New! Mixed Berry KefirWe are happy to announce that we’ve chosen our 2019 Brand Advocates. Our advocates consist of parents, foodies, athletes, and bloggers from across the US. They are fueled by a sense of purpose and are committed to a healthy lifestyle. We are excited to share their journey with you!
Meet our 2019 Kalona SuperNatural Brand Advocates!
Ally Billhorn
Hi there! My name is Ally Billhorn and I’m a wife, mama, daughter, sister and friend. I grew up in small town Toledo, Iowa and have stayed in Iowa my whole life, hopping around here and there. For the last 9 years my family has settled in Wilton.
I graduated college with an Electronic Media and Journalism degree. After working for large companies and small, I then went on to have three babies in five years, thus turning myself into a stay-at-home-working-mom. I started my food blog, Ally’s Sweet & Savory Eats when my youngest was just 3 months old, back in 2009. Much to my surprise it brought out my love of writing and cooking and connecting with my readers. It is now a major part of my life, keeping me on my toes with major national brands, foods and trends.
I’m also in love with great television, coffee with heavy cream, long walks, all forms of Italian food, craft beers, podcasts and my friends. I try to read a few books a month and I’ve found that goes much quicker if I’ve planted my butt on a deck chair by a lake. The Iowa Hawkeyes reign supreme and when bored or stressed you’ll find me in the kitchen whipping up a batch of my famous banana bread.
Kalona Supernatural products hold a dear place in my heart. I’ve seen their operations with my own eyes and I cannot think of a better product to feed my family. Their chocolate milk is our favorite! Please connect with me on all my social channels – I actually respond!
Amber Simons
Hi there! My name is Amber – also known as full-time chef, clothes washer, bum wiper, mediator, teacher, & kid wrangler . I am a former graduate of my MTSU (Middle Tennessee State University). Even though I have a 4 year bachelor degree under my belt I am ‘professionally’ a stay at home parent. We are deep-rooted in Middle Tennessee and I have the most southern accent to show for it!
I strive to help families seek healthier alternatives to highly processed foods, guiding them through their journey to real, whole food. My husband and I started our real food journey in 2012 before becoming parents. One thing we immediately switched over were our dairy products since we consumed them on a regular basis. After doing extensive amount of research on factory farm dairy practices I was truly horrified. I believe in supporting small farms that use organic practices and quality ingredients. That is one reason why I love Kalona Dairy and have no doubt it is the best choice for my family and especially my littles. My family and I are non-dieters, as in no dietary restrictions and we eat what we want by keeping our choices clean and health conscious. Follow along with us to see how we incorporate our probiotic loaded Kalona products in our everyday lives, especially in smoothies!
Amy Frank
I was born in St. Louis, Missouri where I lived until age 11. We then moved to Flower Mound, Texas (Dallas area) where I finished up middle and high school. After I graduated from high school, I then went on to further my education at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. I graduated in 3 1/2 years from Tech with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a minor in Mass Communications.
I am happily married to my husband TJ going on 4 years now. We have two beautiful babes, Kingston (2) & Kennedy (11 months), who are 17 months apart. Needless to say, they keep me busy! However, as crazy as it may be at times, I always find time to work out and stay active. I get up every weekday morning at 5:30 to work out (before the kids wake up), and we try to go on 2-3 mile walks almost every day. Pushing 50+ pounds in a stroller can definitely be a good workout in itself! Growing up, I always had a constant battle with the scale and counting calories. I would work out 2-3 HOURS a day and try to survive off of rice cakes and the lowest cal things I could get my hands on. It took some time, but I finally realized that there is a healthy balance between the two.
I first discovered Kalona SuperNatural when I was looking for a good cottage cheese, and let me tell you, theirs by far is the best I’ve had. I like it with my tuna, or I will put it with diced tomatoes and avocado with a dash of salt and pepper for a snack, and that’s just getting started. All in all, I am so happy to be chosen for their new Brand Advocate program because I truly love and believe in their products!
