My background is in both healthy living and art. I am a mixed-media sculptor and
jewelry designer with a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Colorado in
Boulder. I studied jewelry design & manufacturing at the Instituto de Allende in
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and graduated as a gemologist from the
Gemological Institute of America in Santa Monica, CA I am also a certified raw
& living food chef & instructor.
I consider myself to be more of an impromptu “food constructor" than a "chef". I work in the kitchen the same
way I work in the studio. I usually "construct" food according to what "materials" I have in my garden, kitchen,
or what I'm craving. I also may look at 2 or 3 recipes for ideas and then adapt them to ingredients I have on
hand or special flavors or textures that I prefer. I taste, add or subtract until I get the taste, texture & visual
appearance that I'm after. I try to encourage others to be creative, experiment & explore; if you don't have an
ingredient, substitute it for something that you do have that may have a similar texture or flavor. That is the
beauty of creating recipes with living food, there's no science to it coming out "right". It's just a matter of
being creative with your palate and vision, with the extra added benefit of being healthy.
I love to prepare special recipes & meals for my friends and guests, however, I prefer to eat more simply on a
day to day basis. The food & ingredients I use are organic, and depending upon the time of year, much comes
from my yard or garden. I try to eat as seasonal & local as possible but….living in the north east, this is
challenging. I love my warm weather & tropical fruits. On the flip side, I am fortunate enough to live in the
beautiful Catskills and have an abundance of wild edibles and amazing spring water coming from the foothills
in my backyard year round.
My interest in healthy eating began over 20 years ago after being diagnosed with thyroid cancer in my early 20’
s. Since that time, I have always strived to maintain a healthy diet & lifestyle. It wasn't until I was introduced to
live foods that I realized my diet could be elevated to a level beyond just eating organic and whole foods.
My first introduction to raw foods was in the 80's when a friend of mine took me to Delights of the Garden
restaurant in Atlanta. He kept raving about how amazing this food was, and it was all uncooked! He knew I
would love it and he was right, I did. The flavors were so fresh and alive. I left feeling full, but not
uncomfortably stuffed. After that I couldn't stop thinking about the food, so I bought their book "The Joy of Not
Cooking" and began attempting to make some of the recipes at home. It was great to be juicing and using the
carrot pulp to make a lunch of "mock tuna" sushi rolls.
It wasn't until 2005 when another friend reintroduced me to some "new" raw foods, that I became serious. At
this point, raw foods had become an actual movement that had gained widespread interest from both a health
and culinary standpoint. Again, I was amazed at the freshness of it all and I was intrigued by the tastes of
combinations and possibilities using all uncooked ingredients and….it was healthy too!
There was now so much more information out there; I began reading & researching, eating & experimenting
with a variety of recipes. It just made so much sense to me -- eating foods that are alive and chock full of
nutrients and enzymes, and that taste amazingly fresh & healthy, and can heal the body. The more live food I
incorporated into my diet, the more I craved, especially leafy greens like parsley, lettuce, kale, chard etc. I also
began to simplify my diet and began preparing less "gourmet" meals as my palate adjusted to wanting just
pure simple foods.
By eating mostly live foods I was amazed at the results. My energy level was back, I slept through the night,
needed less hours of sleep, and was back to my normal pre-pregnancy weight. My tonsils, which had been
enlarged my entire life, shrunk down to a normal size, more than half of what they had been. But most
astounding to me was the fact that I was able to stop my thyroid medication that I had been taking for over 20
years. Since that time, I've gone through various degrees of raw, but one thing is certain, the more live foods I
add to my diet the better I feel.
My diet consists of 80-100% raw & live foods, percentage depending upon the seasons and how my body feels.
As time goes on, it becomes easier to listen to my body and eat intuitively. Eating live foods is not a diet, but a
lifestyle choice that is an ongoing journey, always changing and evolving. With this choice comes numerous
rewards including health, spiritual growth, and an appreciation for a more simplistic, natural lifestyle.
For myself, making this choice is similar to creating art; sometimes you don’t fully grasp where the vision
comes from or how to proceed, but you know intuitively it’s what you’re supposed to be doing. I feel the same
with eating a diet high in raw and living foods – there is something that just pulls you in, besides the fact that it’
s healthy and tastes amazing. Just like art, I feel there is something intuitive in the nature of it. It just makes
sense on so many levels.
Currently, I run a vegetarian & vegan raw food Bed & Breakfast, Retreat Center, & Supper Club (Palate) on our
organic farm in the Catskills. We offer a variety of group and individual classes/workshops, including raw &
living foods, transitioning to healthy lifestyle, wild edible identification, yoga and art. Group retreats & camping
are also available on the farm. All the food we serve is organic, local, and from our garden whenever possible.
Guests can spend the night or the weekend, enjoy healthy, energizing meals, see the Catskills, take a class or
have a retreat and learn more about preparing, eating, & enjoying raw & living foods.
All of our classes are designed to help individuals learn ways of incorporating healthier food & habits into their
life without feeling intimidated or overwhelmed. Raw & living food classes range from beginning transitioning
classes (not all raw), to more advanced sprouting, dehydrating, and full raw/living gourmet meal preparation.
We also offer a series of “Better Than Baked” classes that focus on a specific recipe twice per month.
In addition to the above mentioned classes, I am also fortunate enough to be teaching both art and raw foods
at our local public school as well as at our local Universities. As a mother, artist, and raw food aficionado, this
opportunity is not only rewarding and inspiring, but a sign of true progress. I feel very fortunate to be on this
journey. I am really excited to share the benefits & experience that I’ve had with raw & living food in hopes of
motivating & promoting a positive change to help others.
jewelry designer with a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Colorado in
Boulder. I studied jewelry design & manufacturing at the Instituto de Allende in
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and graduated as a gemologist from the
Gemological Institute of America in Santa Monica, CA I am also a certified raw
& living food chef & instructor.
