Barefoot Nurse Nutritionist
Erika Dycus, MS CNS RN LDN
Founder/Nutritionist
Erika is the founder of Barefoot Nurse Nutritionist PLLC, where she blends her clinical nursing background with functional nutrition to support women’s health. She earned her Associate Degree in Nursing from Elgin Community College in 2008 and went on to complete her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2011.
Throughout her nursing career, Erika gained experience across multiple specialties, with a strong focus on hospice care. There, she served in a range of roles from case manager to clinical director, developing a deep appreciation for whole-person care and the complex factors that influence health.
Her own journey with autoimmune health challenges became a turning point, inspiring her to pursue a more root-cause, nutrition-centered approach. She enrolled in the Master’s program in Applied Clinical Nutrition at New York Chiropractic College and graduated in 2016.
Erika continued working as a nurse for several years, but during the COVID-19 pandemic, she felt a clear calling to transition to nutrition care full-time. She completed her clinical internship through the Nutrition and Herbal Collective (TNHC) in December 2022 and opened her private practice in 2023.
Today, Erika practices as a Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS) and Licensed Dietitian Nutritionist in Illinois. She specializes in women’s health, with a particular focus on perimenopause and menopause, helping clients navigate hormonal changes with personalized, sustainable nutrition and lifestyle strategies.
Dr. Kristal Richardson, ND MSAc CNS LDN
(Telehealth only)
Dr. Kristal began her nontraditional route to the medical field as an artist, who volunteered as a community sexual health educator. While advocating for HIV awareness and education, she decided that she wanted to attend medical school to help find a cure HIV. (Things didn’t go as planned).
In the midst of applying to allopathic medical school, Dr. Kristal began her own personal journey towards health and realized that she didn’t know what health and wellness were. While researching, she came across a magazine article that described 7 different types of doctors and she made the decision to attend naturopathic medical school.
Naturopathic medical school deepened her appreciation for holistic approaches and reinforced her belief that food is medicine. Dr. Kristal focuses on nutrition, along with science-based methods, and lifestyle interventions to help her patients achieve and maintain optimal health. She is an expert at bridging the gap between conventional medicine and alternative therapies.
Dr. Kristal prides herself in being honest and realistic. She loves educating her patients and assisting them in creating healthy habits to help improve their overall health and wellness. She understands the uniqueness of each individual and treats the whole person. She is passionate about helping individuals prevent and manage disease through the power of nutrition. She wants to be the reliable source of health and wellness for her community and people of color.
Our Mission, Vision, and Values
Mission Statement:
At Barefoot Nurse Nutritionist, we are committed to making holistic nutrition accessible and approachable for all. We understand the challenges of navigating complex nutrition information and the barriers of cost in receiving holistic care. That’s why our licensed nutritionists work with major insurance plans to provide affordable, comprehensive wellness support. Our mission is to empower you with the knowledge and guidance needed to live a healthier, more balanced life—mind, body, and spirit.
Our Vision:
To create a world where expert holistic nutrition care is accessible to all individuals facing chronic disease. We strive to empower our clients to make informed, healthful choices that support their wellness journey, enabling them to live healthier, fuller lives.
At Barefoot Nurse Nutritionist, our core values guide every aspect of our approach to holistic nutrition care:
-
Personalized Care: We believe in treating each client's unique nutritional needs with a personalized, multidimensional approach that addresses the whole person.
-
Meeting Clients Where They Are: We understand that each individual is on a unique health journey, and we are committed to supporting them at every stage with compassion and respect.
-
Holistic Understanding: We prioritize understanding the full context of each client's life, background, and circumstances because our clients are so much more than the food they eat.
-
Right to Accurate Information: We believe access to accurate, science-based nutrition information is a fundamental right, not a privilege.
-
Equitable Access: We are dedicated to making expert holistic care accessible to everyone, regardless of financial means, because health and wellness should not be reserved for the few but available to all.
-
Respect and Empathy: We treat our clients with the same care, empathy, and respect we would want for ourselves, fostering a trusting and supportive environment for lasting wellness.
Our Collaborating Providers
At Barefoot Nurse Nutritionist, we believe in a holistic approach to health and wellness. That's why we partner with various local businesses to provide our clients with the best possible care. Meet our dedicated team of wellness experts below.
Feedback
What Satisfied Clients Have Said
One session with Erika and my daughter is already making herself a fruit salad! I’d be pulling teeth to get her to eat a healthy snack before this!
Emily H.
Erika has given me good advice and very useful counsel on what to eat and avoid for a kidney problem. She makes time to answer my questions no matter when I ask…
Rick M.
Thanks for the good nutrition advice! After about three weeks of incorporating your suggested nutritional changes, I had a noticeable increase in energy.