Put a Fork In It!

About Ashley Moulton

Ashley Moulton is a NYC-based tech entrepreneur working on Nomster Chef.

She has worked in kids’ educational media for 8 years: on a preschool TV show on Nickelodeon called “Team Umizoomi” and on apps at YouTube Kids and PlaySquare. She is a 2015 graduate of the Stanford Graduate School of Education’s “Learning, Design, and Technology” program. Nomster Chef was developed as Ashley’s master’s program project at Stanford, and recently completed a fellowship in the University of Pennsylvania’s Education School’s Education Design Studio EdTech incubator. She’s been an avid home cook and foodie ever since moving to New York City opened her eyes to the wonders of food, and hopes to share this love with as many kids as possible!

 

Get in touch with Ashley: Email

About Nomster Chef

Nomster Chef is on a mission to raise a healthier generation of kids and a happier generation of parents by helping families cook together. Nomster Chef is a digital library of step-by-step illustrated recipes led by the friendly Nomster Monster character, and is designed to help kids age 2-12 feel like expert chefs. Cooking with Nomster Chef is the ultimate parenting hack: meal prep, family bonding, a healthy habit, and an educational experience all in one. Nomster Chef: Making mealtime family fun time.

Learn more about Nomster: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest

Nomster Chef Kickstarter: Learn More/Donate at the NomsterChef Kickstarter page

“10 Jedi mind tricks to encourage your child to eat healthy food” E-mail Series: Sign up

Our Conversation

Ashley is our first repeat guest! We follow up with her on her entrepreneurial journey. Check out her first episode here (our second published show!) I definitely recommend listening to that first, for context, though it’s not absolutely necessary.

This was a great, wide-reaching conversation. We catch up on where Ashley is at in developing Nomster Chef. This is a great episode for new entrepreneurs, or folks thinking about starting up a project, read: future business idea. Our conversation covers what it’s like in a pre-launch phase, how she’s been working on everything from prototypes, to building an audience, growing her content, presenting to investors… all while not having a launched product, customers or revenue.

In our conversation, we discuss:

Her experience going through the Pennsylvania’s Education School’s Education Design Studio EdTech incubator

What she learned about presenting to investors

Why she wasn’t funded from that presentation

How she tested and learned about Facebook Advertising

Her experience with organic growth on Instagram

Her soon to launch Kickstarter Campaign

How she was able to get the help of interns

Her views on health

And so much more!

Love the show?

If you love our show, please support us by:

Sharing it with your friends

Leaving a comment on the show notes

Writing a review on iTunes or Facebook

Subscribing

Donating on Patreon

Contacting us to learn about sponsorship opportunities

Contacting us for a feature/interview

About Sarah Lee

Sarah Lee is the CEO of the Think Dutchess Alliance for Business and Executive Director of the Dutchess County Industrial Development Agency.

In these roles, Sarah is responsible for overall strategic planning, program development and delivery and budget preparation for the agencies. She also oversees administration resource management, organization linkages and staff supervision of the DCLDC and its departments, including the Business Attraction and Business Retention and Expansion.

Sarah Lee joined the former Dutchess County Economic Development Corporation in July of 2013 as a Business Development Specialist. Less than a year later, she became Director of Business Development. She previously held the position of Director of Business Development and Strategic Planning for Health Quest.

Sarah holds a Masters in Public Administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and is a graduate of SUNY Albany.

Get in touch with Sarah: Email

About Think Dutchess Alliance for Business

Think Dutchess Alliance for Business is the premier one-stop shop for business development needs and activities in New York’s Dutchess County.

