About Me

Perfection is static and I am in full progress. -- Anais Nin

In 2004, as a result of multiple health issues, I left a lucrative career as a television producer and embarked on a search for healing and wellness. For almost thirty years, I had eaten whatever I wanted. In high school, I was a competitive swimmer, squash and volleyball player, and in my professional life, I prided myself on my high energy levels and my ability to get any job done no matter how rigorous, stressful or strenuous the task. Then suddenly, I succumbed to a host of strange and seemingly unconnected illnesses and complaints: I was unable to get out of bed for days at a time, I had no energy, my skin -- which people had complimented me on regularly -- broke out in rashes, my stomach was often upset, my periods became erratic and then disappeared altogether, and I was prone to uncontrollable mood swings.

Desperate, I visited every doctor, nurse and health clinic that would let me in. I was diagnosed with a range of health issues: from "patches of celiac", to lactose intolerance, from PCOS to candida to thyroid problems to parasites - everyone had a theory and a solution to offer. This suited me just fine: what I was looking for was a magic pill, something that would make my symptoms go away as quickly as they had seemingly appeared. Like Jack with his magic beans, I was so frantic that I believed every old wives’ tale, every person with a degree or even a coupon. Over the years I must have tried hundreds of therapies; and I have to admit that a few of them even worked - for a day, a week, a month.

Elated at having found my "cure", I would celebrate by reverting back to my old ways, oblivious to the role I played in my dis-ease. But my symptoms would inevitably return, starting the whole cycle over again. Determined that this time I would find the person who would tell me the right answer, I would immediately book in to see whichever "miracle worker" was next on my list.

Eventually, after many ups, downs and everything in between -- and thanks to my own experimentation and experiences -- I was able to connect the dots between my actions and my symptoms, between the foods I ate and the way I felt. Only then did I begin the process of actual healing. I have always been interested in food. As a small child, I watched my grandfather whistling along with the radio in his kitchen as he threw together what looked to me to be a random bunch of ingredients. I loved how much joy he took in preparing food and how adventurous a cook he was. Years later, when I was forced to cut out almost all staples from my diet, while I was teaching myself to eat differently and starting to create dishes that excited me as much as my old favorites had in the past, I remembered my grandfather.

As my learning grew, so did my commitment to raising awareness about the importance of diagnosing food intolerances - often a hidden culprit of illness. Very few people really think about how what they ingest impacts their physical, mental and emotional wellbeing; but the adage "you are what you eat" is more than just a saying: our food becomes our blood, our organs, our thoughts - now imagine what happens when your body is unable to digest what you feed it...

In 2009, after years of research and "me-search", I decided to translate all of the knowledge I had acquired into a career as a Holistic Health Consultant. I founded my company, The Picky Foodie, with a view to working with individuals and corporations in an effort to make the world a safer, more pleasant place for people like me who love to eat well but are restricted in their choices.

The Picky Foodie offers staff training and menu consulting services to the hospitality industry as well as counseling sessions, supermarket tours and cooking classes to individual clients who would like support in making better choices for their health and the health of their families.

I am a certified Holistic Health Counsellor and a member of the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. I divide my time between the United States and the United Kingdom and am constantly dreaming of unknown places to travel to where I can sample and discover all kinds of new ingredients to love.

If you're interested in finding out more about my Individual or Corporate Consulting Services, please email me at Gabriela@thepickyfoodie.com. Don’t forget to ask about our discounted packages.