Today we’d like to introduce you to Kara DeJose.
Hi Kara, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up in an Italian family where food was one of the many ways we expressed we loved one another. Learning to cook and bake from my mom and both grandmothers set the foundation for how love, nourishment, and food play an integral role in our lives. My mom was always into health and raised us to read ingredients, make the best choice we can, and to enjoy what you’re eating. That stuck with me, so much so that I began educating myself in my late teens and early years of college on all things health and wellness, starting with food.
Right after graduating from FSU, I started a Health Coaching program through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition where I studied health, nutrition, emotional, mental, and spiritual wellness. In 2012 I became a certified holistic health coach and wanted to help as many people as I could. That same year, I interned for a holistic doctor’s office and a few years later ended up taking a blood test that showed why I was feeling so sluggish, tired, and nauseas all the time. It turns out, that was the catalyst to changing my lifestyle. I had to eliminate eggs and refined sugar from my food intake. Fast forward to 2019, I opened Your Kind of Wellness, LLC to focus on my health coaching services but found that people really wanted to eat, and eat real food that wouldn’t make them miserable.
I had been baking for a few years now with organic ingredients, no egg, and no refined sugars and sharing my desserts with my family. My family, my dad and brother especially, encouraged me to start selling them. I said, “You guys are just biased…”. It was then that “Goodness Without the Guilt” came to me as a baked goods line. I focus on organic as possible ingredients, no refined sugar/sugar alcohol, egg free, and real ingredients your body can taste and recognize. We live in a society where dessert is bastardized. But my take is why not make dessert (and meals, of course) with real ingredients again? Nourishing ingredients that fuel your body, bring you back home to yourself, and leave you feeling at ease afterwards — no guilt, no shame, no punishment for eating real ingredients. That is what “Goodness Without the Guilt” symbolizes.
My first item was my “Anything Bundt Depression” cake which was a depression era recipe made without eggs, butter, or milk. It was the cake that started it all.
I set up a table at markets and then my chiropractor’s office (Coastline Spine and Health in Rockledge) and the feedback was quite promising. So I continued and now, 4 years later, I still am in awe that people are eating my baked goods at family gatherings, birthday celebration, sharing it with loved ones and slowing my creations to be a part of their memories. It is an incredible experience to know that people want what you have to offer and to feed it to their loved ones. That is after all how love is so often expressed.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The beginning was much of me paving my own way. Have you seen how many bakers there are out there? 😅. I had to find the people who wanted my services and goods but didn’t know I even existed. That was proven to be challenging because many people want the dyes, frostings, and colorful desserts, of which I don’t offer. I bake under the Cottage Law and there are stipulations and restrictions that did make it challenging but once I learned what I could and couldn’t do within that realm, it became easier. Still many stressful moments, no doubt 😂. Some loo at this and think, “It’s just a cookie…why are you so stressed?” For so many of us, it is our hearts, pie vision, and who we are that is poured into every single creation. It is easy to let the little things feel ginormous at the beginning but once you find your rhythm, you learn what is worth stressing over (and there’s usually a solution 99.9% of the time) and what is worth letting go. Being a business owner isn’t for the faint of heart but if you have the vision and desire to create something, I believe it was placed in your heart specifically, to bring to life for the world to experience.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Your Kind of Wellness, LLC?
I have always seen “Your Kind of Wellness, LLC” as the foundation for all my health and wellness ideas that will have branches within it. Offering coaching services while discussing what they’re going through over a cup of tea/coffee and one of my cookies or slices of cakes sounds like a slice of heaven to me. We all want to be heard, felt, acknowledged and valued. If I can do that in any capacity whether thriving coaching or a custom dessert order, I know I am living out my purpose in life.
I am a Holistic Health Coach and Wholistic Baker who offers organic as possible, no refined sugars, egg free baked goods that are traditional, gluten friendly (free of gluten but made in a kitchen with gluten), and vegan/plant based baked goods. No gums, dyes, fillers, additives, or weird ingredients are found in my kitchen.
As a holistic health coach, I vet every single ingredient so that we can eat dessert with all of our health in mind:physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual, of course; because haven’t we all had a single bite of something that took us to another place and time completely? That is my kind of dessert ☺️.
I believe that we are all deserving of dessert and real food and shouldn’t have to be deprived of that regardless of what society tells us. Who wants to live a life without cake? Not me 🙋🏻♀️.
Ingredient wise, I use imported organic Italian “00” flour, Ceylon cinnamon, organic cacao butter and powder for my homemade chocolate (found in my fudge batter brownies, chocolate chunk cookies). I make my own organic vanilla extract and macadamia nut chocolate spread in place of the well known hazelnut spread so there are better ingredients. I am a bit of a purist when it comes to ingredients and I think that can be tasted in anything you take a bite of whether a dinner, breakfast, or dessert. Keeping the integrity of the ingredient is what keeps them authentic and unique in flavor.
My community/customers have been absolutely outstanding and I truly couldn’t do this without their support. My intention is to nourish our community and help people see that they don’t have to fear real food made with real ingredients.
I offer custom orders for locals, baking lessons in person or remotely, workshops, and in person or remote 1:1 health coaching services that will help shift you from living a conventional lifestyle to more of a wholistic approach to all areas of life: starting with food ( bet you didn’t see that one coming ☺️).
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I have been incredibly fortunate to have a family who has encouraged me, been honest, and helped me bring this vision to life. My parents have been absolutely amazing in helping me however they could with setting up at events, being some of the best (and most honest lol) taste testers, and being the safe landing pad for me during difficult times. They’ve always taught me to give it all you have, you never know what someone is going through so always treat people kindly and with respect, and you’ll never know what will happen unless you go for it. They are sound pieces of advice both in and outside of business.
My sisters and brother, as well as my nieces and nephews have been terrific cheerleaders and always rooting for me. I know that if a recipe gets their stamp of approval, it goes on the menu and the opposite is safe to be said as well lol.
I do want to express a tremendous thank you to Keith and Allie Hurley at Coastline Spine & Health (along with their entire team). Dr. Keith and Allie gave me my first opportunity to do a pop up event at his chiropractic office and because of their massive hearts and belief in me, they were the catalyst for my business to be where it is now. Their fantastic team and patients have been instrumental in the success of “Your Kind of Wellness, LLC”.
My friends have also held this vision alongside me and have showed up at events, placed orders, and share my services through words of mouth — it really is unbelievable that this is my like and I get to do this for a living.
Ali Leaf, thank you for sharing all the “Goodness Without the Guilt” and bringing me this opportunity!
Our community in Brevard is made up of some of the most beautiful hearted people and small businesses that I have ever had the privilege of knowing. It is a community who will do whatever they’re able to support one another and it is truly magical to witness and experience firsthand. It doesn’t feel like a competition amongst business owners but a collaboration of, “Okay, how can we all succeed in this? What do we need to do?” I moved out of Florida to Denver, CO in 2013 in hopes of finding what I wanted and all along, it was here waiting for me this entire time. I just had to get there on my own time and see it was always here, like my very own Hallmark movie with a community I absolutely adore and cherish.
Pricing:
- Dozen cookies -$35-$40
- 8” Cake $50, 10” Cake $60
- Take & Bake Cookie/Cake Mixes-$12-$15
- Baking lessons available: Shifting from conventional baking to a wholistic approach (Contact for details)
- 1:1 Coaching: Complimentary Consultation
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.yourkindofwellness.com
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/yourkindofwellness
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/yourkindofwellness