Britni Jo
Hey all- I’m Britni Jo! I was born and raised in Washington, Iowa. In 2011, I received my undergraduate degree in accounting from Iowa State University. I moved to Dallas, Texas in 2015 because I was ready for an adventure! I am the controller for a construction company. Our main office is in Iowa, so I go back to Iowa for work and family often.
Health and wellness started for me when I was young, growing up in Iowa my family lived on an acreage with an orchard and a garden. My mom would also read about nutrition and the health benefits of eating well. Following in my mother’s footsteps, I enjoy reading and learning about nutrition and fitness. I am a Precision Nutrition Certified Nutrition Coach and love living the active and healthy lifestyle.
I’ve been a runner since 2010, one of my goals is to run a half marathon in all 50 states by the time I am 50. So far, I’ve completed half marathons in 23 states. March of 2017, I decided I wanted to compete in a body building competition, so I changed to lifting instead of only running. Body building is very different, and nutrition is a big part of it. After I competed in the body building show, I began looking more at overall wellness and what I was actually putting into my body. If I want to continue to run, compete, and have energy to do life well, I wanted to look at overall wellness. What I put into my body now will affect me later. After reading and doing research on GMOs and chemicals in many of the processed foods, I decided I wanted to eat as many whole and as little processed, non-GMO, and nutrient dense foods I could.
When I was shopping at my favorite grocery store in Texas, Sprouts, I came across Kalona SuperNatural milk and was excited because I grew up 20 minutes from Kalona, Iowa. Just a little part of Iowa in Texas. I know the Kalona area and trust the people at Kalona SuperNatural. It is now my go to milk. My favorite is the chocolate milk after a half marathon. I use Kalona SuperNatural in my oatmeal, coffee, post-race, and when I just want a cup of fresh milk.
Jaime Heitmann
Lives in the beautiful Rocky Mountains of Colorado. She is a passionate cook and loves sharing her food on Instagram. Originally from the Midwest, she grew up on a farm and showed horses. Her parents still live there with cows, horses, goats, chickens, and the list goes on. This upbringing has taught her to value supporting the best quality products from local farmers. Kalona SuperNatural Organic Whipping Cream is her favorite ingredient!
Jaime is her local farmers’ market ambassador and has great relationships with the chefs in Boulder County and beyond. As a personal chef, she enjoys preparing healthy meals but her specialty is comfort food and pies. She grew up in a South Bend Bakery, so go figure!?
Her Food and Travel can be followed on Instagram!
Jene Wagerin
Hello my name is Jene’. I am 32 years old, wife & a mother of two precious little boys. From Augusta, Georgia, I have a passion for working with people who want to get fit and change their lifestyle to be healthier. I am a competitive bodybuilder & have been a Certified Personal Trainer for the past 6 years. I have specialization in nutrition, group training, & corrective exercise. I’ve been into health for about 8 years now, but I overhauled my eating habits about 6 months ago completely to only whole foods, mostly organic and cut out anything artificial in a journey to heal my gut and hormones. I use Kalona SuperNatural products because they are pure, no fillers, no gums, and clean! I also love rock climbing, adventure and doing fun new things!
Jessica Reuter
Hello there! I’m Jessica Reuter, a born and raised Iowa girl who grew up 60 miles from Kalona and now lives just 25 miles away. I love supporting local, small-town businesses—and seeing one of my favorites grow and expand its amazing dairy around Iowa and beyond. By day, I handle marketing and communications for a children’s museum. By night (and weekends), I enjoy reading, writing, exploring my state, experimenting in the kitchen (often with Kalona SuperNatural), and blogging on The Lovely Side. Kalona SuperNatural has converted me to a lover of cottage cheese, and I start almost every day with a glass of kefir. I’m thrilled to start sharing my favorite Kalona SuperNatural products and recipes as an advocate!
Jill McBride
Heya friends. I’m Jill – a recovering-CEO turned lifestyle blogger and an ultra-organized list maker. Here are five more fun facts about me:
1. I live in Denver, CO. I grew up in Florida but after spending 20+ years in Ohio (before moving to CO), I consider myself a Midwest girl.
