Meet Me At the Table
My goal with this blog is to bring you perspectives from my past, peppered with insights and facts on the future of food, farming and health – providing “food for thought, action and personal responsibility.” As a registered dietitian and a sixth generation farm owner in Kentucky, the connection of farm to plate is part of my DNA. I have spent my career navigating the connections between food, health, agriculture and consumer behavior. Together, we will dig into the complex and ever-changing story of who grows our food, what’s in our food, and how food affects our health and ultimately our lives.
What Will Be Our “Silver Linings” Post COVID?
As we start to see a “light at the end of the tunnel,” I thought it was only appropriate to explore the lessons we’ve learned. But after reading about the changes and realities resulting from the 1918 Spanish Flu, it seemed more appropriate to reflect on where we are...
From the Almond Groves to Our Hands
As with most things in our lives over the past year, our snacking habits have changed according to The Hartman Group. According to their research, “some (consumers) have taken the opportunity to clean up their snack diets, while others have slipped into less healthy...
Don’t Let Fresh Get in the Way of Eating Healthy
It was the middle of winter in Chicago with snow on the ground (sounds familiar?) and during a question-and-answer session following a presentation I had just given, an audience member asked “What is the one food or nutrition myth you would like to bust”? Without...
Every Bite of Chocolate is a Global Experience
An overwhelming 86% of Americans report that they’ll share a gift of chocolate and candy this Valentine’s Day according to the National Confectioners Association recent study.1 For some, a special occasion is not required to enjoy chocolate, but during the week of...
Give Credit Where Credit is Due! George Washington Carver Understood Sustainability
As the global population and our interdependence on food grown beyond the confines of our backyards and borders grows, connecting the dots between what we grow, how we grow food, and the impact of food on our health has a renewed interest for all of us. But these...
Wake Up! We Can Do Better! Take the “2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans” to Heart to Make Every Bite Count
We all consider ourselves food “experts” regardless of our backgrounds, age, gender or social economic status. We eat to live (or in some cases live to eat) and frankly, food is the core of our existence. During COVID-19, we have rediscovered the “joy of cooking” at...
Recharge and Reset … Rockin’ Resilience in the New Year
“Don’t let the door hit you on your way out” may be one of the more appropriate phrases as we bid adieu to 2020. What a way to start a decade! In my January 2020 blog, I wrote, “What will happen in the next 10 years to feed the world? And restore consumers’ trust in...
The Gift of Food … Beyond the Holidays
Spending more time in the kitchen in the past few weeks baking cookies or busy perusing online options for food gift baskets? Tis the season! But in reality, food is our gift every day to receive and give. In this unique and challenging year, we suddenly realized that...
Unwrapping the Package — What’s Underneath the Label?
I learned at an early age that the contents of a package don’t always match the outside label. My mother was resourceful, so using a box for the second or third time seemed quite appropriate! This year, in our quest to ship holiday packages to family and friends with...
How Do We Keep Our “Love for Cooking”?
Cooking fatigue or cooking inspiration? Which of these terms describe you? After all it’s December and our usual annual return to the kitchen for holiday cooking is not unique this year. We have been in the kitchen since March. According to consumer research, over 80%...