OBN Graduate Interview: Kate Portwood of Wildflower Superfoods
Kate discovered Oh Baby School of Holistic Nutrition when she was pregnant with her second child. After graduating with an Advanced Certification specializing in Postpartum and Baby Nutrition, she started her company, Wildflower Superfoods, to focus on creating products that nourish women and help them thrive during postpartum and beyond.
We sat down with Kate to hear all about how becoming a Certified Nutrition Consultant has impacted her career opportunities and how she nourishes herself and her family.
When and why did you first become interested in supporting mothers and/or babies through nutrition? What inspired you to embark on this career path?
It was through my own health journey that started leading me down a more holistic path. I started to see a naturopathic doctor, cleaned up the household products I had in my home, including beauty products, and started buying organic food. All of these things had a big impact on my health in a positive way and helped me understand the importance of proper nutrition. It wasn’t until becoming a mother myself, that I really started to hone in on the importance of nourishing little ones right from pregnancy and through into their daily lives.
What did you do before joining Oh Baby to become a Certified Nutrition Consultant? Were you already in the nutrition field? Did you already work with mothers and/or babies?
I actually started my career in marketing and it wasn’t until I went on my own health journey that I started to become interested in holistic healing and nutrition. I was pregnant with my first child when I went back to school to study herbalism and pregnant with my second when I started the certification program at Oh Baby School of Holistic Nutrition. That was what I loved about the course at OBN, that it was self-paced online so that I could complete the lessons and assignments during my daughter’s nap time or in the evenings.
How would you describe the work you do now, and why do you think this work is so needed in the world? How has becoming certified impacted your career?
I started formulating my own protein powders out of a desire to create something that really is pure, clean, and easy to digest. For my own health reasons I cannot eat gluten or dairy, so whey proteins and other highly processed plant-based options left me feeling inflamed and bloated. I wanted to use my favorite herbs to help nourish the body and make it easy to add good quality ingredients, without sugar into your daily routine. There is a lot of greenwashing in the health space and I think it’s important to create products that actually make an impact on people's overall wellness.
My certification through Oh Baby School of Holistic Nutrition fuelled my passion for nourishing women postpartum and gave me the education and understanding of how important food is in our overall well-being. This education helped me create balanced products that nourish you not only postpartum, but that support you throughout your family's journey.
I am very grateful that I now get to share products with my community that help women feel good and that nourish their bodies at the same time. My powders are a base of organic Canadian hemp protein powder and incorporate different herbs like ashwagandha, reishi mushroom, nettle leaf, elderberry, spirulina, and more. We’ve also just launched a marine collagen powder, formulated with vitamin C for max absorption. Another key element during my postpartum journey that made a big positive impact on my hair and skin.
Have you been able to incorporate anything you learned from your program into your own life, your baby’s, or your family’s?
My education at Oh Baby gave me the tools to support my own body through nutrition during my second pregnancy and I believe this was a big contributor to my beautiful home birth with my son. Taking proper care of my body post-birth and paying attention to the essential nutrients needed, played a key role in my healthy and successful breastfeeding journey and influenced how I feed my family. We are extremely conscious about the food we eat, how to consume balanced meals, and understanding where our food comes from. Thanks to OBN, my kids are big fans of sauerkraut, spirulina (which I’ve incorporated into my Queen of Green powder), bone broth, and many other staples we continue to use in our household.
What advice would you have for someone who is considering studying with Oh Baby?
You won’t regret it! I believe that so much of our health is in our own hands, and this course gave me the tools to feel empowered to not only take care of myself, but to raise two strong healthy children. Whether you’re studying to consult other people, or just gaining knowledge and insight to empower your family, these skills are so important in today’s world.
What’s your favorite thing you learned while studying with Oh Baby? The one thing you’d want all (pregnant/postpartum/breastfeeding mothers/babies starting solids) to know?
I learned so many things while studying with OBN, but most importantly OBN helped me to feel empowered. Knowledge is power and understanding how to properly nourish our bodies at any stage of life is so important. I am forever grateful for this knowledge that I get to pass on to my children, and my Wildflower Superfoods community as well.