Eat Better Food Today!

On this episode we are grateful to have Kim Heinen and Melanie Jatsek from Heinen's – from Melanie – the best grocery store on the planet.  Kim is currently Heinen's Packaged Goods Director, after almost 9 years at PWC, and Melanie is Heinen's Chief Dietician as well as an author, consultant, and speaker.  Heinen's Grocery Store, has a deep history starting in 1929 with Kim's great grandfather, wh...

On this episode we are grateful to have Deirdre O'Connor. Deirdre has been at Trinity College in Dublin for over 10 years, focused on The Irish Longitudinal Study on Aging (TILDA) and more recently on Nutritional Epidemiology, where she recently earned her Ph. D.  She is also a Public Health Nutrition Consultant.  We are meeting with Deirdre in Dublin at Trinity College.   eatbetterfoodtoday #long...

On this episode we are grateful to have Alice Waters. Alice is considered the founder, the mother, of the farm-to-table movement in the US.  She has championed sustainable, local, and organic food since returning from France and and opening Chez Panisse in 1971.  She has won three James Beard Awards and the National Humanities Medal for being a cultural and educational visionary. With a focus on C...

On this episode we are grateful to have Carolyn Haeler. Carolyn is a graduate of Yale, stockbroker at JP Morgan, and now the creator and founder of Mightylicious gluten free cookies, flours and mixes.  Mightylicious is sold in 43 states and is still operated solely by Carolyn.  She is a lifelong foodie, whose love language has always been baking.  In 2012, at the age of 31, she was diagnosed with...

On this episode we are grateful to have Dr Caroline Just. She is a board-certified neurologist at the Cleveland Clinic, specializing in general neurology with a particular focus on women's neurological health. She serves as the founder and lead of the Neuro-Obstetrics/Women's Neurology program, established in 2022 .    #eatbetterfoodtoday #longevity #health #neurology #women's health #Alzheimer's...

On this episode we are grateful to have Debra Erickson.  Debra is a blind Chef (the only blind student in Culinary school) and a former Cooking Instructor for the Oregon Commission for the Blind, so she walks her talk.  She now owns The Blind Kitchen, whose mission is to help other people with vision loss to cook safely, confidently, and independently.  She has been often praised for her ability t...

On this episode we are grateful to have Matthieu Mehuys. Matthieu is an award-winning author and passionate landscape architect whose journey from a family farm in Belgium to regenerative farming practices has led him to believe that landscape architects can indeed change the world. His fascination with plants since childhood drove him to become a landscape architect, a role he sees as instrumenta...

On this episode we are grateful to have Amita Sharma.  Amita co-founded NourishDoc, whose mission is about making holistic wellness an integral part of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. Partnering with organizations, they drive social impact and enhance health equity for women, ensuring that self-care and emotional support are recognized as vital elements of their professional env...

On this episode we are grateful to have Joshua Scott Onysko. Joshua is a true pioneer in the world of clean beauty, sustainability, and conscious entrepreneurship. He is the founder behind not one, but multiple industry-shaping brands, including Pangea Organics, Alpine Provisions, and Un Jeu D'échecs — each built with the core mission of creating products that are as good for the planet as they ar...

On this episode we are grateful to have Lisa Franz. Lisa has a M.Sc. in Exercise Science, Health Promotion and Nutrition. She is the owner and head coach at Nutrition Coaching and Life and host of the Nutrition and Life Podcast. After struggling through various diets herself, Lisa learned about the evidence-based ways to change weight and body composition and has been fascinated with nutrition and...

On this episode we are grateful to have Blake Baynham. Blake is a leader in functional medicine and Founder/CEO of The Fountain, a cutting-edge clinic that helps people optimize their health before problems ever show up.  By focusing on health-span, not lifespan, Blake will discuss how take back control of your energy, longevity, and life.   #eatbetterfoodtoday #longevity #health #localfarmers #fu...

On this episode we are grateful to have Douglas Raggio.  Douglas' journey to becoming a purveyor of fine fresh honeycomb weaves together his entrepreneurial spirit, culinary expertise, and passion for sustainable food systems. After a decade in the fast-paced restaurant industry, where he managed award-winning establishments in New York and Chicago, Douglas found himself increasingly drawn to the...

