MamaKai (Mother Food) nourishes and supports growing families and a wide variety of parents-to-be, through: traditionally-prepared, convenient, healing meals; educational seminars and tools: in-person and online, including the comprehensive Companion Guide; as well as community outreach, client registries and support coordination.

• MamaKai clients have their postpartum needs specifically met – not only with foods needed for health, healing, breastfeeding and child development, but with education to help empower families in making important decisions. MamaKai’s programs pull from many modalities of nutrition education and research, distilling it specifically to postpartum wellness.
• Elimination/reduction of foods that cause issues in postpartum healing and breastfeeding (gluten, dairy, soy, sugars, cruciferous veggies etc.).
• Pre-planning in pregnancy for optimal community support as well as best practices of meals at home around birth – “Papa’s Guide” included in Companion Guide to help new dads navigate the kitchen and maximize MamaKai meals at home.
• Free 15-30 minute initial consultation. Follow-up nutritional counseling available.
• 60-page Companion Guide (education and wellness resources) for postpartum planning and understanding expectations.
• Customer Service – responsive customer service and bringing a more personalized approach to individual needs.
• All products and services are inclusive; there are no additional fees for packaging and delivery.

The Growing Health Problem
The following statistics are provided by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding just a few of the primary illnesses that many Americans suffer from today. Although we continue to pour more and more funding into research and development of reactive treatments for these illnesses, you’ll notice that the figures of those diagnosed and afflicted continue to climb. Many people being born today will be diagnosed with not just one of these illnesses either, compounding the problems and rendering them unfit to help keep our society strong.

• 1/5 of women in the United States suffer from some level of Post Partum Depression. (http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=8846)
• Since 1980, obesity prevalence among children and adolescents has almost tripled. (http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/problem.html)
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) has an overall health care cost of more than $1.7 billion. Each year in the United States, IBD accounts for more than 700,000 physician visits, 100,000 hospitalizations, and disability in 119,000 patients. (http://www.cdc.gov/ibd/)
• Recent studies have estimated that the lifetime cost to care for an individual with an Autism Spectrum Disorder is $3.2 million.
  (http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html)
• There were approximately 1.9 million new diagnoses of Diabetes in 2010 in people aged 20 and older. Almost 27% of Americans aged 65 and older are diagnosed currently with diabetes. (http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/pdf/ndfs_2011.pdf)

My Own Journey
As a Therapeutic Personal Chef and Nutrition Editor for pre and postnatal families, it quickly became obvious that these families struggled most with the period of, day one through the first 6 months of life with their new child (considered “postpartum”). Many traditional cultures treat this special time with great care and support, while experiencing fewer complications and up to 80% less postpartum depression than we see regularly, here in the US. There were also ties to greater longevity and health throughout life when new parents and babies were cared for deeply; and the community came together to ensure the next generation would be strong.

Great high-quality foods also support building a body that will see less disease with age. Poor nutrition in newborns has been linked to chronic health conditions developing later in life (additional statistics given above), including:

• Digestive disorders: gluten-intolerance, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Crohn’s disease, Ulcerative Colitis, and gall bladder issues, just to name a few…
• Type 2 Diabetes – we are finding more of in younger and younger children. Thisis something that traditional cultures did not deal with and it’s something that can be healed with food.
• Asthma, allergies and other food sensitivities
• Autism spectrum disorders
• Multiple sclerosis (MS) and other auto-immune disorders
• Arthritis and Osteoporosis
• Cancers
• Heart disease 

Director & Visionary

Angie Needels, therapeutic executive Chef and Nutrition Educator

I started MamaKai to support the health and wellbeing of others through my love of cooking. My own path to wellness informs my approach and provides deep understanding and empathy for the personal journeys of everyone I have and will work with. I struggled with not knowing how to be healthy, or even being able to recognize what “being healthy” really looked like. Pervasive body image myths, unrealistic expectations and poor diets only made things worse. When I focused my attention to the food I was eating, I saw a way to turn things around.  With a dedication to whole, unprocessed foods that our traditional ancestry flourished on for many thousands of generations, my own body found a more balanced equilibrium, and my mental outlook improved in spades. I’ve turned my own insights into the foundation of my service for others. It is a great honor to share the healing powers of great nutrition with growing families and see our next generation be strong and healthy.

THIS is my life’s work. Something I am so very blessed doing. Something that drives me to spread the word, because I see so much possibility in truly healthy living. Something that shows such positive force out in the world, a rebirth in our collective love of nourishing ourselves through food. I put a lot of myself and that passion into every detail of every dish that I’ve ever made. And I feel it must be working with all the great feedback I get from my clients. This passion encompasses how we look at our sourcing; supporting local sustainable agriculture and small businesses; how we look at our work force, treating them fairly and giving them the tools to be successful; and how we look at giving our next generation the opportunity of starting an amazingly healthy and vital life from the very beginning.

Certifications, Memberships and affiliations

Bauman College
Certified Natural Chef and Nutrition Educator
www.baumancollege.com

ServSafe Food Safety Management
Certified Food Safety and Sanitation Management
www.servsafe.com

Weston A. Price Foundation
www.westonaprice.org

The Nourishing Our Children Campaign
http://nourishingourchildren.org/Home.html

Organic Consumers Association
http://www.organicconsumers.org/