Elisa Kosonen of 14 Carrots
For Elisa Kosonen, RHN, CHC, NNCP and founder of 14 Carrots, feeling good isn’t about following the perfect diet, pushing harder or learning to live with exhaustion. It’s about understanding our energy, building a healthier relationship with food and creating space for women to feel like themselves again.
A certified nutritionist and health coach, Elisa works with ambitious, driven women in midlife who want to move beyond burnout and feel more vibrant, energized and connected to the lives they want to lead.
In our latest At the Heart of Community interview, we sat down with Elisa to talk about the story behind 14 Carrots, the power of community and what it means to feel truly nourished.
Tell us about yourself and the story behind 14 Carrots.
I’m a nutritionist and health coach by training, but today I think of myself as an energy strategist. I work with ambitious, driven women in midlife who want to feel better, have more energy and show up as their fullest selves.
Entrepreneurship was part of my upbringing. My mom was an entrepreneur, and I spent time in her office, sorting cheques on weekends or helping out when I was home sick from school. She was building something meaningful in the community through career counselling, and I remember thinking that one day, I wanted to do something like that.
But first, I found my way into fashion. I studied everything from kinesiology and English to journalism and fashion, eventually working as a fashion editor. I lived in New York, Toronto and London, and had an exciting, unexpected first chapter of my career. I had always been an athlete, but I also loved the artistry, creativity and beauty of fashion.
My next chapter began when I moved to Vancouver to help care for my mom after she was diagnosed with cancer. That experience drew me back into thinking about my own health. During my years in fashion, I had an amazing time, but my relationship with food had suffered, and I was getting sick frequently. I started asking myself what I could do proactively to support my immune health.
That led me down a path of exploring gut health, food sensitivities and different approaches to healing. But I also experienced how easy it is for that journey to become restrictive. I was cutting foods out without necessarily learning how to reintroduce them or develop a more balanced approach to eating. I ended up with a lot of food fear.
At the same time, I was experiencing burnout at work and grieving the loss of several family members. I was pushing myself at the gym while not really doing the things that would help me recover through nutrition, lifestyle changes and stress management.
Just before COVID, I left fashion and returned to the idea of working in health and wellness. I began meditating and exploring other healing modalities. One of the biggest shifts for me was learning to pay attention — to become more aware of my stress and grief and to relate to those experiences differently. That opened the door to a completely different relationship with food, too.
I started feeling better and wanted to understand more. Just before turning 40, I went back to school for a two-year nutrition program and became a health coach. About three months into the program, I quit my job. I realized how much I wanted to be in this world, helping people.
After graduating, I launched 14 Carrots in 2024.
The name is inspired by 14-karat gold, which I loved during my fashion days. I was drawn to the idea of something durable, approachable and versatile — something you can wear every day that feels like you. I wanted my approach to health to feel similar: malleable, easeful and joyful, rather than hard or prescriptive.
I’ve always been particularly passionate about fatigue and burnout. We have normalized feeling exhausted for so long, and I want to be an advocate for the idea that we don't have to accept that as our baseline. There are so many things we can do to support ourselves.
Why is it important to you to encourage a less restrictive relationship with food?
We are so ingrained in diet culture. Many of us grew up hearing about keto, Atkins, low-carb, low-fat and all the different rules about what we should and shouldn't eat. We’re constantly conditioned to ask whether something is good, bad or clean.
There is so much unlearning that needs to happen.
Nutrition should help us feel powerful and vibrant. It should help us feel like our best selves, but it should also be a tool for joy. Food nourishes us, connects us to one another, connects us to our heritage and brings us into community. It has so many roles in our lives beyond simply providing nutrients.
I love helping women shift their perspective. Instead of looking at a salad and asking what they need to take out, I want them to ask, “What am I going to add here to make it more delicious and powerful for myself?”
What does community mean to you?
To me, community is about feeling connected in a way that is authentic to who I am. It’s being around people who really know me, who are like-minded and with whom I feel free to be myself.
