Things you should know from the start...

Because knowing them will make our journey together easier...

• I cook for many, many people and always have.  Some share my views of healthy lifestyle and living, some do not. I want to feed them anyway. That's why you will find a wide variety and selection of recipes here as this page develops and grows.
• For a great number of years, I fed my very large brood, usually on an amazingly small budget, and many of the ingredients used will reflect that.
• My kitchen is stocked with both the things that you would find in any average American, well stocked kitchen, as well as organic and non-organic whole foods.
• I am a HUGE advocate for raw foods eating...such a diet saved my very life, and is responsible for the transformation you see from the earlier pictures in my sidebar link (Transformation and the Power of I CAN!) to more recent ones, including the one on this blog, taken the day I first posted it.
• My recipes are usually composed as though you and I were sharing a cup of tea and visiting....filled with tips,  accompaniments, serving suggestions, garnishes, etc.  They tend to be chatty and conversational, as a rule.
• Because maintaining a healthy weight became so very important to me after my own lifestyle change 12 years ago, I always recommend using fat free (or reduced fat), sugar free, chemical free, and generally wholesome ingredients whenever possible.  These will appear in italics, but you, of course are free to use the "real McCoy" if you choose.
• When discussing topics other than food, I'll try to keep the language and terminology as simple as possible, again, conversational and down to earth. With a background in nursing, I know all the "big" words", but often find that  ideas and concepts are grasped more easily when we "keep it simple".
• If I am sharing with you about exercise, health, fitness, etc., it will be from first hand knowledge or experience.  I cannot, in good conscience, share with you what I do not know to be 100% true myself.  If giving an opinion, I will let you know that it is exactly that.
• I AM EXCITED....to finally have an outlet for all that I have learned and/or experienced and benefited from these many years!