely as a means of survival.  You want to reinvigorate your life with a sense of pleasure around food, but you aren’t sure how to get there.
• You are eating with food restrictions but aren’t feeling the health benefits from those choices. You want help in tweaking your lifestyle.

A month from now, how do you want to feel?

Coaching is about starting where you are and moving you into hope, into possibility.  It’s about finding what works within your life:  the time you have, the dishes you like, the particular recipes or store-bought foods you miss, the energy you possess.  It’s about moving to a point of acceptance over the opportunity cost of the changes you’re making for better health.  And it’s about re-establishing a sense of joy over food.

With food coaching, we work together to enable you to plan great meals; to shop for and cook great food; to find and alter recipes as needed; to improve your intestinal health (when necessary); and–sometimes–to make non-food-related changes in your life that will enable you to live a happier, healthier existence. (It’s funny what comes up when food is involved.) We do as little or as much as you need to meet these challenges.  You can book as little as one three-hour session or as long as three months of support.

“This past winter I had to adjust to cooking not only allergen-free, but for my son’s newly prescribed rotation diet removing no less than 54 foods! Even though she was now in another state, Sally still came to our rescue.”

Depending on your location, needs, and budget, there are a couple of options for how coaching works:

Tilth Coaching

In Person

The great thing about coaching is that it is personalized to start where you are.  We can begin with clearing out your pantry, planning meals, shopping for groceries, or even talking through foods you want to try removing—or we can move directly into meal preparation based on your (and your family’s) needs.

In-person coaching is available at four levels.  With the bronze level of coaching, we communicate by phone or email to set things up; all other levels start with a 30-minute in-person consultation to discuss your needs and to see whether we are a good match for coaching. Call me at 404-446-7801 or email me at sally@tilthforhealth.com to set up the consultation.

I feel so confident that the coaching will change your life that I offer this guarantee: if at any time you decide the coaching isn’t helping you, we will end the sessions and you will receive back the cost of any uncompleted sessions.

Once we have held the initial consultation, if we mutually decide to engage in coaching, you may choose from bronze, silver, gold, or platinum coaching.

Bronze

Bronze coaching is a commitment of one 3-hour session.  In that session, we focus on the one element that you need the most—the one thing that you know will make you safer, more confident, and more inspired in the allergic kitchen.

Bronze coaching may be the best option for you if

• you just want to dip your toe into coaching;
• you are working on a very limited budget;
• or you mostly feel you have a good handle on things, and you just want to learn to make a few new, inspired recipes.

Bronze clients who want to learn new recipes choose from the ~200 allergen-free, delicious recipes in my repertoire.

Bronze coaching is $210 ($70/hr.), payable when we reserve the coaching date.

Silver

Silver coaching is a commitment of six hours of coaching, broken down into two 3-hour sessions or three 2-hour sessions.

Silver coaching may be the best option for you if

• you need multi-faceted help (one session on meal-planning and one session on specific recipes you want to learn, for example);
• or if you want greater depth in what you are learning (if you want to learn 8-10 recipes, for example).

Silver coaching includes two Q&A troubleshooting emails or calls within 30 days of the first coaching session—for times when you have a question or feel stuck but don’t need a whole coaching session for the answers.

Silver clients who want to learn new recipes choose from the ~200 allergen-free, delicious recipes in my repertoire.

Silver coaching is $390 ($65/hr), payable when we reserve the first coaching date.  The second coaching session must take place within 45 days of the first.

Gold

Gold coaching is a commitment of nine to sixteen hours of coaching, broken down into 2-hour and/or 3-hour sessions.

Gold coaching may be the best option for you if

• you’ve got the simplest elements down, but you still need pretty pervasive help in the allergic kitchen;
• or if you have the basics down, but you want to learn a bounty of recipes for your weekly use or for your holiday cooking.

Gold coaching includes a $5 discount on each admission to group classes held within 90 days of the first date of coaching. Gold coaching also includes three Q&A troubleshooting emails or calls within 30 days of the first coaching session—for times when you have a question or feel stuck but don’t need a whole coaching session for the answer.

Gold clients choose from the ~200 recipes in my repertoire but may also request that I develop up to three new recipes based on their specifications (for example, an alteration of a former family favorite).