A business-led, nationally recognized economic development corporation, Think Dutchess Alliance for Business brings together 10 agencies to offer a single point of contact for a multitude of programs for entrepreneurs, businesses and site selectors:

Business Retention and Expansion

Business Attraction

Site Selection

Workforce Development

Financial counseling and deal structuring

State and local incentives

Permitting, zoning and advocacy

Commercial real estate listings and analytics

Technology and innovation

Strategic marketing and networking

Learn more about Think Dutchess: Website

Our Conversation

I’d been wanting to have someone from an economic development organization on the show for quite a while. Finally, the stars aligned and Sarah Lee, CEO of Think Dutchess was gracious enough to come on the show. I wanted to dig in a bit into what “economic development” really means and the impact organizations like this are having on our local economy in the Hudson Valley, and learn a bit more economic and market characteristics of this area, in general, such as the strongest industries, growing industries and so on. It turns out that we had much more to discuss than not so simple matters of economic development, as you’ll hear about Sarah’s experiences as a Korean immigrant growing up all over NY, NJ and PA. We had a wonderful conversation, and you’ll definitely want to stick around to hear about the awesome “Shark Tank”-style event they are hosting, coming up in September!

In our conversation, we discuss:

Life growing up in NY, NJ, and PA as a Korean immigrant

Strategic thinking 101 and how it can help

The top industries in our region

How to take advantage of an organization like Think Dutchess

Why businesses should think about starting and moving to the Hudson Valley

Unique opportunities for entrepreneurs

The most important first step to take if you’re thinking of starting a business

The upcoming pitch-style event in Poughkeepsie

Think Dutchess’ incubator-style program/contest

The best kept secret (or most underutilized, but highly valuable) service of Think Dutchess

And so much more!

Love the show?

If you love our show, please support us by:

Sharing it with your friends

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Writing a review on iTunes or Facebook

Subscribing

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Contacting us to learn about sponsorship opportunities

Contacting us for a feature/interview

About Julie Robbins

Julie is a holistic business coach that helps people find their path in life. Although you will not see Julie with a drum and drumsticks in hand on a daily basis, she has her own positive beat of productivity. Julie is currently on the board for the New Paltz Regional Chamber of Commerce and The Arts Community. She believes in supporting and helping business owners succeed at One Epic Place by helping them find their purpose and their own individual way of thriving in their business. Julie has an immense zest for life (that can actually be quite scary sometimes). She is a mom of 3 boys, loves her hammock and lives to travel. Nicole would best describe her partner in crime as “seriously badass,” wicked smart, and my rock.

Get in touch with Julie: Email

About Nicole Langlois

Nicole is best described as the energizer bunny….She keeps going, going, going. Although Nicole has traveled around the world, she is a Hudson Valley native. She is a Wellness Warrior and helps support and empower others to foster a sustainable healthy and healing way to live their lives. She truly believes in supporting and helping business owners succeed at One Epic Place through community and wellness. She will call it like she sees it. She’s super passionate and giving. She likes to travel, play poker, knit(never with a pattern), and cook(never with a recipe). She homeschooled her 3 girls, spent 6 years in the Navy, traveled around the country in an RV for several years and doesn’t like conformity. Julie best describes her as spunky and would be the definition of an EPIC if there ever was one.

Get in touch with Nicole: Email

About One Epic Place

Julie and Nicole came together because of common needs: a place to hang a shingle, the desire to start businesses to help others, and to be part of the community. They both wanted a professional place to do business but didn’t have the ability to afford it individually. They realized in order to make money they needed to see clients, and in order to see clients they needed a place to do it.

As they shared their first space and slowly grew their businesses, they saw the same situation many times with friends and colleagues. Their purpose, business goals, and path started to change in a very unexpected and exciting way. It seemed their purpose and place in this community had bigger plans than they even initially dreamed.

As Julie and Nicole got to know each other, they realized they both came from a similar legacy… one of community building, leadership, and some surprising similarities.. Their combined histories, educational backgrounds, personalities and talents, dreams and passions, made it clear that they were a force to be reckoned with. And so birthed One EPIC Place.

Get in touch with One Epic Place: One Epic Place | Email

Our Conversation

I first met Julie and Nicole through our local chamber of commerce. I was quickly impressed with what they’re doing with One Epic Place. I’m already familiar with co-working, having been a part of Beahive in Beacon for the past few years. I love coworking, as an entrepreneur without my own space, because it provides a way to be around other creative people and people in a working environment, without going to a coffee shop. It provides the things you’d need from an office, and a community. One Epic Place is definitely a unique version of coworking, in that it offers spaces for health care and healing professionals, such as massage therapists, talk therapists, and personal chefs.

