hi.
I’m Laura, a mostly vegetarian New Yorker.
(I sometimes eat fish, and yes, I do eat eggs and treat myself to the occasional cheese plate and dairy-based ice cream. I too have weaknesses.)
I am an active (pilates, hiking, boxing), creative (photography, cooking, writing), happy (3 Fs: friends, family, food) person who is also a wife (John) and Mama (Logan and Ziggy).
Before pursuing a career in wellness, I worked in advertising (McKinney), fashion (Levi’s) & entertainment (Food Network). The highlight of those years was mentoring and coaching members of my team to fulfill their potential. Now as a certified health coach through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, I get to pursue my passion for helping others, full-time!
In 2008, my mother was diagnosed with uterine cancer. A few months later, my older sister—who was 38 at the time—was also diagnosed with uterine cancer. I should also mention that my father had prostate cancer in 2003, the same disease my Pop-Pop died from. I was scared shitless. And I was convinced that our food was playing a role in this vicious attack on the bodies of everyone I loved.
I was desperate to take my fate in my own hands, so I started changing what I put in and on my body. But let me be clear: I didn’t make these changes overnight. It has been a slow and ongoing evolution. Becoming a health-conscious person isn’t a habit you can create and check off a box overnight—it’s a lifetime commitment.
When I decided to give up meat and poultry, I was nervous and overwhelmed about what I could eat. I love food. I didn’t want to be hungry (who does?), but I also didn’t want to pump myself full of pizza, pasta and veggie burgers (sound familiar?). I was exhausted. I was bloated. I was broken out and my skin looked dull. I was not happy, and as someone in her late 20’s, I knew this wasn’t how I was supposed to be feeling. I wanted to feel good and full of energy, but I really didn’t know where to begin. As fate would have it, I serendipitously met a health coach, and when she said she could help me transition to a vegetarian diet full of real foods, I asked her where to sign.
(I would be remiss if I failed to mention the funniest part about my food journey. While I gave up meat and poultry with relative ease, it took me two-ish years to let go of my Boar’s Head deli sandwiches and regular cheese plates with all of the Italian meats like prosciutto and speck. I knew those were odd choices to keep in my diet, but I loved eating those foods and didn’t want to give them up. So I didn’t—until I did.)
I come from an Italian grandmother straight off the boat from Italy (you can only begin to imagine her Sunday gravy—yes, it’s gravy, not sauce!) and a Jewish grandmother whose Swedish meatballs were so delectable that this vegetarian girl still craves them 30 years later. So I understand food’s power to delight, nourish, entertain, and even change lives.
Fun fact: on our first date, my husband told me that I was going to be good for his eating. He was right: I ultimately helped him transition to a primarily non-meat-eating lifestyle, full of healthful foods. And I can help you too!