Living the WELL Life

My husband, Tom, (boyfriend at the time) and I started Weight Watchers together to lose weight. Several weeks into the program, I herniated a disk in my back and ended up immobile, on the couch and out of work for over a year. My chronic bronchitis transformed into recurrent bouts of pneumonia that required multiple rounds of high-dose antibiotics. In the span of a few months, I lost my 14 year old dog, Poochie, to cancer as well as what remained of my family. Depressed and in pain, I lay on the couch watching television. Deprived of my usual fattening, comfort foods, I started watching food and cooking shows on The Food Network, The Travel Channel and other local stations. I became a huge Rachael Ray fan, likening her personality to the potential of mine, when not plagued with personal loss. For hours a day, I would watch cooking shows and attempt to “Weight Watcherize” the recipes in order to stay on program. I started ordering cookbooks and cooking magazines. I was watching food, reading food and thinking food every waking hour.  Read more

It’s been called both the path to optimal health and a recipe for undernourishment. The raw food diet is more of a way of life than a diet and its followers believe wholeheartedly in its benefits. A fundamental principle of a raw food diet is eating plant foods in their natural state. Most raw foodists are vegan, but a small minority eat raw eggs and unpasteurized cheeses. The diet also consists of seaweed, sprouts, sprouted seeds, whole grains, beans, dried fruits, and nuts, and restricts alcohol, caffeine, and refined sugars. The exact temperatures are somewhat disputed, but foods should never be cooked over a temperature of between 104 and 118 degrees. Most followers eat between 75 and 100 percent raw.   Read more

From little fat boy to the national poster boy for healthy vegan eating, former President has become…in my view, a national treasure…a shining example of what we can do to create health if we put our minds…and wills to it.
Granted, I am not the best judge here. A committed vegan (practicing macrobiotics) for almost 30 years and a die-hard fan of President Clinton’s, I put him in the category of national treasure long ago. I admired his politics, his incredible depth of knowledge and his ability to empathize with the nation. With his change to vegan eating and advocacy for health, this rock that those of us committed to creating collective health push uphill each and every day seems just a little lighter.  Read more

June 9, 2012 – 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM - $30.00
And you should be, too! Not out of your jeans, but with energy, vitality, stamina, joy, anticipation of the season of summer. No? Dreading the heat and humidity?  Read more

Growing up illness was always a part of my life. Every time I was bottle-fed, I would cry. My mother thought it was colic but when my cries grew louder and stronger, she took me to the doctor. He fed me whole milk and my entire body became covered in giant, red hives. I was allergic to cow’s milk so I was switched to a soy-based infant formula. When I was 2 years old, I contracted a virus that put me in the hospital for weeks, hooked up to IVs in my arms and legs. Many of my childhood days were spent in bed under a sheet-made tent filled with vaporizer steam to help the croup I got repeatedly. My cough was so bad, my father said I sounded like “a dog barking.” Doctors made house calls back then and it felt like mine was always there with his black bag of medicines and syringes, visiting more often than friends or relatives did.   Read more

It is more than an honor to be a new addition to Christina Pirello’s extended family. When I first met Christina, I knew the Universe was talking to me.  True, I hadn’t taken my medication in several days.  But something told me this wasn’t just another one of my usual cosmic hallucinations, as I call them. No, something special was happening.  That moment when I crossed the threshold, stepping foot into Christina’s living room/office/playroom/energy hub, I recognized the distinctive, scintillating sound of two old souls meeting up again. When her husband, Robert, popped in and stuck a double espresso in my hand, I knew it was kismet.   Read more

When was the last time you had some Brazil nuts? They are the big dark nuts that are shaped like a section of an orange and are difficult to crack. Yet oftentimes, the hardest nuts to crack reap the greatest rewards—and Brazil nuts are no exception!  Read more

Food is a part of politics. When a visiting dignitary comes to Washington, he or she is often whisked away for a quick and very public bite to eat. It’s not that there was nothing to eat on the plane. The restaurant trip is a photo-op. Political leaders with their sleeves rolled up sharing an all-American burger—that’s exactly the image both sides want. It shows that they really are buddies. The cameras click and the pictures make worldwide front-page news.  Read more

Chefs BEWARE! If you are just starting cooking school, or if you’re at home and have finally come around to that plant based diet using fresh produce, you are probably making a very important discovery. It means A LOT of chopping! And ask any more experienced chef (professional or Grandma) and they will tell you that can also mean PAIN. Seemingly endless standing, chopping, lifting, stirring etc. can take all the fun out of this healthy, great tasting lifestyle and send you right into my PT office. Neck pain, back pain, headache, elbow pain, carpal tunnel and multiple varieties of tendonitis can be common kitchen complaints. But wait, wait! Don’t quit! The health benefits are well worth it and you can avoid the pain. Follow these tips and exercises regularly to eat all that great tasting food and reap the health for years to come.  Read more

Here's a three-course vegan comfort food menu that will fill you up and make you happy! This delicious and simple vegan menu includes Christina's Quickest Tomato Soup, an amazingly hearty Veggie Bread Salad with White Beans, and ... dessert! Enjoy Christina's version of Italian 'zeppole' with her indulgent recipe for Orange-Glazed Italian Donuts.  Read more