2. I started my blog grownupdish.com in May 2018 because I didn’t see much representation of people my age in the food and health/wellness space. I want to change that!
3. My love of food runs deep. I’m usually cleaning up from one meal and thinking about what I’m going to make next. I read cookbooks for fun. I love trying new recipes, entertaining and (yes even) meal prepping. Now that I’m firmly ensconced in middle age, I’m always looking for ways to make something quick, healthy and delicious. I believe in eating REAL food. I discovered Kalona Supernatural about five years ago and it’s the only dairy I like to use. I love that it’s organic, grass fed, minimally processed and that it tastes great!
4. I met my hubby Paul on Match.com. It was the perfect combination of luck and fate and finding him made me believe in second chances. I’m a proud mom to two grown sons and two stepsons who are scattered around the globe in London, Kuwait and the U.S. And I’m gonna be a grandma in 2019!
5. I have more interests than time. Traveling is my jam and I love exploring the world and trying new foods. I also enjoy movies, cooking, reading, dancing, gardening, knitting, memory keeping, photography, hiking, biking and more. I thought that when I stopped working full-time I’d have more time to pursue my many hobbies, but I’m finding that I’m busier than ever. How does that happen?
Kalina Ross
I’m Kalina Poppins and am a Denver, Colorado native! I’m a certified Holistic Health Coach, small event planner, nanny and mother of two awesome teenagers. My relationship with health began 15 years ago after my father passed away with stomach cancer. I knew after this, something had to change with my entire family and how we ate. It began with using mostly organic foods but something we’ve remained consistent and believe absolutely important to our ways now is that our dairy be organic, no matter the cost! Since then, we have seen some beautiful changes from within but in the last two years, due to a condition I personally battled with and while discovering an even healthier way to eat, have since been cured of all of my ailments and with that my passion to help and educate my community on healthy eating habits and to truly understand why what we eat is who we truly are from within is my goal!
My heart is especially attached to teaching children earlier in life how important our food intake matters. I now teach and thrive on a low-carb, high fat, mostly keto way of eating. People think I’m a crazy fun gal who cries happy tears when I’m over excited but what they all know is that – my passion LIVES OUT LOUD!
That said, Kalona SuperNatural has been the answer to my heart’s desires! Heavy whipping cream is a huge part of my diet, whether it’s for my daily coffee, sauces or just for the sake of using the highest quality of ingredients! But, the moment you taste a Kalona SuperNatural product, love is in the air! The taste, the richness and the hint of sweetness (in the whipping cream) is unmatchable to any other I’ve tried! My most favorite use though is making stroganoff with Kalona’s sour cream, butter and whipping cream. I’ve been told it’s the best stroganoff people have ever tasted!
Katie Kincheloe
My name is Katie. I have a Bachelor of Science in Education and have had students aged preschool to adult. I have an amazing husband and we have two young, vibrant children. We love to travel together and explore outside. Being out in nature is one of my favorite things. I also enjoy gardening. I love my ornamental plants and flowers, but my real passion is trying to cultivate a vegetable garden. Along with trying to grow some of our food, I love to cook and bake what we eat. I like to make as much as I can from scratch. That way, I have better control of the ingredients and can nourish my family. I grew up with a mom that was interested in natural and organic foods. We would often visit one of the only health food stores in the city in a time when it was not that popular to do so. She didn’t know it, but this was cultivating a lifelong passion of mine. I do my best to steer clear from artificial flavors, additives, colorants, thickeners, etc. Before I purchase anything new, I carefully read the ingredient list. This is why I was glad to find Kalona SuperNatural at the grocery store. It is hard to find pure dairy products and I’m in no position to have dairy cows, so Kalona products are the best.
