Plant-based nutrition that holds up in a real body.
You have eaten plant-based for years. You cook. You read labels. You have answered "but where do you get your protein" more times than it deserved, and more patiently.
And still there is a question you do not say out loud. Is my body actually getting what it needs?
Maybe you train and the muscle is slow to show. Maybe you are tired in a way sleep does not touch. Maybe ferritin or B12 came back low and you were left wondering whether to blame your diet, your absorption, your supplements, or something else entirely.
A plant-based plate is not a compromise. It is a way of eating with its own requirements, and most of us were never taught what they are. Once you know them, the guessing stops.
I am Amy Elkhoury, a board-certified Integrative and Functional Nutrition Certified Practitioner (IFNCP) and a NASM Certified Personal Trainer. Before the credentials came the kitchen. I trained as a plant-based chef, completed the Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate through the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies and eCornell, and founded Nuteese, Hong Kong’s first aged plant-based cheese. I have eaten this way for most of my adult life, and made most of the mistakes I now help women avoid.
That combination matters. My work sits where the physiology meets the plate. The women I work with need both: the mechanism, and a plate that delivers it every day without a spreadsheet.
What a plant-based plate actually needs
Protein first, because that is where plant-based plates can quietly fall short. Not the total across the day; the distribution. Muscle responds to a clear dose at each main meal, and for most of the women I work with that means roughly 30 grams of protein from whole foods, adjusted for body size, training and the protein source. Many plant proteins provide less leucine and lower amounts of some essential amino acids per serving than animal proteins, so source and dose matter. Tempeh, tofu, edamame, lentils and beans, seeds to finish: that plate gets there. Protein powder can be useful, but I would rather teach you a plate that does not depend on it. The full mechanism is in my article on plant protein.
Then the non-negotiables. Vitamin B12 does not come reliably from unfortified plant foods; it needs an intentional source, usually fortified foods or a supplement, and it is something I monitor rather than assume. EPA and DHA, the omega-3 fats your brain and hormones use, convert poorly from the ALA in flax and chia. Algal EPA and DHA give you a direct source instead of leaning on a conversion that may not deliver.
Iron, zinc and calcium are all there on a plant-based plate, but they arrive alongside phytate, which lowers how much of them you absorb. Soaking, sprouting and fermenting can reduce phytate and improve mineral bioavailability, and pairing iron-rich foods with vitamin C helps increase non-heme iron absorption. Vitamin D is tested, not guessed.
And soy. If you have been told to avoid it because of estrogen, the evidence in women does not support that. A 2024 systematic review of 40 randomized trials in more than 3,000 postmenopausal women found no significant effect of soy isoflavones on estradiol, FSH, endometrial thickness or vaginal maturation. Whole and fermented soy, tempeh and tofu above all, are among the highest-quality plant proteins there are, and they anchor almost everything I cook.
Your advantage is variety. Eating a wide range of plants across the week is associated with a more diverse gut microbiome, with implications for metabolic and digestive health. The microbiome may also play a role in estrogen metabolism, which I explore in my estrobolome article. Plant-based eating makes that variety the natural default rather than a project. It is the foundation I build on, not something to work around.
And muscle, because food alone does not build it. Progressive resistance training is what turns adequate protein into a body that handles glucose, holds its shape and has energy to spare. It is why I am also a certified personal trainer. Nutrition and training are one conversation, and I would rather have it with you in one place.
How I work
It starts with a free Clarity Call: thirty minutes on what is happening for you and whether I am the right person to help.
If we go on, the first step is the Metabolic Audit. We look at your nutrition through a functional lens, your body composition, strength and movement capacity, your recovery and symptoms, and your blood work where you have it. You leave with a personalized roadmap and the highest-priority place to start, whether or not we work together beyond that.
From there the work is practical. We cook together over Zoom. We rebuild meals you already like so they carry the protein they should. We test what needs testing and supplement what needs supplementing, nothing more. And we train, at your level, in your gym or your living room.
You do not need to be in perimenopause to work with me. Some of the women I work with are in their thirties, training hard and frustrated that results are slow. Some are around forty, noticing their body respond differently and not sure why. Some have eaten plant-based for a decade and simply want a practitioner who will not open the conversation by questioning their plate.
"I was especially impressed by the detailed personal assessment and report, which made me feel genuinely understood. Amy identified the areas where I needed support and helped me gently work through them. Since working with Amy, my energy levels have improved and I feel much more positive."
Agata B., Dubai
My specialty is perimenopause and menopause. If you are in your forties or fifties and your body has stopped responding to what used to work, that is the work I do most. You can read how I approach it on my plant-based perimenopause and menopause page and in the Program. The physiology there is specific, and so is the strategy. The foundations on this page stay the same for every woman, whatever stage she is in.
Start with a free Clarity Call
A short, no-pressure conversation about what is happening for you now and what to focus on first. You leave with clarity, whether or not we work together.