For a long time I was pretty convinced that I hated cooking. In fact, I've had quite a few discouraging kitchen misadventures in my day, some might even call them culinary calamities! I believe that I have only succeeded in learning to cook, and enjoy healthy foods, because I don't take my mistakes too seriously, and I keep an open mind about food while balancing the priorities of taste, and health. I started this blog in hopes that if I share my blunders, successes, and hard-earned nutrition knowledge, I just might inspire someone else to attempt their first healthy, homemade meal, and to keep trying if it goes sideways!
Here are a few fun facts about me:
I don't come from a "foodie" family. Growing up, I spent considerable time in the kitchens of my father, and grandmothers, who knew a thing or two about tasty food and quality ingredients...but nutrition...not so much. I did not pay anywhere near enough attention, and was too much of a picky eater at the time to appreciate a lot of what they made.
I was raised by my mother who, as my grandfather put it, "gets confused in the kitchen." For a long time I feared this was genetic. In our home, the oven was used for storage, and potatoes came from a box. I will likely get an angry phone call for letting these skeletons out, but without my memories of childhood meals (good and bad) I wouldn't be where I am now! So thank you mom, for being a terrible cook!
I have an undergraduate degree in Marketing Communication and Advertising from Emerson College. My studies there keep me constantly fascinated by, and curious (if not cautious) about our food culture, and American food industry and innovation.
I spent 20 years of my life working in the restaurant industry. I've held just about every front of the house job you can imagine from buss girl to general manager. I worked for some very talented and noteworthy chefs. I absorbed a lot from them. I believe that letting someone else cook for you from time to time is virtually essential to a having a healthy relationship with food.
In 2007, an authentic "Ah-ha" moment made me realize my interest in wellness and nutrition, and I began a journey that ultimately led me to a graduate degree in nutrition from Simmons College and some nifty initials after my name.
In 2018 I moved to Salem, MA, a place that I have always loved and felt at home. Skeletons of all kinds are quite welcome here.
All of these things have shaped me. They have inspired me to realize and nurture my culinary curiosities, and have influenced the type of nutrition counseling I offer in my practice.
I am a recovering picky eater, and still occasionally fear big knives. It took me years to realize that cooking is not rocket science, and that even though I'm a registered dietitian, food doesn't need to be taken too seriously to be healthy and
delicious. With a pinch of humility, a dash of determination and a bushel of laughs, I have become an excellent cook, and healthy and mindful eater. If I pulled all this off, trust me, you too can too!
I started this blog because my kitchen cabinets contain more skeletons than canned goods. I hope my my stories inspire you to try something new, and maybe something healthy. But please remember: what you eat matters, but you are also more than what you eat, and that matters most!
Thanks for reading Skeletons In My Kitchen.
