About Us
Heart Healthy Meals has been my personal evolutionary process. I began cooking as a pre-teen. It was easy to make people happy with yummy tasting food. My mom didn’t particularly enjoy cooking, so it was easy to be allowed the freedom and creativity to explore in the kitchen. The only cooking class I have ever taken was a raw foods class taught by my dear friend Diane Henry. Ironically, I went to college as a nutrition major, and quickly changed it to business when I learned I would have to take a lot of science classes. I was a traditional cook and “eater” until my daughter was born in 1990. We chose to raise our children eating organic foods and using all natural cleaning products. Our home was free of toxins and all organic, but I still ate meat and dairy. In 1998 I was told I had “leaky gut” syndrome and I tested highly sensitive to gluten, dairy, soy. This began my journey of retrofitting recipes based on restricted diets. I spent the next 16 years being “mostly” vegetarian, avoiding gluten and dairy, and still eating my processed foods, sugar and occasional meat. In late 2014 I discovered that I had early signs of heart disease. All four of my grandparents died of heart disease and one grandmother died at 63! It was time to make a lifestyle change.
Fortunately I had met Dr Greg Feinsinger who is a retired physician who specializes in heart attack and stroke prevention, using food as medicine. In particular, he promotes a plant-based whole foods, no oils/fats, no salt, no sugar diet. Dr Feinsinger had the vision to partner with a local chef, who prepared frozen meals for his patients who found it difficult to start a plant-based diet. In March of 2015, that chef became me!
Who is Ardis Hoffman?
I am a wellness enthusiast who began my wellness journey in 1990 when my daughter was born. At that point, a very wise pediatrician recommended that I NOT give antibiotics to my 4 week old daughter, but instead allow her immune system to fight her cold. Being a child of the sixties who was always treated with antibiotics for one thing or another, I was intrigued. In 1992, I was employed at Wellspring for Women in Boulder as a Practice Manager. I began to learn a lot about alternative ways to stay healthy, changing food choices and taking supplements, instead of pharmaceutical products. I stayed and learned the medical field, working at Mountain Family Health Center as a Finance Director – then back to alternative medicine working as a practice Manager for Grossman Wellness Center in Golden, Colorado. I was fascinated by what I was learning – how most all disease is caused by the food we choose to eat. It’s crazy for me to think that we are purposefully choosing foods that make us sick and we are bankrupting our healthcare system by the burden of heart disease and type 2 diabetes alone– which are both avoidable diseases!
In preparation for my “after my kids are grown career”, in 2006 I began a Coaching certification program through Higher Alignment in Boulder. In December 2012, I left my “real” job to pursue my passion becoming a full-time Life Coach, teaching classes, supporting individuals, families and couples in learning deeper ways to connect. I love supporting the self-love process and now I see food as the basis for the ultimate way of loving ourselves. While in Boulder, I co-lead a Monday Night Class series which included a home cooked meal as part of the package. Monday night classes became very popular – I was cooking organic, mostly vegetarian, gluten free meals for 35-40 people most Monday night for 2 years. During that time many people asked for my recipes and suggested that I publish a cook book with my healthy recipes. That’s still on my list to do!
In April 2014, after falling in love with the Roaring Fork Valley (and Mt Sopris) I was called “home” to start my “next chapter”. Less than a year later, Heart Healthy Meals was born. I am having so much fun being part of this shift in consciousness to a healthier way of eating. I want to build a community of people committed to a heart-centered lifestyle with plant-based whole foods choices as a foundation. I hope to expand this message to as many people who are ready to take control of their health, using food as medicine.
I have a collection of very yummy and healthy, plant-based whole foods recipes. Most are gluten free as there are so many who seem to be sensitive to gluten right now. I am committed to selecting the best organic or locally grown/seasonal ingredients possible in all my prepared foods.
I am here to support you in making your shift to a plant-based whole foods lifestyle – are you ready?
