Growing Up

I grew up in Central Pennsylvania and it seems like a much simpler time. My mother stayed at home with me and my brother until we went to school and then she was the secretary at my school. I felt that she was a domestic goddess. Our house was spotless. We had beautiful hard wood floors and I remember her getting the huge buffer out a few times a year to clean and seal them. We didn’t have a dishwasher and the dishes were washed by hand and put away. Our clothes were hung on the line to dry and we ironed everything—including the sheets and my dad’s hankies. My mother took in sewing to earn extra money and made all of my clothes as long as I would allow her (up until middle school). She also made some pretty darn cute Barbie doll clothes—some of which she sold and others were mine to keep. I still have them! But most importantly, she grew a garden and cooked almost every meal from scratch. Our garden was plump with tomatoes, cucumbers and strawberries and we relished in being able to eat food that we had grown. She made some killer sweet pickles and canned other vegetables where there was an abundance remaining at the end of the season.

Later Years

After college at Penn State, I started a family and I was a single parent to my daughter, Jasmine, for 20 years. I later lived in Dallas, TX, and most recently moved to Napa, CA. I married my wonderful husband, Laurence, in 2012 and became step-mother to Jordan and Elli. I have worked most of my career in human resources. When I hit the big 4-0, I realized that I wasn’t getting any younger and it was time to get fit. I started running and practicing yoga more regularly and loved it so much that I became a running coach and yoga teacher. Helping people is central to who I am, which has driven me in my career choices. My concern about human and animal rights and the environment, led me to make a lot of the choices that I do around food.

My Path to Veganism

It all started with my relationship with food. I grew up eating the Standard American Diet (SAD). Dinner was the typical diet in the 70s and included meat, a starch (rice/potato) and a vegetable. My mom loved to cook and in my first 16 years, I ate pretty much whatever was served at dinner. I never liked anything exotic and was not a fan of beef, but I tolerated it and in those days, you ate what was served.

When I was 16 in 1983, I met a girl who was a vegetarian and I was intrigued. So intrigued that I tried it for a year, giving up all meat, poultry and fish. That first Thanksgiving was tough and I later gave in and went back to eating poultry and fish.

Fast forward to Mother’s Day 2008. I watched a PETA documentary on HBO and was so devastated by what I learned about factory farming that I decided that day to give up poultry and fish for good. For the next few years, I would “go vegan” for Lent but always went back to dairy and eggs.

In the Fall of 2011, I visited Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary with my daughter Jaz and learned that even free range chickens were debeaked. How could that be? I had imagined that they were frolicking around in the pasture, eating bugs and grains. I also learned that their male babies were either ground up alive or suffocated because they serve no purpose. I decided that I could no longer be a part of that torture and gave up eggs at that point. Jaz stopped eating meat.

Then at an annual doctor visit, I found out that I had high cholesterol and wondered how that could be? I started tracking my nutrition and realized that about 50% of my calories were coming from dairy and cheese. That was a huge wake up call. Vegetarians are supposed to be healthy, right? Well, I certainly wasn’t. I was not overweight but I kept visualizing what my insides looked like—how much visceral fat was around my organs and it just made me sick.

During Lent in 2012, I “went vegan” as usual and my husband, Laurence “went vegetarian”. We had been doing this dance for a few years. At the end of Lent, I asked him if he would be okay with me sticking to it. Eating meals together is a huge part of our relationship—we put a lot of love into preparing our meals and we wanted to continue sharing that experience. At that point, we made the commitment—I was vegan and he was vegetarian. About a month went by and I guess he saw how easy it was for me and decided to make the same commitment.

Change in diet usually happens in stages, not in the drastic ways that most popular diets promote.

Ethics of Veganism

I made these changes first and foremost because of the animals. I have always been an animal lover and have felt a special connection. Mercy for Animals uses the quote “Why love one but eat the other?” in their marketing campaigns. That quote totally resonates with me. How can we love our dogs and cats but eat pigs and cows? They are all sentient beings with their own personalities and emotions. And they feel pain, just like we do. Ask yourself if you could actually kill an animal for food with your bare hands? I bet the answer would be no.

