Who am I?
My goal is to educate and inspire.
I was raised on home-cooked meals, and apple trees to climb. Desserts were rare and homemade. Sodas and candy were rare treats. I will always be grateful.
My children were raised much the same way, and I know they are grateful as they kindly tell me so.
This brings us to the early 2000s when I opened my cooking school, the nation’s first certified organic cooking school and nutrition center. I would later close the school, and founded a non-profit helping kids with their health. I spent almost a year traveling the US to interview kids, and when Sonoma State University completed the data summary, I wrote the teaching manual, which we taught for 3 years to prove efficacy.
Someone in there, I co-authored a book and wrote many articles for various publications. I also worked with a group of formerly unhoused Veterans to improve their health. It was my way of thanking the universe for my son’s safe return from Afghanistan. It was also one of my most rewarding years.
Next, I worked with two different start-ups writing protocols focusing on nutrition/health/healthy recipes.
This brings us to today, where I assist the Coast Guard as a nutritionist and culinary instructor. I also assist individuals in obtaining or maintaining (generally the former) their good health.
My family and friends are quite amazing and I feel so lucky to be part of our family.
As a rather high-strung person (not giving myself a label), exercise is essential for my physical and mental health. I love to cook, bake (I find myself creating recipes without realizing I walked into the kitchen), and paint (Van Gogh is my favorite), and I am thoroughly enjoying my herbal studies. My son tells me my house looks like a mad scientist lives here.
As chair of the Nutrition, Food, and Wellness member-led forum at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco for the past 17 years, I love to bring speakers and ideas to those who attend and listen. I am proud to say I am (as someone just told me yet again) a great ‘connector.’
Substack is another way for me to connect, educate, and hopefully inspire people to take good care of their bodies and their mental health. That said, I am not a mental health professional, but understand the connections between physical and mental health.
I will be posting information about the nutrition and culinary world that I hope you find useful.
In good health!
Patty
Photos:
Today’s sourdough bread
My latest program at The Commonwealth Club
Coast Guard graduation
Ruby, the cat I adopted from the shelter last November. I am generally more of a dog person but when my old doggies both passed away, I went for months before I decided it was time for a cat. She’s amazing.