I’d been dying to have Julie and Nicole on the show, since we started working together last year. And, we finally made it happen. We had a very wide ranging conversation, and I definitely learned some things, even though I see Julie and Nicole a few times each week!

In our conversation, we discuss:

How serendipity played a role in their business,

Co-Working, what it is, how it works, how it’s changing the game

Homeschooling and traveling

About Bianca Hendricks

This month’s guest, Bianca Hendricks is a Hudson Valley-based entrepreneur with over fifteen years of hospitality experience. After working in many roles in the industry, she is on a mission to bring a young, fresh spin to event planning in the Hudson Valley, and so she founded RSVP by B in 2012. Her company specializes primarily in weddings and special events, though she is also involved in corporate and community events, such as Taste of Arlington and Poughkeepsie First Fridays.

Bianca provides memorable experiences for her clients through phenomenal customer service. Bianca has excellent interpersonal, communication and relationship-building skills. She listens attentively, communicates persuasively (on behalf of her clients) and follows through diligently. Bianca always puts her clients first and will go above and beyond to ensure all their needs and desires are satisfied.

Bianca graduated from The Pennsylvania State University with a B.S. in Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Management. She has had the opportunity to work and learn from many great professionals throughout the country, from New York to Hawaii. In any position she has held, she had a passion to plan, organize, and execute successful events!

Get in touch with Bianca: RSVP By B | Email

Learn more about Poughkeepsie First Friday: Facebook | Instagram

Our Conversation

Bianca and I had a wide ranging conversation, connecting as small business owners in the Hudson Valley. While she is not directly involved in food, she has worked in hospitality and events for a number of years, and has been involved in local community events centered around food, art, music and culture – a natural fit for this show! We talk about how she got into business, the challenges of being a mom and business-woman, and what she’s doing with Poughkeepsie First Fridays.

In our conversation, we discuss:

What is event planning?

How she got into business

The power of proper delegation of tasks

How/when she started bringing on people in her business

How she got involved with First Fridays in Poughkeepsie

Revitalizing the City of Poughkeepsie

What is First Fridays?

What exactly you do in a college program for Hospitality Management and how it helps

How she balances being a mom and an entrepreneur

And so much more!

Love the show?

If you love our show, please support us by:

Sharing it with your friends

Leaving a comment on the show notes

Writing a review on iTunes or Facebook

Subscribing

Donating on Patreon

Contacting us to learn about sponsorship opportunities

Contacting us for a feature/interview

About Chris Short

Chris Short, Digital Marketing and Video Production Strategist for DragonSearch, courtesy photo

This episode features Chris Short, the Digital Marketing and Video Specialist for DragonSearch in Kingston, NY.

He utilizes his experience in traditional video and streaming production to develop innovative content for semi-professional sports teams, cutting edge technology companies as well as non-profit organizations, and food businesses. While staying ahead of emerging technology trends, he has been able to ensure brands are broadcasting their message effectively across a variety of digital platforms. By curating stories that evoke emotion and drive engagement, he combines technology with storytelling that resonates with audiences across today’s multimedia driven landscape.

For over 20 years Chris has also worked with large scale industrial manufacturing teams, and mid-size corporations, educating others in the aspects of complex communication. This experience gives him the skills to identify how individuals learn and share knowledge effectively and how that shared knowledge strengthens individual work teams and businesses alike. By bridging this experience into today’s digital marketing landscape he is able to advise and guide companies in identifying their brand voice in a noisy and congested digital space.

And, with solid experience in training module development, LMS management and educational workshop/seminar delivery, he has researched and designed several multimedia educational packages utilizing video production and e-learning which improved training effectiveness and information retention for hundreds of students. With this training, the managers, equipment operators and technical maintenance teams I have worked with have become stronger and more confident.

