About

Friends! Hello! Thanks for being here. Frugal Nutrition is a Baltimore-based food blog where I combine everything I know about food and nutrition with everything I know about being broke!

I am: Caitlin Self

I'm from: Virginia/ New Jersey with a healthy dose of San Diego. Plus a year in Peru, and a year in Japan under my belt. We also lived in Baltimore, MD for 6 years.

I currently live: in Tallinn, Estonia! (Aug 2022!!)

I love: vegetables, Harry Potter, weird clinical facts, running in the woods, Japan, The Office, Hamilton, The Great British Bake Off, Paleo desserts, and most combinations of bread-like foods and cheese (quesadillas, grilled cheese, pizza, mac & cheese).

I'm currently working: as a nutritionist at a Mental Health Practice and an Acupuncturist's Office in Baltimore City, as an Educator for Justice Recovery Advocates, and a TA for Maryland University of Integrative Health.

My credentials: a licensed dietitian/nutritionist (LDN) and Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS), MS in Human Clinical Nutrition. I used to be a cook in a professional kitchen (1 year), an ESL/EFL English Teacher (3 years) and a preschool teacher / childcare director (2 years).

I specialize in: gut health & mental health, especially SIBO, and Anxiety
You can find my private practice here: Caitlin Self Nutrition.
You can also find my adventures traveling from 2012-2014 here: Running the World / Travel.
I purchased this domain name in 2012 when Zac and I were traveling the world and I got the idea to start a food blog.

Why start a food blog when there are so many other food blogs already killin' it? Good question, I should probably re-evaluate how I spend my *free* time. In fact, I'm been blogging here at Frugal Nutrition since 2012! I officially started things up while we lived in Peru in 2013, and have continued it in San Diego, Japan, and now Baltimore!

I do think this blog is a little unique because the recipes are always pretty simple and the price is always pretty low. Not every recipe is perfectly cheap, not every recipe is 100% original, but I do what I can so we can all put something relatively nutritious on our tables, no matter what. Also, I'm long-winded, super cheap, and I really love food. Food blog celebrity in the making.

We eat a lot of vegetables, and make a lot of things from scratch, and take the occasional touristy cooking class. Mostly, we eat real food. I went through a stage of OMGGMO (<-- bet you didn't know that was a palindrome) and OMG HFCS and OMG plastic and OMG white flour - they're all scary things, I get it.

Luckily, we have pretty decent health over here so as long as we're doing normal stuff 85% of the time. Overall balance is the name of the game. Things that go in the 15% category for me include: sugar, gluten, dairy, alcohol, caffeine.

I'm going to be really earnest here for a second: In addition to waving my freak flag for all the Internet to see, my passion/mission is to fight hunger in our communities, and my final goal of this site is to create a section of recipes that fit in a food stamp/SNAP EBT budget, or at least help people who are overwhelmed by all the expensive health claims.

TLDR;

You don't have to eat kale, quinoa, chia seeds, or organic pig's blood to be healthy.
Get involved in your community if you can, donate an awesome cookbook to somebody who needs it, and contact me if you have ideas for collaboration.

Featured In:

YouTube! Follow me here!! www.youtube.com/c/FrugalNutrition

Today.com - 6 Ways to Cut Your Grocery Bill as Food Prices Rise
US News & World Report - What to Know Before You Try Grocery Pick Up
Baltimore Magazine - How to Combat Bloating & Dehydration While Traveling This Summer
Good Morning America - Kids Eat In Color's Affordable Flavors
Romper - Is it Okay for Kids to Graze All Day?
Parade - Home Quarantine Checklist
The Zoe Report - The Best & Worst Sugar Substitutes According to Nutritionists
The Zoe Report - 10 Foods to Reduce Bloating
The Zoe Report - Does Food Affect Your Mental Health? Experts Share What to Eat and Not Eat to Feel Better Inside Out
Eat This Not That - Best Whole30 Condiments
Reader’s Digest - 6 Foods and Supplements that Promotes Joint Health
Olive Oil Times - Following a Mediterranean Diet can Help Beat Depression
The Zoe Report - Is Health Chocolate A Thing? Nutritionists Sound Off on Everyone’s Favorite Treat
Celebrity Parenting - The Power of Pumpkin Seeds
The Healthy - Worst Diabetes Foods
The Every Mom - Healthy Toddler Snacks
Fupping - 19 Informative Books About Nutrition
People Health News - What is Protein? The Complete Guide on the Essential Nutrient

Podcast Appearances:

The Healthy Work Podcast with Nutrition with Danielle - Tips & Tools to Grow & Monetize Your Food Blog
Gut Honest Truth Podcast - Making Nutrition More Digestible with Caitlin Self

Follow me on Instagram (@frugalnutrition), Twitter (@caitlinself), and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FrugalNutrition). I promise to post lots of pictures of food, mostly in bento box form.

My Most Popular Recipes!

I am asked this question quite a lot. Here are the most popular posts on my blog:

Inspiring People, Sites, and Blogs I Love:

Budget / Frugal Recipes and Ideas

Leanne Brown - Author of Good & Cheap: Eat Well on $4 a Day
Budget Bytes - Great recipes w/ price breakdowns. Mostly real food.
Shira & Yoav Potash - Food Stamped - It's a documentary about how hard it is to eat well on a food-stamp budget.
Forks Over Knives - Vegan site, but with truly plant-based (not soy based!) recipes, and mostly real food. (There's a little bit of propaganda, but the recipes are good.)

Real Food / Realistic Food

100 Days of Real Food (Lisa & Jason Leake) - Also see 100 Days on a Budget
Michael Pollan - Author of In Defense of Food and food journalist.
Pinch of Yum (Lindsay & Bjork Ostrom) - Lindsay writes a fun blog with fun recipes and fun stories and mostly real food.
The Kitchn - Hello useful tips & ideas.
Domesticate Me - Serena Wolf is a chef and the author of Dude Diet, also she has a great IG all about anxiety (and skincare)
Two Peas and Their Pod - Healthy-ish recipes that come out perfectly every time!

Dietary Restrictions / Paleo / Gluten Free

Nom Nom Paleo (Michelle Tam) - All of her recipes are perfect.
Downshiftology - Lisa has celiac and makes completely gluten-free recipes that are easy and delicious, and has an accompanying YouTube channel to walk you through them. I love her lentil soup!
The Defined Dish - Alex makes mostly Whole30-approved fare to manage her anxiety.
Tastes Lovely - some of my favorite easy recipes come from Natalie!
No Crumbs Left - Terri is such a gem and her mostly Paleo recipes are great for entertaining!

Vegan / Vegetarian

Rainbow Plant Life - I am mildly obsessed with Nisha's YouTube channel (she's so fun!), and her recipes are fantastic. Her vegan brownies are possibly the best homemade brownies I've ever had.

Do You Accept Guest Blogs and Articles?

I do not allow guests to post on my blog and I do not accept paid link building articles. I will not allow guest posting or link building at any point in the future.

Medical Disclaimer:

All content on this website, including nutrition or medical opinion and any other health-related information, is for informational purposes only and should not be considered to be a specific diagnosis or treatment plan for any individual situation. Use of this site and the information contained herein does not create a practitioner-client relationship. Always seek the direct advice of your own practitioner in connection with any questions or issues you may have regarding your own health or the health of others.

Affiliate Disclosure:

Please note that each post may contain affiliate and/or referral links, in which I receive a very small commission for referring readers to these companies. (Including Amazon.)

Accessibility:

I do my best to create accessible content, such as including text on my videos and increasing the font size on my site, and working to update alt tags on all of my images. Please contact me if you see additional areas for improvement.

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