Right in the middle of my stint at Beckett’s Table I was offered a unique opportunity doing live cooking shows for a personal training website called Live Body Coach. These shows were pretty low budget, one take, no editing. I was doing just about 30 minute segments on the topic of my choice with health and weight loss as the main theme. One show I would do something like “Light Party Options” or “Snacks on the GO” and then “Healthy Shopping” and “Buying Organic”. I focused on health from a holistic perspective and not just low calorie diet food. Throughout the shows I talked about healthy light cooking methods, using glass containers, eating grass fed meats, sustainable seafood, how to choose organic products and staying away from preservatives, artificial flavors and that aspartame nonsense. I tried really hard not to use the soap box that I have a tendency to stand on (friends and family can attest to my tenancy to spout holier than thou rantings, which I can assure you are as much directed at myself as others) and to make this new information approachable to all walks of life. Not sure if I succeeded but I gave it a shot.
Whole wheat pizza with arugula salad fit even for a pizza connoisseur like Anthony!
Well close my eyes and jump I did and we filmed 30 webisodes in about 6 weeks. A very interesting and unique learning experience. What I enjoyed the most was that I had autonomy to talk about pretty much anything I wanted as long as it was on the topic of eating “healthy”. It was challenging and exciting and I found myself getting quite inspired to keep learning more. I would spend hours on the computer reading about the effects of nitrates and nitrites (the additives put in our cured meats to keep them a natural florescent pink color), organics vs. conventional, and about the harmful physical and behavioral side effects of our most natural food coloring Anatto (responsible for the orange color that we so desperately need in our cheddar cheese). I became fascinated, excited and depressed all at the same time. While the harsh confirmations and realizations about our food industry were some sad and bitter pills to swallow, I was also becoming convinced that somehow I needed to do something with this heightened awareness. I decided to combine an exploration into my newest quest with my passion for food. And Eat Naked was born. How this quest will manifest through these pages remains to be scene, what I do know however is that there is much to say, much to learn and this is the cookin’ up of some much needed soul food.