Get in touch: DragonSearch | Chris’s Twitter | Chris’s Instagram

Our Conversation

Chris and I met at one of his presentations, “Marketing without the Mullet,” which he gave a few months ago for the New Paltz Chamber.

I was struck by the material in his presentation. It’s always fascinating how much more there is to learn about marketing and social media, even when you’re nose deep in it for your own business and clients.

His ideas and experience really caught my attention, and his approach to being a “student of people” really humbled me, being at a way earlier stage in my career then he is.

In our conversation, we expanded on some of the topics from the seminar, and dove into some specifics of his background, as well as discussing marketing, social media and more.

Some areas we explored are:

The importance of the “why” behind the “what”

How you go from working “on the line” manufacturing semiconductors to being a digital marketing specialist

Why people crave leadership and how to build trust that engages

How to use your personality type to excel in a team environment or improve synergy in team dynamics by putting people in the right positions

Turning big ideas into practical and useful information and steps

How to get people engaged in your brand message and company culture

The basics of networking and building valuable relationships – Or “bringing the URL to IRL”

Strategies for building bridges and communicating effectively across cultures

Why food businesses, restaurants and small businesses need to embrace digital marketing, websites and social media

A basic strategy/approach for digital marketing for restaurants and small food businesses

How to use social media as a “broadcast mechanism” rather than a “safe harbor”

The types of content that resonates with the current audiences

The influence of quality imagery when building a brand through digital marketing

How to use brand ambassadors and user generated content

How to get started on social and find your voice and audience

The “secret three questions” t

About Diane Hatz

Diane Hatz, founder and executive director Change Food

This month’s featured guest, Diane Hatz, is the founder & executive director of Change Food, a non-profit organization and “grassroots movement creating a healthy, equitable food system.”

According to its website, Change Food “provide[s] various levels of support to forward-thinking food companies and organizations that are not getting sufficient attention for creating real, replicable change. In addition, through conferences, events and special projects, Change Food raises public awareness and connects various parts of the food movement.” Change Food has just launched a Patreon page to raise money for programs that are not getting the support they should be getting.  https://www.patreon.com/changefood

Prior to creating and building the Change Food organization, Diane was the organizer and host of TEDxManhattan, “Changing the Way We Eat,”​ an annual independently-licensed TED event on sustainable food and farming from 2010 – 2015. Through this endeavor, as well as through the events hosted by Change Food, she has created the Change Food Fest and Change Food Video Library, which houses professional videos documenting the speakers at these events.

Previously, Diane was the Co-founder & Director of The Glynwood Institute for Sustainable Food and Farming, she also founded and ran nonprofit program called Sustainable Table to raise awareness of issues around sustainable food, eating healthier and finding the best food for consumers and their families, which used popular culture, entertainment, grassroots marketing and new technology to raise awareness in creative, innovative ways.

One of her initial projects in the food movements was as Executive Producer of The Meatrix, and award-winning, animated short considered to be the most popular online advocacy films ever, which consists of three movies released which have been viewed by well over 20 million people.

Founder of the Eat Well Guide, an online consumer directory of sustainable food outlets in the US and Canada.

Our Conversation

In our conversation, we discuss many topics, from her specific experiences transitioning from the music industry into food, her petpeeves in the food movement and her advice for people who want to get involved in the food movement, to discussing the Change Food organization, simple tips everyone can do to help reduce food waste and other projects/organizations/events she’s founded.

