Why Your Gut Garden Matters More Than Ever in Midlife

Let’s keep it real: when we talk about our midlife bodies, it’s essential we stay grounded in the world we actually live in—not some fantasy where your body is a machine and the only solution to uncomfortable symptoms of menopause is an estrogen top-up.

This post isn’t meant to shock you. It’s meant to wake us up—to reconnect the dots between our health and the health of the planet. So let’s jump in.

Over the weekend, I read an article about the dramatic decline of insect life across the planet. Not just a small dip—an ecological free-fall.

You might remember being a kid, riding in the back seat of the car on long trips, and your windshield would be smeared with bugs by the time you arrived. When’s the last time that happened?

The main culprits? Climate breakdown and pesticides.

It’s heartbreaking—but it also made me think immediately of another ecosystem under quiet assault: our internal ecosystem.

Yes, your microbiome—your gut garden—is just as crucial to your health as insects are to the health of our planet. And just like the insect world, we rarely think about it.

Your Body Mirrors the Planet

Here’s the truth: our health and well-being are inextricably linked to the health of the natural world. You are not separate from nature. You are nature. You are a complex, interconnected ecosystem, just like the earth.

Let’s take that idea seriously and look at what that means for midlife and menopause.

Your gut microbiome houses the DNA of 500 to 1,000 different bacteria—tiny, unseen allies living inside you, keeping you alive, resilient, and vibrant. When your gut is healthy, you’re more likely to feel healthy.

But just like insect populations are harmed by environmental toxins, your gut garden is damaged by chemicals in your food, water, and household products. And when that internal garden suffers, you feel it—especially during menopause.

Here’s why your microbiome is your midlife superpower:

🌿 Mood and mental health: A healthy microbiome supports serotonin production and reduces anxiety—essential during the emotional waves of midlife.

🛡️ Immunity: It protects against auto-immune issues, which can emerge or worsen during menopause.

🦴 Bone health: Your gut bacteria produce vitamin K2, which teams up with vitamin D and calcium to build strong bones and joints—critical as estrogen declines.

❤️ Heart health: K2 and D also work together to produce proteins that protect your cardiovascular system—a known risk in menopause.

🔄 Hormone regulation: Your microbiome helps clear out excess estrogen during peri-menopausal hormone spikes, reducing symptom severity and risk of hormone-driven cancers.

🧠 Brain health: Your gut microbes ferment fiber into short-chain fatty acids like butyrate, which protect your brain from degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and even depression.

Your gut bugs are literally building the fats your changing brain needs to stay sharp and resilient in this time of hormonal remodeling. This is next-level body wisdom—and most women haven’t been told any of it.

You Are Not a Machine

Let me say this clearly: your body is not broken. And it’s not a machine in need of a simple mechanical fix.

The current menopause narrative tells us we are deficient. That something is wrong. That topping up hormones is the only answer.

But this framework doesn’t honor the complexity, beauty, or natural intelligence of your body. It ignores the powerful relationship between your health and the ecosystem you live in.

It’s time to change the narrative—and the way we live inside our bodies.

Here's How to Start Healing Both You and the Planet

🌱 Keep chemicals out of your home and food wherever possible.
🌱 Support regenerative and organic farmers.
🌱 Buy local and influence your community food systems.
🌱 Speak up for nature, your gut, and future generations.
🌱 Stop thinking of your body as something to fix. Instead, nurture it the way we must nurture the earth.

These aren’t just nice ideas—they’re powerful, practical actions.

Need Help Getting Started?

If you are looking for a way of eating, not a diet, but a permanent change to your food habits with a proven system of easy to take baby-steps that build a lifestyle that promotes health in your body and on our planet for a lifetime, I have assembled the information, the mindset shifts and the support you need in one easy to implement course called ​Menopause U​.

Heads-up...naturally ​Menopause U​ puts the recipes into your hands that will rebuild and support your microbiome!

This is where mindset meets method. You’ll find easy steps, real food, powerful education, and recipes designed to restore and protect your gut health. Because tending your internal garden is a radical act of self-care and planetary care.

🌀 Ready to make changes that last a lifetime?
🌀 Ready to reduce your menopause symptoms and reclaim your energy?
🌀 Ready to eat in a way that heals your body and your planet?

Menopause U gives you the tools.

There’s a lot going on in the world right now. But your zone of influence starts with you. And the food you choose every day is a powerful act of both resistance and renewal.

