Meet Ruby Yeh | Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (FNTP) & Culinary Nutrition Expert

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ruby Yeh and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ruby, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I am a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (FNTP) and my business is to empower and inspire busy moms to raise healthy families in a life full of zest. I started my career working in a corporate setting and starting my own business never crossed my mind. After my son was born in 2014, I made the decision to leave my corporate career and stayed home to take care of my baby. It was a difficult transition going from a career woman to a stay at home mom, the learning curve on how to keep my baby healthy while taking care of myself was very deep. I decided to study holistic nutrition and committed to applying what I learned and still learning in my everyday life.

As a result, my own health transformed. I went from relying on caffeine to function throughout the day to have natural sustainable energy without coffee (although I still enjoy a cup of coffee sometimes!) In addition, I feel empowered to take care of the health of my family. I went from relying on eating takeout food all the time to being able to whip up simple and quick nourishing meals daily.

My own health transformation inspires me to empower and support fellow busy mamas to raise healthy families and take the best care of themselves through teaching them practical nutrition knowledge, sharing nourishing recipes, and inspiring self-care.

After all, health is the foundation of everything we strive to achieve. And I believe the best way to teach our children healthy habits is to model what a healthy lifestyle looks like to them, starting with ourselves.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My work is about empowering and inspiring fellow mamas to raise a healthy family in a life full of zest. As a wife and a mom of two children (age 4 and 7), the most important thing for me is to cultivate and protect the health and wellbeing of my family, which feels like a full-time job alone. Not to mention there are also other important things in life such as professional development, building a business, connecting with friends, self-care, to name a few.

With our busy modern lifestyle, it can feel like a struggle to do it all and still maintain a zest for life. I feel many mamas are on the same boat with me, and my goal is to share practical healthy lifestyle/nutrition tips and simple nourishing recipes that busy mamas can easily incorporate into their lives to better care for their families and themselves.

Before becoming a mom, I was a workaholic climbing the corporate ladder and lived on takeout food. My cooking skill was limited to making scrambled eggs. When my son was born, making food from scratch became necessary because I wanted to provide the most nourishing food for my growing baby. I found myself spending countless hours online searching for nutrition related knowledge and healthy recipes, that’s when I stumbled upon holistic nutrition training from Nutritional Therapy Association (NTA).

The training to become a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (FNTP) was intense, especially when there was a little one to care for, yet deeply rewarding. Fast forward to today, I am a mom of two beautiful and healthy children, and I am still learning and growing as a holistic nutrition professional. Most recently I completed training with the Academy of Culinary Nutrition and became a Culinary Nutrition Expert. My trainings teach me to see our overall health and wellbeing as a garden with its own unique ecosystem. Everything is interrelated. By taking care of our fundamental pathways in our system, such as digestion and blood sugar regulations, many of the health challenges we face will improve or even dissipate.

The work I am committed to doing is to share what I know with other fellow mamas in a practical way so they can apply it into their daily lives to raise healthy families while taking the best care of themselves.

To carry out my mission, I started out teaching in-person nutrition workshops at a corporation and Pasadena City college. When pandemic started, I started teaching workshops and running Sugar Detox challenges online. Now I am at the beginning stage of building my online presence to reach more people. There’s still much to learn on building an online business and being there for my family. Although this journey is not always rainbows and butterflies, I feel so grateful and blessed I get to do the work I am passionate about everyday!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I was originally from Taiwan and I still have good friends there. When my Taiwanese friends come to visit, I would love to take them first to explore San Gabriel valley, the place I call home now. I will first take them on an eating tour, trying out some popular Asia food restaurants I enjoy in the area so they can experience the difference between Asian food in Asia and in the US. Some of those restaurants are Savoy kitchen with awesome Hainan chicken rice, Green Zone with a healthy Asian fusion style menu,Tokyo Fried Chicken with one of the best fried chicken to eat on your cheat day, and Golden Deli with a comforting hot bowl of pho. After a fulfilling meal, I will also take my friends to explore the beautiful Huntington Library in San Marino and Descanso Garden in La Canada.
On other days, I will take my friends on some natural hikes starting with local kids-friendly trails in Altadena as well as trials near Griffith Observatory to see the world famous Hollywood sign and beautiful LA city view.

After the hikes I will take my friends to experience one of my favorite restaurants La Grande Orange in Pasadena. Afterward we can walk around old town Pasadena and perhaps enjoy some desserts at the iconic 21 Choice Frozen Yogurt or the newer establishment Salt & Straw.

Outside of San Gabriel Valley, I would love to take my friends to Hermosa and Manhattan beaches.We can bring our roller blades, rent a bike, and ride through the pedestrian walkways along the sandy beach.

I would also like to have my friends experience one of my favorite weekend get-aways, Ojai. Ojai is only less than two hours drive from LA, and it has its unique magic to relax people from inside out. Simply walk around the small town, visit Meditation mount, and just chill and leave the tension and stress behind.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to dedicate my shoutout to the organization Nutritional Therapy Association (NTA). I obtained my Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (FNTP) certification from NTA and they opened up my eyes to the world of holistic nutrition and all the subsequent learnings and training. NTA is a purposeful organization with a mission to “deliver a science-based education that fosters a community of confident holistic nutrition professionals who harness the power of real food and empower people to reconnect with the innate wisdom and unique needs of their bodies, thereby supporting lasting wellness.” I respect and resonate with NTA’s mission. I also would like to shout out to one of my great nutrition teachers and mentors, Kate Mahoney. She encourages me to pursue my vision and helps me to gain clarity on who I am here to serve with my business.

Website: https://www.houseofzest.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/houseofzest