Abigail DeGroot
My Journey to Nourished Roots:
Like so many women in or after college, my body started screaming for me to take it seriously. Years of late nights, chronic stress, and plenty of junk food and alcohol had finally caught up with me. I struggled with illness after illness, raging anxiety, rashes, ZERO sex drive, the swing of digestion from too fast to too slow, and complete exhaustion. Something had to be done. Thankfully, I knew who to see! In the few years prior, I watched my older sister grapple with an auto-immune condition that no mainstream doctor would take seriously. She was under 100 pounds, restricted to only a handful of foods, allergic to the sun, and covered in rashes. This progressively got worse until she found an amazing functional medicine doctor who changed her life. When my health started heading in that same direction, I contacted that same provider and turned my health around. I was amazed at how fast my body healed and I knew that helping women PREVENT illness and achieve robust fertility was something I was being called to do.
At first I began by attending births as a birth doula. Walking with women as they prepare for, birth, and adapt to life with a new baby. My years as a doula changed everything I knew about the strength of women and their bodies. I learned to trust that nature designed our bodies to achieve intense and difficult, but beautiful things. I was honored to watch not only the births of new babies but the births of new mothers. I was smitten! BUT…as Covid came to a peak, my hospital clients vanished with the visitor restrictions and I had to get creative. With my college background in nutrition and my own journey of diet changes to heal, I started offering in-home personal chef services to families with new babies. This way mom and dad could focus on rest and bonding, and I could keep them eating deeply nourishing foods that would aid in physical and mental healing.
Then, another big life switch! In June 2021, my husband and I relocated to Houston, TX for his work. Without a big network to lean on for clients, I decided to go back to school. By divine guidance I ended up only hours from the only blended holistic nutrition, herbalism, and wellness coaching program I’ve ever heard of. Mind blown! Somewhere along the 2 year journey I developed a deep passion for plant medicine and using the flora around us as the basis for a strong, balanced body.
And somehow, I landed here. Back in Minnesota serving the women of my home community. Helping them experience their power to heal, thrive, and transform.
What a beautiful life it is!
Outside the office…
Outside of work there is a very good chance I’m with my husband, Matt. He may be the most humorous, caring, driven, and intelligent person I’ve ever met. Being his wife is always an adventure and I can’t wait to look back on these years to see how it all unfolds.
Our passions include foraging all the edible and medicinal herbs we can get our hands on as well as growing a lush garden of foods and medicines. Matt considers himself an amateur mycologist and is constantly finding new ways to incorporate the fascinating world of mushrooms into our gardens, meals, and health (and of course the education of our nieces and nephews haha).
Coming in second only to family, nature was a big reason we felt called to come back to Minnesota. We love the seasons, the lakes, rivers, and waterfalls, and all the public land that we have access to! There is so much to enjoy, even in the snow!
Current ponderings: We are currently dreaming up a mini orchard, a way to build a sauna that won’t break the bank, and the ever expanding garden design (mulch and culinary mushrooms maybe?!)
My Mothering Journey
In 2023, Matt and I experienced two 2nd trimester losses due to cervical insuffiency. Since the births of our boys, Hendrix Jacob (1/23) and Orion James (8/23), we have become acutely aware of just how common pregnancy loss is and the varying degrees of support available to couples. We also know the experience of having what feels like a million appointments and consults where you constantly describe and relive the tiny details of your loss(es). There is nothing that could have prepared me for the joys and sorrows of 2023.
In my business and in my community, I desire to support other mamas/couples walking this road. If you’re sharing in this journey or know someone who is, please know I send all of my love. Know that I would be open to offering any advice I can or to be a listening ear from one loss mom to another. If you/they are interested, I can share my experience and knowledge of using herbs and foods to support the postpartum grieving physical body and emotional soul.
I extend my greatest sympathies in welcoming you/them to the worst club that is filled with more love and support than I could write in words.
