Amina Rashad was a stay at home mom, her kids had started growing up and she began searching for something to fill up the new spare time she had on her hands. Little did she know that an online detox would be the answer to her search. One day before she started her detox journey, Amina was asking her health coach “Can I have a croissant?” and her health coach responded back “Yes, but this will be the last croissant you have.” Ever since that day Amina’s diet and lifestyle have drastically changed. Her new found thirst for knowledge led her to study health coaching, which gradually grew into a GLOWing business.

We sat down with Amina to find out how her health coaching business helped her to start GLOW

Talk To Us About Your Journey As A Health Coach, How Did That Start?

It started when I was a stay at home mom, my children were getting older and I was getting restless and I decided that I wanted to start working. I couldn’t find the right job, my husband pushed me to start working as a chef. He saw that that field would be suitable for me and he really pushed me to take culinary courses but it didn’t seem like the right field for me so I continued to search.

I was browsing online and I stumbled across a detox program with Health Coach Dana Dinnawi and I decided to join it. Her concept of nutrition was completely foreign to me at the time. It was strange to me that she was talking about sugar, wheat and dairy and all the things that nutritionists usually tell you that you have to have. She was talking about things that we normally consume and make us feel awful and we have no idea why.

I did the detox, I cut dairy, sugar, caffeine, and wheat and would eat a lot of vegetables and one portion of protein per day. It was a shock to me.

During the detox, I felt so much better. I woke up more energetic. I was feeling great.  The pain I used to experience from standing up for long periods of time was diminishing. I would get violent headaches every month and all that gradually started going away. But the immediate change was that I would wake up more energetic, with a much clearer mind,  the whites of my eyes were whiter. I just felt completely different.

I was so intrigued by the detox, that I found out where Dana had studied, I did some browsing and decided to join the program to become a health coach myself. Of course, as you go through the journey of eating better and feeling better you start to look at those around you, your family and friends and try to influence them. You feel like “Oh my god, people, there is something you don’t know and I found out and I have to tell you!” It’s like knowing a secret and you want to go around and yell it to the world. Some people listen and some think you’re crazy. Because we’re all used to doctors advising us to drink 3 cups of milk per day. The second someone says you shouldn’t be drinking milk people start screaming “what about calcium, and vitamin D?” But this is all because we are fed information and no one tells us the truth. You don’t need milk for calcium or vitamin D there are so many other natural plant-sources where you can get them from.

How Did Glow Start?

So I started working with clients and I started introducing the whole smoothie concept. It was new, not necessary or mandatory to a healthy diet but it’s a very useful tool for someone to help them transition from a normal dairy, cheese sandwich and coffee infused diet to a smoothie. Smoothies are easy, they taste good and digest very easily. You don’t have to think too much of ingredients, just three or four ingredients give you a very filling and nourishing smoothie that will keep you full until midday.

I would teach my clients how to make smoothies in our sessions and they would love it. They’d go home and say “it doesn’t taste like yours!” Some would even ask me to make it and send it to them. Even my friends started asking me to make them smoothies to take to work so that they would have the energy to make it through the day. One day, someone said “let’s make a business out of this! This is so useful.” I have 4 partners who are dear friends, we got together and started this business, without them GLOW would never have existed. We started in New Cairo and then started expanding until Ramadan hit and the smoothie demand was halted. So we introduced soups.


You Now Offer Detox Programs,  Can You Tell Us About That?

During the summer we were selling on beaches at the North Coast and the response was amazing. The kids loved the juices and the adults were so happy to have a healthy option other than sugar loaded beverages.

After the summer, we wanted to make sure our clients kept away from the sugar loaded beverages, we introduced the Detox programs. These programs are more structured and give you something to follow. It’s not easy to change your habits, so a program like our Detox Program takes your hand and guides you step by step into the world of clean eating. It’s important to note that a detox isn’t necessary; your body knows how to cleanse itself so you don’t really need it but it’s easier for some people to follow to start transitioning into clean eating habits.

A lot of people call us after they’ve done the detox program and ask what they should do next and how to continue the clean eating journey. This is why we started the cooking workshop – we wanted to introduce them to the idea of having a vegan meal that can keep them full, light and energized. You shouldn’t want to take a nap after a meal.

I am always available to answer clients questions on our phone. I think it’s unfair how we’ve all been misled so I always end up having 30 mins conversations on the phone explaining to customers what to do next. We also have a Facebook support group where I share all types of support from the color of urine to what your stool should look like!


We Noticed Your Smoothies Don’t Have The Calories Written On Them Just The Ingredients, Can You Tell Us Why?

I personally never think about calories. I don’t want my clients counting them or standing on a scale. It’s about what they’re eating and the quality of what they’re eating and not the calories. When you obsess over that, that’s when you start losing weight. When you keep on counting calories it doesn’t matter. You can restrict calories and eat 1 light yogurt for dinner, but it won’t keep you full or happy and you’ll have to eat again. You probably might end up binging to make up for the restriction.

We have to stop and think about how are cells recognize as food. We’re surrounded by so much processed food that our cells are no longer capable of recognizing the food we eat because it has been altered and genetically modified. As opposed to eating a piece of lettuce, avocado or peas, just simple foods that our bodies can identify. Even bread today has become hard for the body to identify.

In essence, it’s not the calories you consume but rather the quality of the food you eat. If you stop obsessing over calories you will lose weight. Today, there is a new wave of doctors talking about this and how counting calories is unpractical. As long as you’re full and happy you will lose weight.

Instead of obsessing over calories, you can obsess over the circle of life; we all have several branches that we need to make sure we’re fulfilling. These branches are; nutrition, social life, family life, work, and activity. If you’re fulfilling every aspect you will lose weight. You will be able to tell the difference. Sleep is also very important, if you don’t sleep well you’ll get hungry and binge. There is no way around it, you need to get a good night’s sleep every day.

Don’t obsess over calories obsess over your life.

Berrified Meal Replacement Smoothie

Ingredients: avocado, honey, almond milk, berries, chia seeds and flax seeds

  • Flax is great for digestion and has omega-3. It helps clear the digestive system.
  • Chia is great for energy. In south American they fed chia seeds to babies, even the Aztecs used to give their soldiers 1 tablespoon of chia seeds before battle. We have 1 tablespoon of chia seeds in every 500ml.
  • Avocado is packed with nutrients. In 500ml you have almost ½ an avocado.
  • Almond milk is homemade with filtered water
  • The honey is sourced from a trusted farm that does not expose the honey to heat.
  • Frozen berries are great for quality of skin as they are filled with antioxidants – you basically don’t need anti aging creams just eat berries and strawberries!
  • After a long search, we can finally say the strawberries we use are pesticide-free.


Do You Personally Have A GLOW Smoothie every day?

I have one or 2 smoothies a day, a soup and one meal in the middle. It’s so easy to just grab a smoothie or soup. It’s honestly an amazing tool that helps give you a boost. Smoothies and soups are easily digested, and you know how it is if your digestive system is happy, you are happy.


Going Forward, What Is Your Vision For GLOW?

I hope that GLOW will grow to include more products to help people on their journey. We want to expand into more products to help you have a healthy meal and healthy snack. We want to be a one-stop-shop to include everything you could need to support a clean eating lifestyle.