Gold coaching starts at $540 (9 hours at $60/hr.). Each additional hour is $60.  Half of the coaching fee is payable when we book the first coaching session; the remainder is due two weeks later. All of the planned coaching sessions must take place within 90 days of the first scheduled session.

Platinum

Platinum coaching is the whole gluten-free, dairy-free enchilada: a month’s worth of intensive, entirely personalized starter coaching followed by two months of phone and email support. The platinum coaching starts with me sending you questions about your ‘wish list’ for your allergen- or intolerance-free life.  I research various angles of your wish list and create recipes based on your needs.  Then we get together for pantry clean-out, meal-planning, farmers’ market shopping, grocery store navigation, cooking lessons, and/or whatever else you may need.

Month 1: The first week, we communicate by phone and email while I develop a plan for your coaching.  The second, third, and fourth weeks, we meet in person for two 3-hour sessions each week (18 hours total).

Month 2: We communicate by phone once and by email twice a week to explore and troubleshoot any issues you may be having. I’m available to create up to two additional recipes for you during this time, and I will research suggestions otherwise.

Month 3: We communicate by email twice a week to explore and troubleshoot remaining issues. I’m available to create one additional recipe for you during this time, and I will research suggestions otherwise.

Platinum coaching may be the best option for you if

• you are new to being allergen-free, and feel very overwhelmed;
• you suffer from ill health or are very busy, and do not have the time or energy to research all your needs;
• you are undertaking an elimination diet that removes many foods;
• you have been allergen-free for a while, but you keep getting sick despite your efforts;
• or if you simply want to feel as confident as possible in the allergen-free kitchen.

Platinum coaching costs $1490.  Additional hours of coaching (preparation for special events, for example) after the platinum coaching package are $57/hr.

My primary area for service is delineated in the map below.  If you live in the Los Angeles area but outside the blue area on the map, I charge an additional $5 per mile (one-way) for each mile I drive past the blue area to reach you. Travel is limited to a 30-mile one-way drive.

Note:  On rare occasions, I do travel to perform intensive in-home work over a long weekend.  If you live outside this area but think you want in-person service, please contact me about rates. You may also want to look at the Retreats Page.

View Driving Radius for Coaching in a larger map

By Email and/or Phone

You contact me by email or phone to discuss your restrictions and your needs.  If we both feel like we’re a good match, we sign a starter contract and start to create a plan. I send you further questions about your ‘wish list’ for your allergen- or intolerance-free life. When you return the questionnaire, I call you to discuss what you’ve written and get any clarification I need.  I research various angles of your wish list.  Then we correspond by email and/or phone 3-4 times a week to get you comfortable with meal-planning, grocery store navigation, recipe alteration, and whatever else may be on your wish list.

Minimum investment: 10 hours of research and conversation; includes a one-week meal plan with recipes by the end of week 1; trouble-shooting in week 2; ~6 emails and at least 2 calls over 2 weeks. $400.  (See Outreach page for pro bono information.)

Additional assistance may be planned in 2-hour segments at $50/hr.

Interested in getting some help navigating your dietary changes? Contact me so we can see if we’re a good fit.

Tilth Recipe Alteration or Creation

“THANK YOU [for creating this recipe]!!! . . . My half Korean husband was ecstatic. He even broke out into song once. After 4 years of cooking for our multiple allergen and celiac daughter, we were enraptured to eat something that tasted like it was straight out of our favorite, and sadly avoided, Asian restaurant!”

Do you have a family favorite that you just can’t seem to alter well for your or your family’s food restrictions? Is there a restaurant where you can no longer safely eat, and you want to make a variation on one of its recipes at home? Is your child or spouse requesting a special dish but you don’t have any idea how to make it? Or do you want to surprise your food-allergic sweetie with a new version of an old classic?  Many times, I can alter or create a recipe successfully for you—and then explain to you why it works so that you can use the knowledge and skills for future changes to recipes.

Because recipe alteration often requires multiple iterations to get the flavors and textures just right, the price for this service varies widely based on the difficulty of the recipe and the required changes.  Contact me to discuss recipe alteration or creation services. (You might also want to check out the Retreats page; participants at retreats usually get to submit a recipe for alteration as part of the program!)