In the conversation we discuss:

The difference between the Good Food and Food Tech social movements and the importance of connecting the two for the success of our overall food system

The role investors play in our food systems and how they could do better and why understanding the food system is beneficial to them

Areas of the food systems that aren’t getting the investors/funding they need

Social movements – what they are/how they start

Diane’s passion for social change/social good

Funding opportunities in for-profit vs not-for-profit ventures and how to use that to improve the food system

Mentalities in running for-profit vs nonprofit organizations and the need for marketing in non-profits

How marketing and fundraising differ and why non-profits would benefit from doing more marketing

A better way to measure effectiveness: Impact vs Profit-Motive

Unique start-ups that are helping fight food-waste, including Rise

Food waste -why it’s a problem and simple tips on how we can do better

How can we work together rather an against each other to make a better world

The power of passion and perseverance to accomplish your goals and turn a dream into action steps

Diane’s approach to starting new projects and the importance of list making and “just starting”

How to get involved in the food movement

The importance of knowing who you are and being ok with it

The struggle to finding work life balance and buildi

Intro

This month’s guest is Marika Blossfeldt, a certified holistic health coach, dancer, yoga teacher, international retreat host, natural foods chef and international cookbook author! She is a truly inspiring woman and a very interesting life story, for sure – having been born in Estonia, immigrating with her parents to Germany, living in Sweden and eventually living in NYC and Beacon, as well as owning a farm in her native country.

We first met at Hudson Valley Women in Business, during a networking function. I was already interested in having her on the show to talk about her experience publishing her cookbooks, as well as her experiences splitting her time between two countries. But, when I read her bio online and found out she was also a professional dancer, I KNEW I needed to talk to her,! Since dance was always my first love, I was intrigued to hear about her experiences in this area!

If you’ve ever wondered what is is like running an international business, self-publishing or how life was different in NYC in the 80s, this is a great episode for you. I know I am truly inspired by her accomplishments!

 

Bio

Marika Blossfeldt is an Holistic Health Coach, Author, Speaker, Natural Foods Chef, Kundalini Yoga Instructor, and Retreat Facilitator.

Before becoming a certified holistic health coach and yoga instructor, Marika Blossfeldt earned an MFA from the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin and was a featured soloist in the New York dance scene in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1995, she purchased a farm in her native Estonia – a childhood dream come true – and transformed it into an arts and wellness center. She now spends summers there, facilitating yoga, cooking and wellness retreats. Marika has appeared on several Estonian TV cooking shows and was invited to do a cooking demo as VIP chef at the Paris Cookbook Fair in 2012. Reviews of her artistic and culinary skills have appeared in The New York Times, Martha Stuart Living and The Village Voice as well as in European editions of health, lifestyle and cooking magazines. She regularly writes articles for Estonian publications and speaks on healthy eating and living both in Europe and the U.S.

Her book “Essential Nourishment, Recipes from My Estonian Farm” – a fundamental education in self-care – was self-published in both Estonian and English. The Estonian edition, released in 2009, became a bestseller and is now in its third printing. The first English edition, released in 2011, has sold 3000 copies in New York, Connecticut and California. Reader feedback has consistently been enthusiastic. In 2012 it won a Gourmand World Cookbook Award in Paris and the Living Now Book Award gold medal in the United States. It was also a finalist for Foreword Reviews’ Book of the Year Award. In 2014 Marika published her second book in Estonia and is now seeking an agent/publisher to publish the second book in the US.

Learn more about her services at her website: www.MarikaB.com

The Conversation

In the podcast, Marika shares:

her story of a lifelong international lifestyle;

what it was like to experience her country becoming free;

some challenges of running a coaching business internationally;

her background in the arts and dance;

how sugar affects our energy, and what to do instead;

how to feel better in your body, all the time;

how she went about publishing her cookbooks;

her approach to health coaching, and what it means to be a health coach;

the awesomeness that is lacto-fermented vegetables;

and so much more!

About Filomena Fanelli

Filomena Fanelli, Founder and CEO of Impact PR & Communications. Photo by Surprise Photography

This month’s featured guest, Filomena Fanelli, is the CEO and founder of Impact PR & Communications, Ltd., an award-winning public relations firm based in Poughkeepsie, NY.

With over 18 years experience in public relations, she and her team serves clients from the Hudson Valley, tri-state area and beyond.  Filomena is a true superstar in the Hudson Valley and serves as a board member of Hudson River Housing and a founding committee member of Team Hope Walk – Hudson Valley, the area’s first fundraising walk to help people with Huntington’s disease and those who love them. Filomena has also served twice on the PR/Marketing Committee for Special Olympics New York and taught public relations writing to aspiring public relations professionals and journalism majors as an adjunct at Marist College. 

