Happy Friday friends. The conference is officially over and I’m flying home as I type this. I’m super pumped to get to see Isaac and Olive tonight – I’ve missed my two amigos.
I took photos of my convention center eats on Wednesday to share with you all, but the quality is awful (in more ways than one) and I wasn’t sure how interested you’d be in seeing them. Let me know and I’ll post them if your interested, but skip them if you’re not. Anyhow, yesterday I was able to head to Los Angeles after the convention ended and spend time with my friend Laurel. She took me to an organic cafe called Green Peas for dinner and of course, I loved it! She knows my tastes well!
If you’re ever in the L.A. area, I highly recommend Green Peas – we spilt a vegan mushroom pizza with Daiya cheese and a raw kale salad with tomato basil soup! Everything was so delicious! I loved the kale salad and I hadn’t ever had Daiya cheese before! Now I see what all the hype is about – it melted just as a normal cheese would and tasted like the real thing. The only issue we had is that it sticks to your teeth, but that’s not a deal breaker because the taste is spot on. If you’re dairy free and haven’t tried it yet, I’d definitely recommend it.
Later we went for fancy pants drinks at a bar called Big Foot Lodge. Drinks we tried included the Blackberry Pepper Bramble, a unique pepper infused gin coupled with blackberry liqueur, lemon juice and soda water and Violet Vapor, a drink with creme de violet liqueur and champagne with a lemon twist.
Dinner and drinks with a good friend turned out to be a perfect way to end the trip.
In others news, I want to share with you all an interview I was able to conduct recently with Andrea Beaman. I know I’ve mentioned Andrea and her book, The Whole Truth Eating and Recipe Guide several times, but just to reiterate, she is a Holistic Health Counselor and Natural Chef with a radiating passion for healthy eating.
I feel very lucky to have had the pleasure of interviewing Andrea and I’m excited to share her thoughts with you all!
So without further ado…
Prior to taking on my health, I was working at MTV Networks. I loved my job. It was fun. But, when thyroid disease appeared in my life, it brought me to a higher calling – “Healer/Teacher.”
2.) You have what I would consider a “dream job.” Tell me, what exactly does your typical work day look like?
I certainly do not have a “typical” work day! Everyday there is something new to work on. I am my own boss and have been self-employed since I quit my corporate job over 10 years ago. My day always starts with stretching (yoga or Chinese meridian stretches) and meditation. After that, I am ready for work. My daily work can consist of many things: Answering email questions from clients, answering website inquiries, one on one health coaching with clients or biz-coaching with students, editing my 3rd book, editing/creating video blogs for my website, business Meetings (usually via phone), creating new recipes for websites/classes.
3.) I remember seeing you on the First Season of Top Chef back in 2006. Can you tell me a little bit about your experience as a natural chef on a mainstream cooking show?
4.) What is your food philosophy?
5.) When someone is just getting started with eating healthy what do you recommend as the first step?
6.) What is your argument when someone says eating healthy is too expensive?
7.) Do you exercise? If so, what’s your normal routine like?
8.) I have your book The Whole Truth and really enjoy it. When is your newest book Health is Wealth due out?
9.) Will you share one of your favorite recipes?
10.) Do you have any other information you would like to share with EatingBirdFood readers?
Eat food that is delicious and nourishing. You are worth it!
I hope you all enjoyed learning more about Andrea and what it’s like to be a full-time health counselor and chef. Be sure to check out her website and books if you are interested in learning how she healed herself through healthy eating. And, I can attest to the fact that her recipes are super tasty so be sure to check those out as well!
I was particularly excited about interviewing her because I’ve always been interested in having a career based around nutrition, health and wellness. I even enrolled in a local ADA accredited program last summer and took a couple courses before realizing that getting an RD license didn’t fully align with my goals. However, I found out about the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN), which is the school Andrea received her certification through. I’m now connected with many IIN students and graduates who have throughly enjoyed their experience with the school, including Isaac’s mom!
And, DRUM ROLL please…. I have enrolled myself in their distance education program!!! Classes actually start next Monday, October 18! I’ll be learning everything about nutrition and health and when I graduate, I will be a certified holistic health counselor with the credentials to coach clients on how to take control of their health, cook delicious and healthy meals and lose weight! What I love about that program is that I can already tell from reading over the materials that it aligns perfectly with my thoughts on food and eating. One of the main principals is bio-individually and the fact that we are all different and what works for one person may not work for another. I’ve always been drawn to holistic (natural) practices and think that it’s the best approach to take in all aspects of health and wellness, including the way we eat. Overall, I’m just really excited about this journey and I can’t wait to share it with you all!!
Have a spectacular Friday and enjoy your weekend.
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Brittany Mullins, HHC







