Sarah Halvorsen
Writing at MamaGlow Journal
About
Two kids. The 5-year-old is in kindergarten and currently into beetles specifically — not just bugs, beetles, and he will explain the difference to you at length if you make eye contact with him. The 3-year-old spent four days last month refusing anything that was touching, which meant three food piles on the plate and crying about it anyway. Chicago suburbs. Too much coffee. The chocolate lives in the laundry room in a travel bag behind the dryer sheets — moved it there from the pantry in October when the 3-year-old learned to climb, and that's where it stays.
Gained 45 pounds with my second pregnancy. Lost 10 in the first six months postpartum, then stalled for the next eight. That gap — knowing what you should do, not being able to locate the energy to do it — is what this site is about. Ran a meal plan from a food blogger I like: 10 days before the ingredient overlap killed it. Tried a supplement a coworker swore by: jittery and weird, stopped after eight days. Three batch-cooking Sundays in a row: each time the food got eaten exactly once. Kept a running note on my phone — what I tried, what happened. After 18 months that note was long enough to actually write up.
No certifications. No nutrition or fitness degrees. What I have: 18 months of logged experiments, strong opinions on which meal kit services aren't worth the per-serving math, and the working knowledge that frozen peas are currently the only vegetable my 3-year-old eats without protest. Medical questions go to your doctor. Budget-constrained meal prep that survives a Tuesday with two kids: that's the lane.
Written by Sarah Halvorsen
- How I Do Batch Cooking Healthy Lunches in Under Two Hours
- Healthy Breakfast Meal Prep for the Busy Suburban Chicago School Run
- How I Stop Sugar Cravings Postpartum Without Giving Up Chocolate
- How to Meal Prep for Weight Loss on a Tight Suburban Budget
- How to Stop Stress Eating When the Kids Are Driving You Crazy
- My Honest LeanBiome Review: Can a Probiotic Help With Postpartum Belly Fat?
- How I Reclaimed My Identity Beyond Just Being Someone's Mom
- Everything You Need to Know About the Smoothie Diet for Moms
- The Truth About Late Night Snacking When the Kids Finally Sleep
- What I Buy at the Chicago Suburb Aldi to Stay on Track
- Finding My Balance After Two Kids and Constant Bloating
- 5 Realistic Ways to Drink More Water Between School Drop-offs
- How I Swapped My Afternoon Caffeine Crash for Something Better
- Why I Stopped Hating My Postpartum Body and Started Fueling It
- The Only Way I Get My Greens While Hiding in the Laundry Room (2026 Update)
- My Sunday Meal Prep Routine for Picky Eaters and Tired Moms (2026 Update)
- 30 Days With CitrusBurn: My Unfiltered Journey As A Tired Suburban Mom (2026 Update)
- How I Finally Started Losing the Baby Weight Without Ever Stepping Foot in a Gym (2026 Update)
Disclosure
Some links here earn me a small commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. I write about things because I tried them — not because someone sent them to me. Passes the "would I spend this money again" test: it's in. Didn't pass: I'll say that.