Andréa Crisp

My food philosophy is that everything we consider sources of nutrition are really just secondary sources of nourishment. In the United States, most of us have our basic needs met, so the food we eat becomes secondary to the many other things that feed our souls-relationships, career, spirituality and movement. These are referred to as Primary Foods. However, many people have Primary Food issues that create barriers to having healthy relationships with their secondary food; the food they eat. People often use secondary food as a form of control or to numb out from what isn't working in their lives. I will obviously encourage healthy eating habits, but we will also address the whole person, a holistic approach, by looking at self-care, joy and other primary food issues.

I also believe that everyone is bio-chemically individual. One way of eating which works for me may not work for you. Likewise, something that works for a child may not work for a woman of 35. My job is to help you discover what works well for you at this stage in your life. And to teach you the skills to adapt when needed. I will never tell you that you have to become a vegetarian or that you must never have another cup of coffee, but I will encourage you to experiment with food and tune into your body.

Traditional R.D.s focus on calories and use the USDA Food Pyramid as a guide. I have been trained in the pros and cons of many different ways of eating from raw food diets and macrobiotics to Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine to Atkins and the Zone. I look at calories, if needed, but I also focus on the energetics of food. Where it was grown, who cooked it, how and where it is eaten etc.

Additionally, I prefer to work with clients in a longterm program, because I do not believe in diets, but lifestyle change. Just as it takes time to develop bad habits it takes time to create new healthy habits. I do not meet with clients and presume to know what is right for them after one hour.

Last updated on November 3, 2008 by Andrea Crisp