Health, Weight and the Whole Food Plant Based Diet

There was a period in my life in my late teens when food was the enemy. Like most young women, I had issues with self-confidence due to what is portrayed in the media and typical high school drama in the way that teens treat each other and speak to each other. At that time and in college, I was anxiety-ridden, scale-obsessed, self-doubting, calorie-counting and a compulsive exerciser. Growing up, it never occurred to me that what I ate affected how I felt. Over time I came to realize the simple but profound power my relationship with food played in my life. I recognize the challenges that people face when trying to do something good for themselves while fighting cravings and breaking old habits. Like many women, I have struggled with my self-image and have been challenged by eating disorders and body dysmorphia. I have tried many popular diets and even used Fen Phen (!) in the mid-90s.

Throughout my late teens and adult life, my weight has fluctuated +/- 20 pounds. I am tall but have a small skeletal frame so any increase in weight for me really shows. It is super frustrating. When I made the positive changes at 40, my life totally changed. I feel better (mentally and physically) and I attribute it to my quest for wellness. By making small changes to my lifestyle in my diet and fitness, I am at a point where I am comfortable with how I look, who I am, and the positive choices I make every day about what to put into my body. My weight still fluctuates at times but I fuel my body with healthy choices and keep myself fit. I realized that food consumption possesses the capacity to affect one's mood, energy level, sleep quality, skin and self-image. This awareness of how energized and strong I feel when my body is properly nourished keeps me dedicated to healthful habits. 

I want this vessel (my body) to last a long time so that I can be around for my family and I have to pay it the proper respect. I want to put nourishing foods into my body. The other day, I was thinking how perfect we are when we are born. Even through childhood, you can eat pretty much whatever you want and your body will heal itself. As you get older, things change and if you don’t put the proper fuel into your body, you won’t get the desired output. It is just like many things in nature. Eating this way can help protect against cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity because fruits and vegetables are loaded with antioxidants, dietary fiber and anti-inflammatory properties.

As an active family, we are always looking for ways to fuel our active lifestyle. Switching to a whole food, plant-based diet was a big help in reaching our fitness goals along with lowering blood pressure and cholesterol and halting the aging process. Many people in my social circle seek me out for coaching in both their diet and fitness because of the changes they have seen in me as well as my extensive knowledge about fitness and nutrition.

Environmental Impacts of Food

I also care about the other people that inhabit the earth. Producing meat in the quantities that we do uses up resources (food) that could be used to help the undernourished people in the world. It takes 13 pounds of grain to produce one pound of animal flesh. The 13 pounds of grain could feed an undernourished family for many days.

Culinary Curiosity

I started studying a lot about nutrition and the effect that is has on health. I also bought a ton of vegan cookbooks and tried to wow my family with the recipes inside. Laurence and I were always seeking out new recipes and trying to veganize the classics that we loved.

We passionately consume plant-based whole foods daily, selecting locally-grown foods when we can from farmers' markets to become increasingly educated about where our food has been grown. Buying organic is important to us, particularly with produce ranking high in pesticide residues when grown conventionally. We work hard to ensure our food is non-GMO. We are fortunate to have a large fruit and vegetable garden and live in a place where it is easy to grow our own food and have a long growing season.

Our diet consists of a rich variety of nutrient dense fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds and herbs/spices. I personally limit highly processed food because my body just doesn’t process it well. We do not consume any animal products including meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy. Our dietary choices ultimately reflect our values of minimizing animal suffering and promoting a sustainable environment. 

Throughout this process, I learned how to cook amazing meals. I did have some formal training, but I also have a knack for being able to look at a recipe to determine if it will turn out well and any modifications that should be made. Our family loves the meals that we make and friends that join us for a meal in our home are blown away by how flavorful this way of eating can be. No one misses the animal products! I definitely have a catalog of repeat recipes, but am constantly expanding my knowledge into various cuisines and new to me vegetables. I often fantasize about having a food truck or a small store that sells prepared meals so that I can share this food with my community. When I retire, I hope to offer private personal chef services on a small scale to fill the need for delicious and healthy vegan food where I live.

I hope you will explore the rest of my site especially my blog and recipes. I love sharing what I have learned along this path and hope that you will benefit from what I have put so much love and dedication into. I would love to hear of any feedback directly from you. Enjoy!