If you ask them, most of my friends and family would say I’m a certified health nut. I don’t see myself that way. But I do get excited about making a “traditional” recipe just as tasty but better for your body. And the seasons’ bests thrill me: summer’s sweet, sweet strawberries, cherries and corn on the cob, fall’s full-bodied squash, pumpkins and yams and spring’s awesome asparagus.

I eat real food and for the most part avoid stuff that’s fake—that is, stuff that’s processed or bioengineered or and packaged in boxes or bags. I don’t really care for working out or taking the stairs instead of the escalator, but I like the results: doing so keeps me fit, firm and feeling my best. I regularly make time to move my body and quiet my mind.

The last time I was in a fast-food spot, it was for a bathroom break last spring while visiting the World Trade Center memorial. As soon as I stepped in, I knew why I hadn’t been in a fast-food restaurant in years. The smell of grease and hyperprocessed food turned my stomach so much that I had to wait for my friend outside. I could "hold it" till I got somewhere less offensive. Call me a health nut, but my body knows when stuff is no good for me. 

I believe in Hippocrates’ quote “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” We have become addicted to eating, turning to foods to nourish areas of our lives that it can’t: relationships, satisfaction on the job or in a career, spiritual peace, entertainment, happiness. Meanwhile, we’re growing sicker and sicker, and looking to drugs and medical intervention to heal us when it only salves the symptoms and patches us up. The answer to what ails us usually starts with what we put in our grocery carts. We simply need to stop and think before we buy.

That’s why I started HealthJones, a holistic health and nutritional consulting practice. I work with women in particular to help them learn to think before they buy what will ultimately heal or harm them. Often that means helping them get out of their own way so they can identify, embrace and then realize their health goals. I’m thrilled when I can help my clients to do just that: Whether its losing 20 pounds or getting rid of GERD or finding more energy or reviving long-dormant dreams, we work together, step by step, to drop old habits and adopt a new way of looking at food, fulfillment and fitness that works just for them.

On a bright day in late fall, with mellow jazz in the background and mimosas front and center, I shared that philosophy with more than 40 guests who joined me to celebrate the official launch of HealthJones. We feasted on a gluten-free menu featuring a seasonal favorite, squash-infused Carrot-Ginger Soup, along with Tortilla Quinoa Salad with Cilantro-Lime Dressing (so good somebody asked if they could take the dressing home), Turkey Chili and a Salmon Pasta Salad (made with Ancient Harvest quinoa “Pagoda” pasta and low-fat mayo). For dessert: a wheat-free version of my “world famous” Oatmeal-Cranberry Flaxseed Cookies (gone in no time flat). All dishes made by me and with love (and all recipes found on this site).

We chatted about women’s most common and pressing health challenges: sorting through conflicting and confusing information. Feeding a hungry family. Finding time and making room for simple changes that have profound and lasting effects. Generating energy. Quieting a turbulent digestive system. Conditioning a body to serve you well. My HealthJones custom program does all of that and more.

I told my guests that, as I neared my 48th birthday, I intended to enjoy another 52 summers (my favorite season) and I want them all to be able to celebrate with me. I want clients to take the long view – to look beyond tomorrow’s parent-teacher meeting and Sunday’s service, that big project at work and parent’s doctors’ appointments. To—as the flight attendants say in the event of an emergency—put your mask on first. Do you first. That way, you’ll be here to do all those other things too. That’s what HealthJones is—your fix for healthy living. And what’s nutty about that?