On this episode we are grateful to have Jessica Fanzo. Jessica is a Professor of Climate and Director of the Food for Humanity Initiative at the Columbia Climate School. Her research studies the connections between climate change and food systems in nutrition.  She studies communities living in climate and resource constrained settings to identify and explore opportunities within food systems to e...

On this episode we are grateful to have John Piotti, President and CEO of American Farmland Trust.  John has worked at the forefront of sustainable agriculture since the early 1990s. Under John's leadership, AFT has engaged in the most comprehensive study of American land use ever conducted, helped secure billions of dollars in funding to protect farmland and promote climate-smart agriculture, and...

On this Episode, I am a guest on Boomer Banter with Wendy Green. Wendy as host asks very insightful questions on the orgins of this Podcast (Health), what I've discovered from my interviews over the past year-and-a-half (Hunger), and the new Center we've just started in the poorest suburb in America, East Cleveland, OH (Hope).  Wendy is a great Host and led an exceptional conversation.  Wendy can...

On this episode we are grateful to have Anna Shields, CEO of Snowville Creamery. Snowville was founded in 2003 and is based south of Cleveland in Pomeroy, OH, just outside of Athens, OH.  Anna began her career in the dairy industry at the age of 16, becoming CEO of Snowville in Nov 2022. I'm excited to discuss her journey, what Snowville means to its consumers, its workers, and the local community...

On this episode we are grateful to have Dr Steven Chen, a board-certified family medicine physician and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Stanford University and Stanford School of Medicine.  Steven is currently the Chief Medical Officer at Recipe4Health at Alameda County Health, outside of Oakland, CA.  Recipe4Health is a nationally recognized, award-winning "Food as Medicine" initiative that brings tog...

On this episode we are grateful to have Anna Knight.  Her family has farmed citrus trees, and now berries and vegetables for five generations in Redlands, CA. Their farm has partnered with School Food Professionals to support local students for two decades. For Anna, the large purchases schools make from her farm enabled her family to pay for her and her brother's college education. Her mission is...

We're recording this episode from sunny southern TX, where my wife and I are visiting our daughter, son-in-law and my two newborn twin grandchildren.  I'm recording this in my grandson's quiet room, since he is currently at daycare.    Rather than releasing part two of the California series, I wanted to discuss one more time the James Beard Nominations, since the Finalists are being announced next...

On this episode we are grateful to have the Plant-Powered Dietician, Sharon Palmer.  Sharon is an RDN (Registered Dietician Nutritionist) in Sustainable Food Systems and is an award-winning blogger, author, speaker, professor, and media expert. Sharon has authored over 1000 articles and has four books; The Plant-Powered Plan to Beat Diabetes, The Plant-Powered Diet, Plant-Powered for Life, and Cal...

On this episode we are grateful to have Chef Doug Katz, Todd Thompson, and Chef Cameron Pishnery, who together work under the umbrella organization Edgewater Hospitality and have been together for over a decade. Since the closing of Fire, after 20 years, in 2020, they experimented with several concepts during the pandemic and have now opened 3 restaurants: Zhug, Amba and most recently Kiln.  Doug...

"Every human being regardless of their past has the right to a fair and equal future."   On this episode we are grateful to have Brandon Chrostowski.  Brandon envisioned in 2004, EDWINS, whose mission is to give formerly incarcerated individuals a foundation in the hospitality industry while providing a support network necessary for successful re-entry into the workforce.  Brandon is a classically...

On this episode we are grateful to have Jeremy Umansky.  Jeremy and his wife Allie own Larder, which has been using family recipes to become one of the best delicatessens in America. They are located in a Firehouse built in the 1800s in Cleveland's Ohio City.   Since opening in 2018, have been nominated four times, including this year, for a James Beard Award.    In this episode we'll explore Jere...

On this episode we are grateful to have Chef Vinnie Cimino. Vinnie was a 2024 James Beard Finalist, and in 2023 his restaurant Cordelia was named Best New Restaurant in Cleveland and one of the Top 22 restaurants in the US.  His restaurant embodies "Midwest nice" hospitality where the team and guests come first.   #eatbetterfoodtoday #longevity #health #foodismedicine #seasonalshopping #jamesbeard...

On this episode we are grateful to have Dr Mary Rensel.  Mary is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and Director of Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis and Wellness at the Mellen Center of the Cleveland Clinic. She has graduated from the Medical College of Ohio and completed her Neurology and Neuro-immunology fellowship training at the Cleveland Clinic....