I was very fortunate to grow up watching my grandmother, mom and dad cook. My grandmother made hamburgers that have not been duplicated to this day, (my brother and I think it was the lard she cooked them in) my mom made the most amazing chicken, as did her mom, and when my dad had medical issues she made sure his diet had the most nutritional value for him. She was a self taught nutritionist, and my dad was the master of the pressure cooker, and he made the best french toast. As a side note, My Uncle Matt took me to different parts of Manhattan almost every weekend when I was a young. He took me to Chinatown, Little Italy, Epstein’s and many other obscure food places and food trucks.. I was fascinated by Horn & Hardart, all those little compartments. My brother is also an amazing and creative cook. I always thought he should write a cookbook so I could cook like him.
As I began to cook for my own family, I considered myself an OK cook, nothing fancy. I did not think too much about my family’s relationship with food until the time when my daughter, Jenna, was in high school. She noticed a drastic changed in her health – she felt tired all the time and suffered severe muscle pain. I thought it was growing pains but through her own research, and later medical confirmation, she discovered she had fibro myalgia. Prescription medicine did little to relieve her symptoms. Thus began many changes in the Greer house, beginning with diet changes, fitness and sleep adjustments which we had heard could help fibromyalgia. Jenna noticed a significant reduction in her pain and fatigue, leading the rest of us to wonder if we might not also benefit from similar changes. Around this time my son Ben began focusing on his fitness and well being, and after that his brother, Mike, and finally I gradually began to adopt some to the dietary and fitness changes happening Jenna and Ben found to be so helpful.
As my children became more conscious of their health, of what they were eating and how they needed to eat, my cooking style changed. Mostly “Organic” foods became the norm and a Paleo-inspired “diet” found it’s way into our daily lives, as did Crossfit and other fitness activities. We continue to work on our own personal food-health goals; whether it be for pain management, weight loss, or general well being.
I would like this website to be a tool for anyone on similar journeys who thinks cooking healthy is difficult or confusing. It’s not. With a few ingredients anyone can eat well. So many people make the same things over and over again. Time to explore, play with ingredients and have fun in the kitchen!
I hope some of these recipes and photos inspire you to create your own culinary delights. Eat fresh, buy local and eat well!