Since my transformation, during which I lost 135 pounds, fitness has become an important part of my life. So, as often as I can, I want to bring to you a bit of the motivation that drove me to change my habits.
My friend Heather McCann has started Valley Sweat Life, which is a resource for fitness information in the Central Valley. With her blessing, I post on FresYes.com some of her amazing stories and explorations of our fitness and health community. I encourage you to check out Heather’s site and follow Valley Sweat Life on Facebook and Instagram!
[The following was posted on Valley Sweat Life on June 27, 2018 and has been edited for clarity and formatting.]
Behind the Scenes: Farmer’s Daughter Squared
By Valley Sweat Life
Kristy Becket is a farmer’s daughter who became a farmer’s wife and had daughter Ricki Lynn. Together, they are Farmer’s Daughter Squared, creating simple, homemade goodness straight from their farm. You can find their recipes and creations on Instagram or at local farmers markets.
Tell us about Farmer’s Daughter Squared.
We are a mother-daughter duo who loves health, fitness, and spending time in the kitchen. After years of creating healthy recipes and sharing our homemade goodness with family and friends, we finally decided to make our hobby into a business. We find such joy in making delicious food that not only tastes great, but makes you feel great.
We both love to move our bodies and be outside—nothing beats a good sweat! Exercise is a priority for our mental and physical health. Our favorites are running, hiking, and yoga. We love trying new classes that challenge us, and overall feel that exercise is the ultimate mood booster. When we aren’t sweating, we are baking/cooking away in the kitchen. When Ricki Lynn comes back from Cal Poly, we first workout together then get right to work in the kitchen.
We love to recreate family favorites to see how we can turn them into healthy dishes that not only taste great but nourish our bodies.
How did you get started? How has it evolved?
For as long as I can remember, my mom has been baking and cooking, sharing her creations with family and friends. Once I was old enough, I started to learn from her in the kitchen, and experienced the joy of sharing with my friends, too. In high school I went vegan for a few years, so my mom took on the challenge to make our favorite recipes dairy- and egg-free. We have many friends who are gluten free and because we love to bake for others, we always make sure to accommodate their dietary needs.
After mastering dairy-free/gluten-free baking, we were encouraged by our friends to start selling our homemade goodness. My mom is a farmer’s daughter, and she married a farmer, so that makes us Farmer’s Daughter Squared. We use all the wonderful crops my dad and grandpa grow and wanted to honor them with the name of our business.
What changes have you made personally to excel in this?
In order to make healthy eating a priority, we learned to meal prep and create as much as we can from scratch at home, along with being mindful of our ingredients and sources. We start each day with a good sweat, scheduling exercise in advance, and making sure we have adequate rest days to recover.
How do you balance it with the rest of your life?
Thankfully, Ricki Lynn is home from college for the summer, so we are finally back together to tackle FD2 as a team. We motivate each other, set goals, and structure work time into the day.
What is your healthy living philosophy?
Our healthy living philosophy is to nourish your body with real whole food, sweat every day, and be grateful to do what you love!
What’s next for you?
Ricki Lynn is studying Agriculture Business at Cal Poly, which continues to prepare her to grow FD2. After college she hopes to continue FD2 and work in the health/fitness world. Kristy is raising two other teenagers who keep her busy, as well as managing the business side of her husband’s farm, all while maintaining her job at Valley Children’s as a RN in the PICU for 18 years! We hope to continue to grow FD2 because we truly love to make homemade goodness for others to enjoy.
What makes your business unique?
Our business is unique because not only do we grow our almonds and pistachios, we use them to create products to share with others. All of our homemade goodness features products from the Central Valley. We research the nutritional benefits, and use food as medicine to help with inflammation, auto-immune disease, and heart health. Both of our health journeys have played a significant role in developing our homemade goodness, leading us towards a line of products that are free of gluten, dairy, refined sugar, and soy.
What advice do you have for someone wanting to improve their health?
In sharing our story we hope to encourage others to make small changes in their lifestyle that will ultimately benefit their health. You can’t expect to evolve in one day. Our Instagram features recipes and healthy eating ideas that showcase years of accumulated knowledge. Find something you love, whether it’s running, hiking, dancing, yoga, and do it because it makes you feel good. Do not restrict your diet, eat real whole foods from good sources, and never underestimate how tasty and satisfying healthy eating can truly be.
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