"I try to surround myself with people who inspire me, who are smarter in areas that I might be stuck, I laugh A LOT, don’t let work become everything, and consciously seek out opportunities to grow and nurture my core interests in the company."

We are huge fans of delicious Honey Mama's treats + so inspired by Christy, founder of the company and one of our good friends. They just launched an exciting new product: Single Serve bars! And don't forget to check out this incredible recipe for Almond Butter Cookie Dough Bites, featuring their Coconut Cocoa Bar.

Tell us a little about you!

I was born and raised in Portland OR and come from a family of 6. I have two beautiful grown daughters and live with my husband and cat Ted, in NE Portland. 

What do you do for work? Tell us about your professional journey

I own Honey Mama’s, a better-for-you treat company with a mission to offer the nostalgic celebration of enjoying dessert with a food as medicine approach. We manufacture nine different flavors of hand wrapped, honey sweetened Cocoa-Truffle bars and distribute the bars into the natural grocery channel, in the refrigerated snacking section, across the country, mostly in the west. I launched the company in 2013 at the Portland Farmers Market as a way to bridge my two loves: cooking and wellness. Prior to owning Honey Mama’s I owned and operated a bakery with my mom and sister in the early 2000’s and wanted to make a treat that offered the same enjoyment of eating a cake, cookie or pie, but offered deep nourishment, healing and vitality.

How do you stay motivated?

I try to surround myself with people who inspire me, who are smarter in areas that I might be stuck, I laugh A LOT, don’t let work become everything, and consciously seek out opportunities to grow and nurture my core interests in the company.

Do you have any advice for someone who is interested in starting a business?

Do your research on the relevance of your idea in the marketplace. What else is happening in the category you are interested in pursuing? Is it saturated? Is it dead? What life does it need and how does your product relate? Journal a ton about your dreams and WHY you want to start the business. Model out a very basic path you see for the business intuitively just to make sure it is remotely do-able. Find mentors and network, but stick to your intuition, always. You will always know what the right choice is for you and your business. And most importantly, stick to it and be flexible and nimble. The road may look a little different than you thought it would.

What are your favorite ways to #spreadgood in your community?

Product donations are a big one for us. We are currently donating product to Equitable Giving Circle and Urban Gleaners, two amazing organizations doing powerful work in our community during such challenging times. 

Who is one person who inspires you and why?

My all time favorite person who still inspires me is no longer alive, but she was my Great Aunt Nell. She was a salt-of-the-earth, truly authentic and independent person who lived for 97 years. She was born at the turn of the century so she lived all the way through the 1900’s. She was unapologetically her own person.. She was happy, engaged, connected to the earth, to cooking and to people, and brought verve and fun to everything she did – she just absolutely loved life and lived it to the fullest. She grew up in Oklahoma and spent most of her adult life in San Francisco CA with her husband. Such a great woman. I wish I could have known her when I was my age now!

How do you work to stay centered and practice self-care in your busy day-to-day reality?

I try to do some form of exercise/conscious movement almost every day, I get out to nature as often as I can, eat healthy, always look for reasons to laugh and goof off, spend time with good friends, manage boundaries when it’s time to turn it all off.

What do you like to do for fun, when you aren't working?

Love to dance, cook, rock out to awesome music, be super goofy and play with other people doing fun things, be creative (photography/read poetry/write/journal), get out of town and travel, hang out with dear friends and family.

What are some of your favorite recipes with Ground Up?

I am OBSESSED with banana bread with Ground Up swirled into it, and LOVE homemade nut butter cups with the Chunky Almond, Cashew and Coconut Butter topped with finishing salt ☺