I've come to believe in the power of raw vegan living, in part because of my experiences eating the typical American diet. I grew up on a farm that grew grain, alfalfa, and potatoes and raised livestock - eating the typical diet full of meat, potatoes, eggs, dairy, poultry, and sweets.  From my 20s on, I gained some extra weight even though I ate sensibly. I fought a variety of ailments, including hypoglycemia, heart arrhythmia, yeast infections, and acid reflux.

As I grew older, I noticed that many of my friends and relatives who ate as we did were diagnosed with cancer, diabetes, suffered strokes, or weight-related illnesses. My father had a series of strokes that began when he was 56-year-old that ultimately paralyzed him. I tried a variety of diets to improve my own health and lose weight without success.

All of this changed in 1999 when I attended the School of Natural Healing, where I learned the art of healing using herbs and live foods. It was there that I became a vegan. I immediately lost 20 pounds, had a clearer mind, experienced increased energy and overcame the aforementioned ailments among other things. My husband became a vegan soon after I did and since then has lost 60 pounds and his blood pressure has stabilized. All of our children have tailored this diet to fit their lives and are blessed with good health.

As I learned more about nutrition and the raw vegan diet, I sought to master the art of preparing the food I was now eating. I apprenticed in the New York City gourmet raw food restaurant, Quintessence, and took chef classes from Jenny Cornbleet with the Living Light Culinary Arts Institute. I learned how to make healthy raw foods that are satisfying and delicious, and am now creating my own raw food recipes.  Preparing nutritious food, beautifully presented, for dinner guests and/or attendees of my raw food classes, is very rewarding to me.

My assistants and I take great joy in teaching nutritional food preparation classes, where the students learn to incorporate raw foods into their diets.  It is very satisfying to see their health improve and see enthusiasm come back into their lives. It is my greatest desire to help people discover, what I discovered - Eating a raw vegan diet can profoundly affect a person’s vitality and well being.