Filomena was named one of the top “Forty Under 40” by the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce, won an Hermes Creative Award for her work, and was named the Junior League of Poughkeepsie’s “Provisional of the Year.” She also has been profiled in numerous media outlets, including the Huffington Post, is an ongoing columnist for trade publications including CommPRO.biz, and is a frequent presenter and guest speaker for organizations including Dutchess Tourism, Unique Ladies of the Hudson Valley and the Dutchess County Chamber of Commerce.

As a proud lifelong Dutchess County resident, Filomena was driven to start her business in her locale after freelancing and working for NYC based firms for many years and finding a serious market demand for PR services in the Mid-Hudson Valley. About 3 years ago (as of the time of the recording), Filomena began to transition from freelancer to CEO/Founder. Now, she has her own office space, 5 employees and multiple interns. Her business has experienced VERY rapid growth.

Our Conversation

In our conversation, we discuss many topics, from her specific experience growing her business, to clarifying what public relations is as a field and how her companies, and others like it, help clients.

A few of the key lessons I picked up are

the true value of taking a super logical approach to business, in order to stay sane and break through fear and the day to day,

that the first step to business success separating your “self” from the business and seeing it outside of your identity,  and

the key to success in business is taking your business seriously, which allows you to see things more clearly and actually take confident and intentional actions.

In the conversation we discuss:

how she got her business going;

the “right way” to start a business;

the value of relationships in building a business;

how to not be a slave to the emotional roller coaster and actually get stuff done;

a logical approach to determining your value and determining your pricing to be a profitable and sustainable business;

why we should all allies in our own field, and not view them as competition;

how her role in the business has shifted from freelancer to CEO;

her approach to building a good team and effective leadership;

a smart approach to hiring – freelance to permanent;

where she looks for inspiration;

how building client lists is like dating;

the differences between marking, pr and advertising;

her approach to developing a pr plan for clients;

how social media work differs between a PR firm and other marketing/social media firms;

simple pr tactics for small businesses;

determining newsworthiness and building a pr strategy;

how to work with a bigger goal, audience focused approach, and from position of inform and help to grow your business;

why we should all take our brands seriously but ourselves less seriously;

and so much more!

 

All About Nutrition Education

This month’s episode features two lovely women, Pam Koch and Isobel Contento, from the Nutrition Program at the Teachers College at Columbia University and the Tisch Center for Food, Education and Policy whose career focus is nutrition education.

The conversation definitely gets in depth about nutrition education, in terms of how to teach it, whether it should be taught, what is appropriate to teach in school/at home and at different age levels, and why it’s important. We delve into their philosophies on nutrition and the food system.

In the episode we discuss:

What nutrition education is and why it’s important as a field

Why we can’t simply trust our taste buds to guide our food choices

An approach to nutrition education that focuses on the “system” rather than blaming individuals

A simple basis/approach to eating a nutritive diet

The role of advertising and food companies in our food choices and overeating

What is a “just, sustainable food system” and what goes into creating that system

What is a “food desert”

How to teach nutrition and food skills to children of different ages

Politics of incorporating nutrition as a school topic

Why it’s important to eat well and how eating well influences behavior

The content and goals of the curriculums they have developed: “Choice Control and Change”.

The importance of portion size

How motivation works in general, and how to motivate people to eat better

Tactics to make the “right choice” the “easy choice”

Holistic education

Energy balance

About the Guests

Pamela Koch, EdD, RD the executive director of the Laurie M Tisch Center Food, Education & Policy at Columbia University. She is also a research associate professor of Nutrition Education.