This blog was a bit of a deep cut—so if it resonated, let me know in the comments below. What would you like to explore next? Your voice matters here.

Midlife Overwhelm: Why “Having It All” Is Costing Women Too Much

For decades, women have been told that success means doing more, being perfect, and “leaning in”—both at work and at home. We’ve been sold the idea that we can have it all... but no one warned us about the burnout that can come with trying to live up to that promise.

We’ve learned to try harder, do more, and keep going, all in an effort to succeed in a world that hasn’t been built with women’s lives in mind. At the same time, we’re bombarded with unrealistic, curated portrayals of motherhood, homemaking, and careers—beautifully filtered on Instagram, but far removed from the daily grind of real life.

The Invisible Load

Many of the roles and responsibilities we carry as women are invisible, repetitive, and gendered—like laundry, meal planning, caregiving, and emotional labor. These are the tasks that never end, that you don’t clock out of. They fill every nook and cranny of your schedule, leaving little room to breathe.

Add to that the hormonal complexity of being a woman, and things really start to pile on.

Hormones & the Midlife Wake-Up Call

In your fertile years, estrogen supports your natural tendency to put others’ needs before your own (maternal instinct). It’s part of how we’re biologically wired. But as estrogen levels drop during midlife and beyond, it’s like someone pulling the curtain back.  And yes these changes start happening in your late 30’s!  New studies show that the body starts preparing for menopause 10 years in advance. Most women hit menopause between the ages of 48- 52 so minus 10 years from there and your hormones and body are already changing. You start to shift perspective -  You see how much you’ve been giving—sometimes to the point of depletion—and the realization of how you are spending your energy can be intense.

You may already be in burnout from years of chronic stress and putting others' needs before your own. That burnout doesn’t just affect your mood—it amplifies your midlife symptoms too. The exhaustion, the mood swings, the big feelings like resentment, rage, guilt, and grief—they’re all real.

And if, like me (I'm 44), you’re going through this shift right now, you might be feeling the physical and emotional toll at once—unsure of who you are anymore and wondering if you're falling apart.

🌱 So Where Do We Go From Here?

The truth is, this phase of life can be an opportunity—a moment of reckoning and realignment. With the right mindset and support, you can reclaim your power, your time, and your sense of self.

Here are a few ways to begin:

🧘‍♀️Mindset Reset

Start by making a full assessment of all the roles, tasks, and responsibilities you’re currently holding—both at home and at work. Don’t filter. Be honest. Then remind yourself:

You are one human woman.
You deserve joy, rest, creativity & support.

Be kind to yourSELF without judgement.
You are your own greatest gift.
You do not have to carry this all alone. 

Practice Radical Self-care!  That means learning how to fill your cup to overflowing and give the overflow to others INSTEAD of continually emptying your cup and struggling to refill it. 

🧠 Ground Yourself

Brain fog is one of the biggest worries of women in midlife.  Brain Fitness is a series of movements that have been approved by neuroscientists to help with brain fog, memory, energy and cognitive function.  Try these simple brain fitness moves and notice the difference!

🛑 Set One Simple Boundary

Boundaries are essential. Choose just one boundary this week that will protect your time, energy, or space. Here are some small but powerful examples:

• A no-chore time each day—perhaps outside with a warm drink or a gentle walk.

• A cozy, designated corner for reading, crafting, or meditating—just for you.

• A screen-free hour in the evening, with your bedroom door closed and your mind off-duty.

✨ Your Small Shift Today Is Your Future Freedom

Using tiny solutions is the best path to change.  That’s why we created a Tiny Course to dive a little deeper into easy to action daily baby steps that you can easily incorporate into your life.  We are so excited to share with you The 10-minute Overwhelm Solution so you can discover life-changing strategies to Press reset!  Get more information here.

 You've tried all the old ways! It's exhausting and it's not working!

• You don't need to count calories and do more cardio

• You don't need to join a gym

• You don't need a fad diet

• You don't need a 1 hour daily meditation practice

• You don't need a fancy new organizing app or journal

• You don't need a 12 week program or course

This is your reminder:
You’re not here to serve everyone else until you disappear.
You’re here to live fully, with purpose, pleasure, and peace.

Now is the time to reclaim your energy, your body, your schedule—and most importantly, your self.

Your future you will thank you!

