My Journey to Vibrant Health & The Origins of Life Made Edible
My Wake Up Call to Vibrant Health
“You’re f***ked, you know that?”
Those words came out of the mouth of Dr. J, my oncologist. They shook me to my core.
Here I was, sitting in his office awaiting my 5th chemotherapy appointment, and I felt so close to death.
I was 23 years old but felt 93 – bone-deep body aches, zero energy, my body literally falling apart, with no hope in sight beyond the bag of chemicals on his desk for my chemo appointment.
The cancer had come as a complete surprise and had completely upended my life – my husband and I moved in with my parents, I had to quit my promising career as a chef, and my entire life was reduced to my chemo treatments and a vague hope that I could still survive.
And now Dr. J was saying THIS?!
“Huh?” I managed to get out. Even in my exhausted and sick state, some part of my mind rejected the idea that I was “done.” If my mom had taught me anything, it was how to be a fighter.
“Yeah, it’s a shame, poor kid.” He smiled sadly at me in a fatherly sort of way. Honestly part of me felt like punching him.
But I could feel his love for me, and honestly, our connection and conversations are a big part of what had kept me going the past few months through the all chemicals (including mustard gas), the bone marrow testing, operations, and massive hair and weight loss (at one point I weighed only 65 pounds).
What he said next changed everything.
You see, Dr. J and I bonded more than anything over our shared love of food and nutrition, especially how food can be used to heal the body.
I had grown up with a deep love of food, and a fascination with life sciences, which together led to my inspiration to become a wellness chef.
Dr. J and I had spent hours in his office talking about food and healing. He always patiently answered my many questions and had a deep respect for using foods to heal the body.
I told him stories about growing up on a “mini-farm.” My family kept 30 hives of bees, had chickens, rabbits, goats and all kinds of birds, and a huge garden with every fruit and vegetable imaginable. There was never a shortage of ingredients to create inspiring recipes!
Dr. J appreciated how much I valued knowing where and how our food was sourced, plus an appreciation for hard work and for the nature and ritual of farming itself.
Now in his office, he revealed to me his long-held beliefs around the limitations of what he referred to as “traditional medicine” to truly heal the body, and talked so passionately about my skills as a chef and my deep knowledge of the most important medicine on the planet – FOOD.
He lifted up the bag of chemicals for my chemo session, placed them on my lap, and asked…
“Do you truly want to continue with chemo, or not?”
In this moment I realized he was encouraging me to be my own advocate and make a conscious decision for what was best for me.
The choice – FOOD or CHEMICALS?
It wasn’t an easy choice to make.
This was back in the early 90s, and there weren’t many options for treatment. Traditional medicine and modern science hadn’t caught up to the ancient wisdom around food as medicine. I had felt trapped by the system and my own illness, with seemingly only one path forward.
But at that moment, a new path opened up, and there was something beneath the doubt and the fear.
I felt a deep knowing in my heart and a swelling confidence. I COULD do this. I knew in my bones that food and proper nutrition could heal me and bring me out of this sickness once and for all.
Even though my body was dying, my mind said “use what you were taught and fight!”
We shared a quiet moment of understanding. I threw the chemicals in the wastebin and left his office.
I immediately went home and ditched the entire contents of my fridge and cabinets. I knew I would not be able to get away with some of the mistakes that other people could regarding food. I had to be resolute.
I committed to dive even deeper into the power of food, and even more importantly, to listening and connecting with the needs of my own body.
I GOT this.
Over the next few months, I began to heal. Two months later I returned to Dr. J and discovered I was in remission.
I contribute my remission to a combination of the partial chemotherapy treatment and the huge shift I made in my eating habits. I wholeheartedly believe I stayed in remission and never had a relapse due to the changes I made in my diet and lifestyle.
Sharing Vibrant Health with the World
When I eventually returned to my work as a wellness chef, it was with an even deeper knowledge of the importance of nutrition, and a commitment to helping others see the same results in their lives.
This purpose first led me to multiple fulfilling roles in the restaurant space – as a sous chef, as a resort restaurant manager, and eventually, as the owner of my wellness restaurant.
I began to realize that the answers to my physical and spiritual conditions were only found by uncovering their original source of dis-ease ( as opposed to simply addressing symptoms.) My avid searches began to discover these causes for myself and others, and how to heal them.
About fifteen years ago, I decided that while I loved the restaurant business, the transformation I was seeing through those I was working with would be even better served as a coach, someone who could truly support and guide people into their own vibrant health.
As a coach, I could give someone not just a healthy meal and a positive experience, but give them access to transforming how they live and provide the support to help them get there.
Beginning in 2005, encouraged by family and friends to make my wisdom and edible earthens more available to the public. It was the right time and place for concepts with such effectiveness to be in the hands of those who were desperately seeking answers… Life Made Edible was born.
It has been my passion since childhood to be an instrument through which lives change for the better and the positive results I see and watch in myself and in the lives of those I coach, fulfills this ongoing passion within to serve the common good.
It’s important that people receive the knowledge, guidance, support and supplementation they need to heal, nourish and build their holistic health, whether they’re currently deeply sick like I was, or simply desiring to take their health to the next level.
Overall, I’ve spent 30+years in quest of the best that nature has to offer.
I’ve had the privilege of helping hundreds of clients unlock their natural wellbeing and achieve their own vibrant health goals – healing chronic pains and diseases, falling in love with the art and science of cooking, feeling 20 years younger, and putting REAL life back into living.
That’s what I did to heal my own cancer – REAL foods, REAL healing. And it’s what I’m inspired and enthusiastic to help others achieve every single day.
Life Made Edible: Health So Good You Can Taste It
Life Made Edible was inspired by a simple mission – putting REAL life back into living.
Life is meant to be EDIBLE. Both the foods we eat and the lives we lead. A life so exhilarating that it overwhelms our senses – we can taste it, smell it, see it, feel it in our bones. Like life is an incredible buffet of experiences that we have the opportunity to sample.
LME is dedicated to helping people experience the fullness and richness of their lives. To listen to their bodies, heal themselves from the inside out, and lead a life that’s so compelling you can taste it.
That’s why everything at LME, from the Vibrant Health program to the Edible Earthen Essentials formulas, are designed to support your body’s natural ability to heal, and takes a holistic approach to wellbeing that treats you as a complete and integrated person, not just deficiency numbers on a blood panel.
LME was born out of two important evolutions in my own life…
1 | My childhood love of both food and life sciences, which gave me a deep appreciation for nutrition and inspired me to start my career as a wellness chef.
2 | My personal battle with cancer, which pushed me to explore beyond traditional medicine and truly commit to food and nutrition as my fuel source for healing and life-long wellbeing.
Together, alongside my decades of experience as a wellness chef and coach, have created the precise Vibrant Health System I now offer my clients, with proven results from hundreds of people around the world to detoxify, nourish and build their complete health.
That’s why I can say with confidence that wherever you are on your vibrant health journey, you DO have the power to access incredible depths of energy, resilience and vitality, and return to your natural vibrancy.
LME is here to support you along your path with the guidance, accountability and plans that will help you reach our own vibrant health vision.
Here’s to putting real life back into living!
ARE YOU READY TO FULLY EMBRACE YOUR
MOST VIBRANT HEALTH
Together we’ll envision your unique vibrant health goals and discover the most aligned way for you to feel (and live) your best.
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