Can you imagine walking around in pain every day for years, but on the outside look healthy?  This was my life for at least 10 years.  I grew up the daughter of a nurse, so you would think that my diet was healthy, I certainly thought it was.  I later found out that it wasn’t, we ate a lot of processed boxed food and not many fresh fruit or vegetables.  I could live on sweets and the older I got, the worse my diet became.  

Early in my teen years, I developed headaches.  At first they were occasional, then every day.  I started out with over the counter medications then as the headaches got worse I went for help.  I went to many doctors, a physical therapist, a massage therapist, a couple chiropractors, and for Acupuncture but nothing helped.  Since there are no tests for headaches, I usually left the doctor’s office with a prescription for pain relief, but no answers.  This was not new to me, in my house there was a pill for every ill.  Unfortunately, the pills did not work, they only masked the pain and made me feel groggy and I actually started getting what are called rebound headaches. The doctors were of little help and I was losing my youth.  

After years of seeing different physicians (conventional and alternative), and doing my own research, I came across a book on vegetarianism.  This book really resonated with me, it made me realize where my food was coming from and I didn't like it.  I immediately gave up meat and started doing research on the vegetarian diet.   I also thought it might help my headaches.  Sadly, the headaches continued and even got worse, you see because of my ingrained eating habits, I went from the Standard American Diet (SAD), to a vegetarian version of the SAD.  I basically just took out the meat and kept eating packaged food and not many vegetables...a junk food vegetarian.  Finally, a friend introduced me to her nutritionist. The nutritionist helped me tweak my diet, add in veggies, and she helped put together all of the information I already knew.  This was the turning point for me, It's when I finally took charge of my own health! 

My headaches went away… AND…it happened quickly.  

 All of this was roughly 20 years ago.  

Since seeing my nutritionist I continued to tweak my diet and educate myself.  My desire was to go to school, but it was never the right time.  Until having my children, having them and seeing how the processed food industry markets so heavily to kids, and moms not having the tools to nourish them, I knew I had to do something.  My path became clear!   I had to go back to school and this time for nutrition.  This became my passion, teaching moms how to feed their kids great tasting healthy food.  

I want to backtrack a little and tell you about my family so you can see how my life might be different if I had not made my dietary changes.  My family continued eating the Standard American diet and each one of them have health conditions.  My father’s health issues began in his 40s with a heart attack, followed by a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes, and is currently on a lot of medications. My mother has Osteopenia, Osteoarthritis and Type 2 diabetes.  My younger sister has been on many medications, is obese and has Type 2 diabetes among other medical issues.  My younger brother has heart issues.  My older sister is overweight, and was recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, and is on medications for this.  All of these health issues are related to the food that they eat and could be resolved with a change in diet.  My older sister is the only one that I see any hope for, she is committed to making the necessary changes.  

By changing my diet I have avoided all of the health issues that my family has acquired.  I have remained vegetarian (vegan actually), tweaking my diet as my tastes change and I learn new things. Being vegan is a personal choice for me, I don't believe everyone has to follow this lifestyle in order to be healthy, in fact my husband continues to eat meat.  Being vegan and living with a meat eater gives me a unique perspective..  My job is to guide you to be as healthy as you can be within your belief system.  I didn't get to where I am overnight, it took me many years.  I can shorten the transition period so your family is happy and healthy quickly.   

My goal is to make you and generations to come as healthy as you can be by teaching you WHY and HOW!
Why do I need to drink more water, Why should I eat/avoid certain foods, Why read food labels etc and how to get where you need to be.