My Story
I've done a lot of different things in my life. I've been a chemist, pharmaceutical manager, consultant, writer, workshop leader, stay-at-home mom, community kitchen chef, nutrition and cooking teacher. Whew!
It's been a long journey, but everything I've done has led me to this place, as a Holistic Nutrition Consultant, where I help people optimize their health using the Power of Real Food. Read on for the long version, or jump ahead to learn more about my program.
If you're ready to get started, schedule a free discovery call so that we can talk about your health goals and how we can work together to help you achieve them.
An Eater and a Cook
I love food. I have always loved food. When I was a little girl, my favorite vegetable was artichoke.
Artichoke? I know. That’s a crazy vegetable for a little girl growing up in Louisiana to love. But it’s true. Blame it on Grandma. She came from a big Italian family whose father, an olive farmer in Sicily, was a gardener at the Wrigley estate in Chicago. According to Grandma, the 10 kids in the family used to forage for things that are now considered delicacies – wild mushrooms, dandelion greens - maybe even artichokes!
I’ve also always loved to cook. My Danish grandfather was a chef who taught me to make gravy from scratch and whip cream by hand. My mom carried on the home-cooking tradition by majoring in Home Economics and cooking all our meals. She was the first one to teach me the connection between nutrition, cooking, and health - we even had a framed poster of the food pyramid on the wall in our kitchen.
Although I didn’t realize it at the time, my family taught me that Real Food is not only most nutritious, it tastes the best. I never knew, when I was a little girl, that artichokes are loaded with vitamins, minerals, and fiber and may have positive impacts on cholesterol, blood sugar and liver function. I didn’t need to know that; I only knew that they tasted good!
A Scientist and a Mom
Fast forward a few years . . . a degree in Chemistry and a career in the pharmaceutical industry opened my eyes to the biochemistry of our bodies and to how all aspects of metabolism and health can be broken down into chemical reactions. The raw material for those reactions is Real Food.
It was when I had kids that I realized how much today’s modern food world is stacked against good health. I had nice control over what my kids ate until . . . Birthday parties! School cafeterias! Packaged Snacks from Costco after every sports practice!
I’m not going to lie – it made me kind of mad. Nutritional guidelines were so out-of-sync with the way my kids were eating, and I struggled to figure out what to do about it. I began cooking with a purpose – to nourish my children.
As I tried to teach my kids to have a healthy relationship with food, I realized that mine wasn't the best. I struggled with cravings. Even though I knew what I should be eating, it was hard to put that information into practice. Through research, and trial and error, I figured out what was the best diet to help me feel in control of my eating, full of energy, and in the best health of my life.
Holistic Nutrition Consultant
Eager to learn more, I went back to school at Bauman College where I studied Holistic Nutrition and was certified as a Nutrition Consultant. As part of my training I learned 3 things:
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The optimal diet - the diet my grandparents ate – is based on Real Food.
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This simple principle is backed by loads of science linking diet to health.
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There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to eating. We are all different heights and have different eye colors - and we all have an optimal diet that is unique.
Seems simple, right? What makes it complicated is the way the food landscape has changed in the past 50 years.
♦ Products marketed as 'food' are things the human body has never seen before
♦ Dietary guidelines are out-of-step with the latest research
♦ Single nutrients, rather than the big picture of what we are eating, has become the focus
♦ Standardized nutritional recommendations don't meet unique individual needs
I will coach you on how to put the principles of Real Food to work for your unique health concerns and biochemistry.
One of my greatest pleasures now is to steam an artichoke and eat the whole heart myself! And to work with clients one-on-one to help them transform their diet and their health through the Power of Real Food.