Parent Spotlight: Karin Gibson
Karin Gibson is a Registered Dietitian, health coach, and mother to Tilda. She is originally from Sweden and received her Bachelors in Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Gothenburg. Karin currently lives in New York City where she coaches private clients and hosts workshops using her expertise in plant-based nutrition. Karin specializes in plant-based eating during pregnancy, breastfeeding and raising children.
1. What was a small victory you celebrated with Tilda, or in life outside of being a mom, recently?
That I have been able to start my own business and work with my passion; plant-based nutrition! Besides taking care of my daughter I work part time with my private practice that focuses on helping parents to raise happy healthy children, and support them to be confident in how to feed their babies nourishing foods. This has been a dream of mine, and after my maternity leave, I kicked it off!
2. What was an unexpected struggle you faced as a new mom and how did you reorient to overcome that challenge?
Sleep deprivation!! I knew you would never get the same sleep once you have kids, but I had no idea it could be this hard. When my daughter was four months old she went through a sleep regression and woke up every 30 minutes throughout the night. For nearly two months. That was hard. Very hard! Since I was breastfeeding her and also co-slept with her there wasn’t much my husband or anyone else could do, she just wanted me. I read all the books I could about babies and sleep, I joined facebook groups for new moms, I did everything I could to feel less alone, get support and be understood. Slowly but surely it did get better. As with most difficult periods with kids, eventually they get better.
3. Why did you choose to become a nutritionist? How has being Swedish informed your parenting + cooking style?
At a very young age I was fascinated by our bodies and how they function, and I understood that what we eat has a huge impact on our wellbeing and performance. So the choice to become a dietitian was easy. I knew the enormous power of food and I wanted to use that power to help others heal and feel better, without having to use medical interventions.
I grew up on a little farm in the countryside of Sweden and my family grew and foraged most of our food, so to me food has always been “real“, season-based and wholesome. Although I live in NYC now and don’t have the same opportunities as my parents had, my husband and I prioritize food very highly. We pretty much cook everything from scratch and we have also adopted a whole food plant-based lifestyle. We firmly believe that this is the healthiest way to live, for our children, our planet and ourselves.
For more plant-based recipes for you and your little one,
be sure to follow Karin on Instagram @grazinggreens
& learn more about her business HERE!