Easy Breakfast Frittata

I can’t believe I have been gatekeeping this simple and delicious recipe for a protein rich Breakfast Frittata, because it is how I choose to start my day most mornings!

I am all about cooking once and having food prepared for the week; you can see this in my Daily Green Smoothie and Chocolate Morning Drink recipes.

We are all busy, and getting out of the door in the morning most often does not allow for elaborate food prep on waking! I like to have all of my ‘ducks in a row’ when it comes to my breakfast, so I am guaranteed to start my day right, just by pulling prepared dishes out of my refrigerator.

This recipe fulfills the midlife requirement for you to increase the protein and fibre you are eating daily so you can…

1. Balance your blood sugar in the morning to avoid the energy crashes in the day which cause mood swings and increase your number and severity of hot flashes.

2. Eat enough protein daily to protect your muscle and bone health as you move through perimenopause and into the next chapter.

3. Leverage fibre to help you reduce and eliminate your uncomfortable symptoms of menopause. Fibre drags the excess hormone out of the body when estrogen spikes in perimenopause.

4. Adds the fibre to your day that builds a diverse and healthy microbiome. A healthy microbiome is an indicator of longevity and will manage your uncomfortable symptoms for you by packaging up excess estrogen ready to be removed from the body. There is strong research between a vibrant microbiome and a reduced risk of breast cancer because of the support your internal garden offers you in managing estrogen in your body!

This recipe also includes a cruciferous vegetable in the form of sprouted broccolini. It is in season just now, tastes incredibly sweet and feeds your body the compound indole-3-carbinol, which supports your liver in breaking down excess estrogen in the body to reduce symptoms and protect you against the risk of breast cancer.

This is a dish you can make with any ingredients you enjoy…a very loose recipe and designed for you to get playful in the kitchen!

I have included black beans for additional fibre, for their longevity promoting polyphenols and because I love the energy I get from the slow burning carbs found in black beans in the morning!

I added red pepper because I recently bought a 4lb bag of peppers for $4 CAD so they are in every dish I am eating just now! But they are also a fantastic source of vitamin C and fibre.

I make this frittata weekly using 10-12 eggs and eat it throughout the week.

I have made it with added Greek Yoghurt and cottage cheese, to add more protein and baked it with cheese on the top in the Winter, when I needed a bit more of that ‘comfort food’ feeling on a cold morning.

I have added mushrooms, leeks, sweet potato, onion, chickpeas, tomatoes, broccoli, kale, grated carrot, zucchini, chopped herbs and leftover cooked sausage and chicken.

I want you to lay claim to this recipe, to use the ingredients you most want to eat in the morning and to make it your own!

🤫Did I say it also makes a fantastic and easy lunch with a side salad!

I invariably serve this Easy Breakfast Frittata warmed up, with 1/2 avocado, if I have one on hand, for additional fibre and healthy fat. In my opinion, the Fritatta always tastes better with the addition of hot sauce or a side of fermented kimchi and makes an easy and delicious, prepare-ahead start to the day.

It is possible to take the grind out of your morning AND feed yourself delicious and nutritious food!

Ingredients

1 tsp butter or olive oil
12 fresh eggs
salt and pepper to season the eggs
1/2 can black beans or chickpeas drained and rinsed
1/2 bunch broccolini, collard greens, kale or 1 medium head of broccoli
1 sweet red pepper
Handful of Cherry tomatoes halved
Optional:
1 cup cottage cheese or Greek Yoghurt
Cheese for the top
Leftover cooked sausage, chicken or steak
Any vegetable that is in season or you love and enjoy!

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 300F

2. Grease a 9x6 glass dish or tin with the butter or olive oil

3. Layer in the beans, vegetables and meats if you are using…there is no need to cook the vegetables ahead, just slice thinly or dice small, which makes the Frittata easier to slice and eat.

4. Break 10-12 eggs in a large mixing bowl

5. Add in the Greek Yoghurt or cottage cheese if using and season with salt and pepper.

6. Whisk the eggs until frothy and light and pour gently over the vegetables into the container.

7. Top with cheese if desired

8. Bake low and slow at 300F for 40 minutes or until the center of the Frittata springs back when lightly pressed. You do not want any runny egg!

9. Allow the Frittata to cool for a while and slice while still warm into 6 or 8 slices, depending on your appetite.

10. Cover and keep refrigerated, taking one slice each day from the dish for breakfast or lunch.