Welcome

Health with Hales started as the Instagram account I created my senior year of college. The account stemmed from inspiration I found from a collection of influencers on the platform, posting about their health and fitness journeys. One of my biggest influences (I believe her Instagram page being one of the first I stumbled upon) was shutthekaleup. She posted about her personal life and family, as well as her beliefs in knowing where your food comes from, as well as supporting local and organic business. My passion stemmed from a similar place, but it wasn’t until I stumbled upon this world of posting and sharing the passion did I realize it could be a discussion, and a means of connecting with people.

At the time, I was going to school during the week while living in my apartment in the same town as campus, and commuting home every other weekend to work. I was budgeting my grocery shopping, but spending money on food was something I truly (strangely) enjoyed. I don’t know many people who love going grocery shopping, but going to the store by myself and looking for new, interesting health food products was one of my favorite ways to spend my time.

My very first post on my Instagram account was a picture of me holding a yogurt. I wasn’t anything fancy, new, or original, and yet it felt like the start of something just like all of those things.

I had adopted such as strange love for grocery shopping, clean ingredients, and creating recipes. I began posting more and sharing more brightly colored ( and poorly lit) photographs of my grocery cart, smoothies, recipes, baked goods, and more. Health with Hales went through a plethora of stages, which included all of the following, in no specific order and at varying points in time, multiple times: vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, paleo-based, plant-based. I no longer put a label on any of that. I found out the term “flexitarian” is a thing, however it, to be honest, sounds hilarious and made up to me. So to keep it simple and within my own terms, I just eat, and do, what I want.

A few years after college, when I had admittedly found myself posting less and less on the account, I picked it back up. It was, afterall, an easy way to engage in something I was passionate about. Health with Hales went through a rebranding stage, which included the harsh deletion of every post, and the posting of a themed, “on-brand,” photograph to get the ball (re)rolling.

Today, my account is exactly what I wanted and need it to be. I don’t worry about posting a gluten-free, vegan meal and then the next day, not. I’m still on my wellness journey, trying to figure things out one plate at a time.