I consider myself to be more of an impromptu “food constructor" than a "chef". I work in the kitchen the same
way I work in the studio. I usually "construct" food according to what "materials" I have in my garden, kitchen,
or what I'm craving. I also may look at 2 or 3 recipes for ideas and then adapt them to ingredients I have on
hand or special flavors or textures that I prefer. I taste, add or subtract until I get the taste, texture & visual
appearance that I'm after. I try to encourage others to be creative, experiment & explore; if you don't have an
ingredient, substitute it for something that you do have that may have a similar texture or flavor. That is the
beauty of creating recipes with living food, there's no science to it coming out "right". It's just a matter of
being creative with your palate and vision, with the extra added benefit of being healthy.
I love to prepare special recipes & meals for my friends and guests, however, I prefer to eat more simply on a
day to day basis. The food & ingredients I use are organic, and depending upon the time of year, much comes
from my yard or garden. I try to eat as seasonal & local as possible but….living in the north east, this is
challenging. I love my warm weather & tropical fruits. On the flip side, I am fortunate enough to live in the
beautiful Catskills and have an abundance of wild edibles and amazing spring water coming from the foothills
in my backyard year round.
My interest in healthy eating began over 20 years ago after being diagnosed with thyroid cancer in my early 20’
s. Since that time, I have always strived to maintain a healthy diet & lifestyle. It wasn't until I was introduced to
live foods that I realized my diet could be elevated to a level beyond just eating organic and whole foods.
My first introduction to raw foods was in the 80's when a friend of mine took me to Delights of the Garden
restaurant in Atlanta. He kept raving about how amazing this food was, and it was all uncooked! He knew I
would love it and he was right, I did. The flavors were so fresh and alive. I left feeling full, but not
uncomfortably stuffed. After that I couldn't stop thinking about the food, so I bought their book "The Joy of Not
Cooking" and began attempting to make some of the recipes at home. It was great to be juicing and using the
carrot pulp to make a lunch of "mock tuna" sushi rolls.
It wasn't until 2005 when another friend reintroduced me to some "new" raw foods, that I became serious. At
this point, raw foods had become an actual movement that had gained widespread interest from both a health
and culinary standpoint. Again, I was amazed at the freshness of it all and I was intrigued by the tastes of
combinations and possibilities using all uncooked ingredients and….it was healthy too!
There was now so much more information out there; I began reading & researching, eating & experimenting
with a variety of recipes. It just made so much sense to me -- eating foods that are alive and chock full of
nutrients and enzymes, and that taste amazingly fresh & healthy, and can heal the body. The more live food I
incorporated into my diet, the more I craved, especially leafy greens like parsley, lettuce, kale, chard etc. I also
began to simplify my diet and began preparing less "gourmet" meals as my palate adjusted to wanting just
pure simple foods.
By eating mostly live foods I was amazed at the results. My energy level was back, I slept through the night,
needed less hours of sleep, and was back to my normal pre-pregnancy weight. My tonsils, which had been
enlarged my entire life, shrunk down to a normal size, more than half of what they had been. But most
astounding to me was the fact that I was able to stop my thyroid medication that I had been taking for over 20
years. Since that time, I've gone through various degrees of raw, but one thing is certain, the more live foods I
add to my diet the better I feel.
My diet consists of 80-100% raw & live foods, percentage depending upon the seasons and how my body feels.
As time goes on, it becomes easier to listen to my body and eat intuitively. Eating live foods is not a diet, but a
lifestyle choice that is an ongoing journey, always changing and evolving. With this choice comes numerous
rewards including health, spiritual growth, and an appreciation for a more simplistic, natural lifestyle.
For myself, making this choice is similar to creating art; sometimes you don’t fully grasp where the vision
comes from or how to proceed, but you know intuitively it’s what you’re supposed to be doing. I feel the same
with eating a diet high in raw and living foods – there is something that just pulls you in, besides the fact that it’
s healthy and tastes amazing. Just like art, I feel there is something intuitive in the nature of it. It just makes
sense on so many levels.
Currently, I run a vegetarian & vegan raw food Bed & Breakfast, Retreat Center, & Supper Club (Palate) on our
organic farm in the Catskills. We offer a variety of group and individual classes/workshops, including raw &
living foods, transitioning to healthy lifestyle, wild edible identification, yoga and art. Group retreats & camping
are also available on the farm. All the food we serve is organic, local, and from our garden whenever possible.
Guests can spend the night or the weekend, enjoy healthy, energizing meals, see the Catskills, take a class or
have a retreat and learn more about preparing, eating, & enjoying raw & living foods.
All of our classes are designed to help individuals learn ways of incorporating healthier food & habits into their
life without feeling intimidated or overwhelmed. Raw & living food classes range from beginning transitioning
classes (not all raw), to more advanced sprouting, dehydrating, and full raw/living gourmet meal preparation.
We also offer a series of “Better Than Baked” classes that focus on a specific recipe twice per month.
In addition to the above mentioned classes, I am also fortunate enough to be teaching both art and raw foods
at our local public school as well as at our local Universities. As a mother, artist, and raw food aficionado, this
opportunity is not only rewarding and inspiring, but a sign of true progress. I feel very fortunate to be on this
journey. I am really excited to share the benefits & experience that I’ve had with raw & living food in hopes of
motivating & promoting a positive change to help others.
| Green Certification: Our comittment to environmentally sustainable business practices |