Lace Stanfield
Hi, My name is Lace, I am 11 years old, I have one older brother his name is Riland and I have lots of pets, 2 dogs, 2 lovebirds, 1 cat, 7 chickens and a wild moose we get to be friends with. I live in Park City, Utah. I am homeschooled and love to cook. My mom and dad are what people call health freaks so I have been told “no” often when it comes to eating much of the food out there. We only drank raw organic milk until my mom found Kalona, we forage every summer and learn about one new edible wild plant a year. Lots of kids eat unhealthily and have health problems, So I decided to recreate the foods I wanted with the healthy ingredients that my family uses and share it with other kids so they can eat healthier. Now we share it on YouTube and social media via “Kids Krazy 4 Healthy Cooking”. It is slow going as I am busy with school but we put things up when we can. My mom helps 🙂
We traveled across the country this summer and actually stopped in the beautiful town of Kalona when we were driving by. We loved it, the people were so friendly. We had ice cream and walked around and saw lots of cool things even a Star Trek museum nearby.
I am excited to represent Kalona. We really love that they only work with people who treat their animals right. Mom says animals are not ours to use and to always be grateful for the labor and sacrifice that they and the farmers put in to help us stay nourished.
I hope to be a chef when I grow up.
My dad is from the south so,
Peace to Y’all 🙂
Luke Schafer
My name is Luke Schafer and I grew up in Emerson, a small town in southwest Iowa. I earned my Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from the University of Northern Iowa and am currently applying for medical school.
Fitness has been a huge part of my life. I have been a coach at CrossFit Kilo 2 in Iowa City for over 2 years and have loved every minute of it. We teach our members the importance of not only exercising, but also what we should be putting in our body. I have competed in CrossFit for almost 5 years now. I have had the opportunity to travel all across the United States to compete, earning a spot at the CrossFit Games on a team in 2015 and at the Central Regionals in 2017 and 2018 as an individual athlete. None of this could have happened without the support of the community.
When I saw the opportunity to work with a local company the emphasizes high integrity and high quality products, I jumped on it. Kalona’s chocolate milk is the perfect drink after a hard training session and I don’t have to worry about artificial ingredients like a lot of other post workout drinks. If you have any questions for me, feel free to contact me on Instagram!
Maria Miller
Hello! My name is Maria Miller. I am a proud wife to my amazing husband, Charlie, and mama to two beautiful babies, Theodore and Georgia. We are local to Omaha Nebraska.
I come from a tight family that loves to cook. I am so passionate about Kalona products as it is the only milk I confidently give my kids. It is a staple in our home because of the high quality and natural ingredients.
Mary Armijo
Hi, I’m Mary! Michigander, lover of coffee, the outdoors, and food that fuels me best. I am a latecomer to the healthy living world, but I make up for it with a passion for how much the quality of the things you’re eating matters! Eating real, organic, whole foods has literally changed my life. I spend my days working in a reading program (k-3 graders) and love having the energy to keep up with my students.
When I was first beginning my journey away from the Standard American Diet, reading labels was a terrifying experience! I remember spending thirty minutes in front of the yogurts, overwhelmed, trying to find one I could feel good about eating. When I found the Kalona SuperNatural one, I remember being so relieved, the ingredients were so simple and the phrase “cream top” sounded delicious. And it was! It was the beginning of an obsession with a brand that takes the integrity of their products so seriously. The more I grow on this journey, the more I appreciate having brands like Kalona SuperNatural that I can reach for time and again. Whether it’s whipping up some heavy cream for my nieces, or grabbing cottage cheese for breakfast when I’m running out the door, or baking up a sour cream cake to have as a special dessert, I know that it’s going to be tasty and that it will fuel my body in the way I’ve found to work best.
Wandy Burgoyne
Hola, my name is Wandy and I’m a full time mommy and food connoisseur! My family and I currently live in Dallas, Texas. I am happily married to my husband who I share three beautiful children with, Kaydyn, Emrie and Asher who keep me on my toes daily! I have a passion for traveling and world cuisines which led to a passion for cooking as a young adult. After years of research, I transitioned my family to a fully organic and wholesome diet. I love creating new meals and sharing them on Instagram with ingredient details to hopefully inspire others to find alternatives to processed foods, and begin the journey to a healthier lifestyle. While shopping at Whole Foods, I came across Kalona Supernatural cottage cheese which peaked my interest. Kalona Supernatural products have now become my go to for all of their dairy products in every meal that I cook.