TV Host Sandi Richard: from Eating Forward to Moving Forward one yes at a time

Sandi Richard is considered by many to be North America’s leading meal planning expert. She is the three time award winning creator and host of Fixing Dinner on Food Network Canada, American Life TV and Discovery Asia. She is an International Bestselling author of six life-changing books in her Cooking for the Rushed series.

Sandi is the mother of seven children, and when eating became the enemy in her house she began searching for solutions. That was two decades ago and she never looked back.

In addition to being a regular on CBC radio, Sandi has been a featured guest on Food Network U.S. and a repeat guest on NBC’s Today Show. She has contributed frequently to numerous magazines such as Reader’s Digest, Eat Clean, Woman’s World and First for Women.

Sandi has been involved in national campaigns with corporate giants such as ConAgra Foods, Starbucks, Rival Cookware, Whirlpool, S.C. Johnson and Ocean Spray. Sandi is the founder of the Eating Forward movement and co-owner of Cooking for the Rushed Inc.

Are you still with me? Sandi’s CV is a lot to “swallow” — pun fully intended. I wanted you to get a quick preview of the Public Sandi before I give you a sneak peek into the Private Sandi.

Sandi and I share the same home town, the same best friend, and the same aged “babies” (now 23 years old). I asked Sandi to read and review my book Following God One Yes at a Time. She agreed, even though her daily reality is “to-do” lists longer than Dickens’ novels.

She tucked the book into her suitcase and headed off to Cancun for a much needed holiday with the love of her life, husband and business partner, Ron. She didn’t want to read it. This was a holiday for goodness sakes! A book review was “work” and she was trying to take a break from work. But her desire to honour her commitment won out and she reluctantly picked it up and started to read.

Sandi’s review says: I thought originally that this was teaching a person how to follow God! Much to my surprise, it was about following God’s prompts for us to believe in ourselves and run the race of the life we are meant to run! Full review here.

After posting her review, Sandi emailed to thank me for following God one yes at a time to write a book she believes God put into her hands at a time she desperately needed to hear a personal word from God.

Speaking of her high voltage journey, she said: [God took] an unknown, barely educated girl from small town Alberta and catapulted her into fame! TV shows, international best selling books, guest appearances on huge American shows that barely ever see a Canadian let alone one from Alberta. But there I was for some reason in the limelight!

And then Sandi shared her big secret: the barrier that was threatening to keep her from moving forward and following the dream God had placed in her heart; the obstacle that might hold her back from helping moms (and dads) bring their families together around the table filled with healthy delicious food without stress. The limelight was taking its toll. Following the dream God gave her was extremely taxing; this manically-creative, suddenly-famous woman was finding it painfully hard to keep going.

But God knew what Sandi needed to hear so He placed His message in her hands at the right time: I know how important my work is, and more than that I instinctively knew that God had placed this small town girl in the thick of it because he knows how important my work is! But why so painful God? I have been praying for years that some big bolt of lightening, some huge sign, some big earthquake will shake my world and I will be able to continue doing what I was born to do!

For the first time in years, Connie, I get it!  There isn’t going to be a bolt of lightening, I just need to stop looking at “the trunk in front of me”* and fix my eyes on Jesus**—and just say yes to God—one Yes at a time with my feet!  

*(see p. 189 in Following God One Yes at a Time  for full race car illustration. Hint: you can’t win the race if you don’t look past the trunk of the car in front of you.)

**see Heb 12:1,2