I met Wendie a while back, before kids, and when I was in marathon mode. We were in a running group that met at 5:30 am and we hit it off. She is so easy to talk to and I loved that she was a nutritionist. Fast forward post baby, and I needed some help. I turned to Wendie because I just don’t trust information you find online. She has the education and experience and I knew she could help with my nutrition needs. She has done so many awesome things from a blog to a business to some oats. PantryDr is my go to for all things health and she’s been instrumental in helping me through all of my nutritional needs over the years. I happen to think she’s also a pretty savvy business woman and I look to her for inspiration with that as well.
1) What is Pantry Dr all about?
As a nutritionist and healthy living blogger, I love to share with others the importance of eating real foods, offering simple recipes, and giving a glimpse into my pantry and everyday life. I practice what I preach, and truly believe that living a healthy lifestyle encompasses not only the foods that we choose to put into our bodies, but also fitness, stress management, sleep, beauty routines, and having positive people in your life! In short, this is far more than a food blog, it is a lifestyle that anyone can choose to be a part of!
My mission : The Pantry Doctor, LLC is committed to helping individuals meet their goals by offering a practical approach to nutrition, and empowering people to make lifestyle choices that will improve their health and well-being.
2) How did you come up with your business?
I was actually on a business trip driving across South Carolina. I spent hours and days on the road traveling and one day I just asked myself, “if I could do anything in the world….what would that be?” Where did it all start? And it started with a simple idea that I would go into pantrys cleaning them of junk food –life TLC’s What not to wear!–only what not to eat. Then I was so excited I drove straight to happy hour and told a friend who has a very successful business and he told me I really needed to have a blog. My response: “What is a blog?” That was in 2013 and that is embarrasing to admit. My business has come a long way since then!
3) what is your favorite part about what you do?
The best thing about what I do is that it allows me to connect with people. Not only can I connect locally with people in Greenville, but I have met people now from all over the world. Pretty interesting from someone that didn’t know what a blog was!
4) What attracted to you to nutrition?
I have always been interested in health. Funny enough because I didn’t grow up eating the healthiest. My mom came from a generation where she grew up on convenience foods. My grandmother like many in that generation learned about fast food. Crisco was a new discovery, shelf-stable foods grocery stores, and food became industrialized so naturally we ate a lot from cans and Little Debbies were a staple in my home growing up. I knew those foods didn’t make me feel the best, and in high school I became obssessed with food trying to figure out what was “right” and what was “wrong” while I watched my mom do Sugarbusters and we tried to keep our fat below 30 grams a day. I remember watching mom walk every single night for up to an hour and never lose a pound. She never understood and was so frustrated. Somewhere between dabbling in health and science classes in college and deciding to run my first 5K, I switched my major to nutrition. The #1 reason I work with clients is to help them overcome the frustrations I saw with my mom and so many others. Every day I get asked the same questions I asked myself. The reason I do what I do is to help people overcome these demons and feel at peace with their body and with food.
5) Tell us about the transition from the corporate world to being a business owner?
I can sum it up in one word: TOUGH. But everyday I am happy. Happier than I have been in my whole career. There is something great about the struggle to create -as I know you can agree. But when you create something that is purely and uniquely yours no one can ever take that away from you….and that is addictive.
6) What’s your favorite way to get some exercise?
Oh gosh, I ran marathons for years, but now I spend my Saturday mornings with my new PDfit run group doing half hour runs on swamp rabbit and having coffee laughing with them after. I absolutely love the tone and the burn that I get from Pure Barre, and hot yoga never fails me. I can’t pick a favorite studio because there are so many great ones here in Greenville.
7) What kinds of new things can we expect to see from PantryDr?
I am soooooo excited you asked me this! I am gearing up to launch a big project in January I have been working on for several months now. Stay tuned for more on that! đŸ™‚ I am also excited to announce my partnership with Livewell Greenville! The overnight oats are now Livewell Greenville certified, and I do have plans to roll out more products laster this year. Hint (gluten-free). People asked. I listened.
8) Give the reader some tips, maybe 5 things to help them get through the holidays and stay somewhat healthy.
- Enjoy whatever you see that you want at the party because IF you don’t, you will be obssessing for days and there will be a binge sesh headed your way. Just go ahead and take it and enjoy every single bite.
- If you see three desserts you want, try all three. Get little small pieces of all of them. Its ok.
- Â It is better to take a little bit of everything and fill up your plate just once then you wont be tempted to go back.
- Â Chat with people on the opposite side of the room as the food..better yet, if there is dancing get over by the dj.
- Â 1 glass of water to every glass of alcohol.
9) What’s something fun about you that isn’t related to your business?
I have an extremely diverse taste in music. If you follow me on Snapchat or IG stories you might catch me sauteing veggies to Bone Thugs and Harmony, and if you come for dinner and my shuffle station is on Pandora you might get “Silent Night”, Justin Bieber, or Guns n Roses… Just sayin..
Check out Wendie on all her various forms of social media!!
Snapchat: pantrydoctor