I think it’s particularly important to find community in different aspects of our personalities as we move through different stages of life. Sometimes we have people who know one part of us really well, but that doesn't mean they connect with every other part of who we are.
I encourage people to think beyond one core group and find connection in different places.
For me, there is something really special about being around other women and non-binary people who think similarly to me, where I feel understood and can be silly, joyful and fully myself.
That idea of community is also becoming a bigger part of my business. Since launching 14 Carrots, I’ve spent a lot of time working one-on-one with clients. Through those conversations, I've realized how many women are having the same thoughts internally but aren't necessarily talking about them with anyone else.
I want to help change that. My mission is to create a community of women who aren't interested in normalizing exhaustion and fatigue. These are women who have ambition, want to make an impact and want the energy to do good things in the world. I think it's incredibly important to support them.
I've recently launched a group program, which is one way I'm beginning to build that community.
Why is it important to create spaces where women can connect?
I know how long it can take me to warm up in a space before I feel comfortable enough to be my weird self.
The more opportunities we have to spend time with people who are like-minded and understand the things we're passionate about, the easier it becomes to feel safe enough to show up as our full selves.
There's a weird, silly, joyful and whimsical part of us that is still in there, even when we're busy managing responsibilities and trying to keep everything together. But when we're depleted, it can be really hard to access that part of ourselves.
When we create spaces where people feel comfortable enough to just be who they are, something shifts. We can connect with one another in a more meaningful way, and we can remember parts of ourselves that might have been pushed aside.
I think that is one of the most important things we can do for ourselves.
How have you found people you can authentically be yourself around?
I've been doing it throughout my career, often without even realizing it. I moved around a lot for fashion and took leaps to pursue the things I wanted, and along the way, I gathered friends who became important parts of my life.
I think there's something to be said for being willing to take those leaps and trust that you'll find the right people along the way.
Going out on my own and starting a business has also meant becoming more intentional about creating those connections. I make an effort to attend events, participate in women-in-business groups and find people I want to spend time with outside of work.
Who are the people I want to take fitness classes with? Who do I want to go hiking with? Where can I find people who share my interests and values?
Sometimes those connections happen naturally, but I've learned that you also have to put yourself out there and create opportunities for them to happen.
The challenge is that it can be much harder to do that when you're already depleted. When you're exhausted, finding the energy to meet new people or try something new can feel like another thing on your to-do list.
That's another reason I care so much about helping women feel better. Having the energy to connect with people, try new things and enjoy your life matters.
What does a feel-good day with no plans look like for you?
I love waking up before my husband and having some time to myself, especially if the sun is shining.
I'd start with meditation, have a little snack and do a workout. I love dancing around the kitchen while my coffee brews and listening to music. Then I'd have a second breakfast — ideally brunch with friends.
I'd do a little shopping, go for a hike and finish with a sauna. A day with movement, good food, sunshine, music, connection and a little time to myself would be pretty perfect.
What are you most excited about professionally right now?
I'm really excited about building out my group program.
It's a method I've been testing and refining over time, and I've received such great feedback from clients. I've had people tell me that a particular module came at exactly the right time, and I've heard that more than once. It's exciting to see how the work can make a difference in someone's life.
Now, I want to bring it to more people.
I'm especially excited about the opportunity to build community through the program. So much of this work happens in one-on-one conversations, and I want women to experience what it feels like to learn alongside others who understand what they're going through.
I want women to feel supported, to have more energy and to recognize that they don't have to accept exhaustion as an inevitable part of their lives.
Ultimately, I want them to have the energy to do the things they care about, connect with the people around them and make the impact they want to make in the world.
Connect with Elisa
Learn more about 14 Carrots and Elisa's work supporting women through nutrition, energy and midlife health.
Join us on November 3, 2026 at Two Rivers Meats in North Vancouver! We’re teaming up with Elisa for Protein, Power + Perimenopause — an evening of practical nutrition insights, connection and feel-good inspiration to help you navigate this season with a little more confidence.
