About
Welcome to Everyday Chocolate, where I like to write about having a healthy relationship with food, exercise, and your body, as well as living intentionally and pursuing whole-person health and wellness. My hope is that this blog will help you grow in experiencing greater peace and freedom with food and exercise, bringing more joy and fullness into your life.
I am an eating disorder dietitian specializing in helping women journey through anorexia and disordered eating recovery. You can read more about my nutrition counseling private practice, Libby Stenzel Nutrition, where I help clients with healing and improving their relationships with food and exercise. I do this by helping you explore the thoughts and feelings behind any disordered eating, and considering the root level causes of the disordered eating.
My motivation for this practice stems in large part from my own experience recovering from anorexia ~15 years ago. The freedom I’ve experienced energizes me to help others on their own journeys towards living the full lives they are meant to live! You can contact me here for more information regarding my nutrition counseling services. You can read more about my journey with anorexia and an exercise addiction here.
I live near Ann Arbor, Michigan, and graduated in the spring of 2021 from the University of Michigan with my Master of Public Health degree in Nutritional Sciences. I also completed my dietetic internship through the University of Michigan.
I’m passionate about looking at health from a well-rounded, multi-faceted view, looking at all aspects of our health and well-being – thinking beyond nutrition/exercise and also looking at things like our stress level, sleep, gut health, relationships, environment, and emotional/mental health.
I believe that our relationship with food is just as (if not more) important than the nutritional content of what is on our plates. I believe in expanding the foods we are eating whenever possible, not restricting. I believe we are meant to enjoy food, not to stress about it or seek to overly control and manipulate it.
Why Everyday Chocolate??
The name Everyday Chocolate stems from how my husband likes to (jokingly) make fun of me for eating chocolate every day – I treat chocolate almost like its own food group! 🙂
“Everyday Chocolate” is meant to convey some of my foundational philosophy about food. This includes the ideas that:
- We are meant to have peace with all foods – it is okay to have and enjoy chocolate (or any other foods you love) every day!
- “Healthy eating” doesn’t just mean the nutritional content of our food – experiencing the pleasures of eating and having a healthy relationship with food are also important components of healthy eating. What’s more, it’s only when we have a healthy relationship with food that we can incorporate nutrition info/science in a life-giving and truly healthy way.
- There are simple pleasures and joy to be found in the everyday of life. One way I like to experience this on a regular basis is through chocolate!
Some Fun Facts!
Hometown:
Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan
Currently Living In:
Pittsfield Township, Michigan (near Ann Arbor)
College/Major:
University of Michigan, History of Art (2015)
Favorite Foods:
Peaches, chocolate bread pudding, any kind of nut butter, raw carrots, anything pumpkin chocolate chip, coffee or anything coffee-flavored, honeycrisp apples, gelato, brussels sprouts, roasted veggies, my homemade chicken salad, delish ahi tuna or salmon, beets, my Dad’s burgers and ribs, and…of course, anything chocolate! My favorite chocolate bar to have on hand is Trader Joe’s Organic 72% Cacao Belgian Dark Chocolate (the best!). I buy multiple bars every week and have been doing so for many years!
Ways I Like to Spend Time:
I love to spend time outdoors, especially running or walking, hiking, skiing, and backpacking. I also enjoy doing yoga, reading, cooking/baking, listening to podcasts, watching college football and basketball, and learning/thinking about politics, history, and culture.
Traits to Describe Myself:
Intuitive, motivated, adventurous, lover-of-learning, organized, dependable, and empathetic. (For those familiar with Myers-Briggs, I am an INTJ — very I, N, & J. My husband is an INFJ, making us the rarest of pairings!)
Favorite Place Visited:
Salzburg, Austria
Top Bucket List Places to Visit:
There are many! I’ll go with hiking or skiing the French Alps, skiing in Whistler, Canada, hiking at Machu Picchu in Peru, and touring Ireland/Scotland 🙂
Some of my favorite adventures!
Ways to Connect Further:
–> Check back weekly for new blog posts every Wednesday! Or subscribe and get new posts straight to your inbox.
–> Reach out with any questions or consider working together one-on-one!
