About Stephanie Jackson

About Daily Appetite

If your body started changing before anyone handed you the memo, welcome. Daily Appetite is for women over 40 who want food that supports this season of life without turning dinner into a full-time research project.

Hi, I’m Stephanie Jackson, the creator behind Daily Appetite.

I live in Oklahoma City, where I’ve spent more than 13 years sharing recipes online after a 15-year career in the medical field. For a long time, this site was home to bourbon cocktails, easy comfort food, Crock Pot dinners, and appetizers made for gathering around the kitchen.

And honestly? There will always be room here for good food and a good cocktail.

But at 47, I found myself paying closer attention to what my body needed. Perimenopause has a way of walking into the room, rearranging the furniture, and not leaving instructions. Energy, metabolism, strength, cravings, digestion, sleep, mood, muscle—all of it starts asking for a different kind of support.

So Daily Appetite is evolving with me.

Now, my focus is on helping women in perimenopause and menopause build meals that help them feel strong, nourished, and steady. Not smaller. Not punished. Not lectured by someone holding a green juice and a superiority complex.

Just well-fed, capable, and supported.

Why Daily Appetite Exists

Women in midlife are wildly underserved when it comes to everyday food.

We’re often told to eat less, try harder, shrink ourselves, or follow some complicated plan that requires six powders, a spreadsheet, and the emotional bandwidth of a project manager.

That’s not what this is.

Daily Appetite exists because women over 40 deserve recipes that work with their changing bodies and their real lives. Recipes with enough protein to support muscle. Enough fiber to support digestion, gut health, and fullness. Enough nutrients to help with energy, metabolism, and feeling like themselves again.

And they need to taste good.

Because nobody wants to eat sad desk chicken forever.

What Makes These Recipes Different

The recipes I create today are built around three things: protein, fiber, and nutrient-dense ingredients.

Protein matters more in midlife because maintaining muscle becomes more important. Muscle supports strength, metabolism, balance, energy, and the ability to keep doing the things you actually want to do.

Fiber matters because digestion, gut health, blood sugar balance, and feeling satisfied after meals all become bigger players during perimenopause and menopause.

Nutrient-dense meals matter because hormonal shifts can affect everything from energy to cravings to how your body responds to food. This is the time to feed yourself like someone you care about, not like someone you’re trying to discipline.

My goal is to create recipes that are practical, flavorful, and doable. Real ingredients. No fussy techniques. No fear-based food rules.

Just meals that help you feel fed, steady, and strong.

What I Believe

I believe food can support your body without becoming your entire personality.

I believe protein and fiber are not trends. They are midlife kitchen essentials.

I believe humor belongs in the conversation, because sometimes your hormones are doing interpretive dance and you still have to make dinner.

I believe you can care about nutrition without chasing perfection.

I believe meals should be satisfying, realistic, and worth looking forward to.

And I believe this stage of life deserves more than being treated like a punchline or a problem to fix.

What You’ll Find Here

Daily Appetite has more than a decade’s worth of recipes, and you’ll still find many of the comfort foods, cocktails, appetizers, and classics that longtime readers know and love.

As the site evolves, you’ll also find a growing collection of recipes designed with women in perimenopause and menopause in mind, including:

• High-protein comfort food recipes
• Vegetable side dishes that make it easier to eat more fiber and nutrients
• Protein-rich breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks
• Practical meals made with real-life schedules in mind
• Recipes that feel supportive, not restrictive
• Food that still tastes like something you actually want to eat

This is not a diet site.

This is not a place for shame, panic, or bland little punishment meals.

This is a place to feed your body well, laugh when necessary, and build a way of eating that supports the woman you are now.

Come Eat With Us

Whether you’re deep in perimenopause, newly navigating menopause, or just realizing your old way of eating no longer feels like it’s doing you any favors, you’re in the right place.

From my kitchen in Oklahoma City to yours, I’m here to make eating for this stage of life feel simpler, more satisfying, and a lot less overwhelming.

If you’re looking for a place to start, explore the High Protein Comfort Food recipes and vegetable side dishes created to support strength, energy, and nourishment in midlife.

No overhaul required. No perfection required.

Just one nourishing meal at a time.