Pam conducts research about the connections between a just, sustainable food system and healthy eating. She translates the results from her research into useful resources such as curricula for schoolteachers and recommendations for policy makers. Pam is the primary author of the three Linking Food and the Environment (LiFE) curriculum series books: Growing Food; Farm to Table & Beyond, and Choice, Control & Change and coordinated the development, evaluation and dissemination of the LiFE. Pam frequently speaks about nutrition education and sustainable food systems at meetings and conferences across the country. Pam also collaborates with several groups conducting food and nutrition education and working to increase access to healthy, sustainable food around New York City. She completed her BS and MS degrees in nutrition at Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey, and her EdD and RD from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Isobel Contento, Ph.D., CDN is the Mary Swartz Rose Professor of Nutrition and Education and Director of the Program in Nutrition. She is also faculty director of the Laurie M. Tisch Center for Food, Education & Policy within the program.

She conducts research on the design, implementation and evaluation of interventions that use evidence-based theory and strategies to improve health and reduce risk of overweight in youth emphasizing how the interactions among biology, personal behavior, and the food system affect eating patterns and weight. She translates the results of her research into the training of the next generation of nutrition educators, conducting workshops with practitioners, working with Dr. Pam Koch and others in developing curricula, writing a textbook, and speaking world-wide on how to motivate and facilitate health behavior change and provide environmental supports for change.

Resources mentioned:

Tisch Center for Food, Education & Policy

Michael Pollan’s book, In Defense of Food

“Why the Food Movement is Unstoppable” article by Jonathan Latham, PhD

Happy New Year!

This month’s episode comes at the perfect time to help those of you with a new year’s resolution to get your health back on track!

This episode features Nicole Farmer, MD, a board certified physician in Internal Medicine and Integrative Medicine. She has completed fellowship training in Integrative Medicine at the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine under the direction of Dr. Andrew Weil. Dr. Farmer was a Fellow in the Duke University Integrative Medicine Leadership Program.

Dr. Farmer received her Bachelors of Science in Genetics, Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Maryland at College Park. As a former research fellow at the National Institutes of Health, she worked on clinical research concerning the health burdens of diabetes and heart disease. Dr. Farmer is a graduate of Howard University College of Medicine where she was a recipient of a prestigious research scholarship from NovoNordisk. After graduation, she returned to her native Philadelphia for residency training in internal medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Dr. Farmer previously held a coveted faculty position in the Division of General Internal Medicine at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore, MD. She is a Diplomate and Member of the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine.

She has authored and contributed to several scientific articles and is a certified holistic health coach having completed training in nutrition and health coaching through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. Through this training, she developed and refined her love for cooking and giving cooking demonstrations. Dr. Farmer has since undergone culinary training through conferences at the Culinary Institute of America and is an ongoing student of the acclaimed vegan chef and PBS television personality, Christina Perillo. She is a student of the Rouxbe Cooking School Professional Cook Certification Program.

Dr. Farmer’s practice is dedicated to a patient focused clinical approach and to the therapeutic use of whole foods and nutrition for wellness and disease prevention.

When not at work, she enjoys cooking for family and friends, yoga, reading and spending time with her loving husband and two children.

We had a great conversation ranging from some basic biology to practical and tangible steps to getting things on track. In the episode we discuss:

Using food as fuel for our cells

Basics of nutrition and how it relates to digestion and fat/energy use

Prevalence of over-eating and emotional eating

Lack of nutrition training for doctors in medical school

Diabetes – the basics

Sugar, high fructose corn syrup and the effects on the body

Macronutrients and some examples

Ways to incorporate and take steps to healthier eating habits

The importance of community and a support system while working on your health

Some resources to help get started

 

Resources:

Dr. Weil – website and newsletter

Livestrong

Dr Axe – website and newsletter

Casey Health Institute

 

 

As always, if you like this episode, share it with a friend that would also enjoy it.

If you have a friend who’s struggling with their health, and you’re not sure how to give a gentle nudge… share this episode with them.

If you’re interested in getting involved in the podcast, please email me at [email protected] with your idea, question, concern or sponsorship proposal! If you like what I do and want to support me, you can contribute on at www.patreon.com/putaforkinit, for as low as $1/month!