Travegans

Our health is a combination of genetic predisposition, ecological and environmental context, and lifestyle decisions. Our inheritance is a given (good or bad); the battle to improve our environment is shared and fraught; but the choices we make to feed and maintain our bodies are ours alone.

My name is Elizabeth (Beth) Adams-Smith, Ed.D., CHES and I am passionate about food and its relationship to health, the environment, animal husbandry, politics, sustainability, farming and, most of all, deliciousness. This passion has led to forty years of research, education, cooking, and eating. It all started with my first preganancy and Adele Davis’ three books which led us to a whole-grain, sugar-free, red-meat-free diet (now called flexitarian) that we followed for several decades. Then, about a decade ago, a whole host of new research, education and personal experiences led us to the conclusion that the right avenue for us was to embrace a whole foods, plant-based diet. We continue to eat a WFPB diet (with an occasional bite of seafood) and we also continue to read, research, and re-evaluate – always open to new information and revised perspectives. (Sprinkeled among my posts are reviews of books, cookbooks, articles, blogs and documentaries that have informed [or questioned] this choice.) We are not knee-jerk, crunchy granolas (no offense). We work hard at keeping an open mind. We read widely, investigate thoroughly and make evidence-based decisions – on food and health, animal welfare, the environment and global warming. We also love to eat and appreciate food that is innovative, creatively presented and, most of all, over-the-top delicious.

This is my/our story (The “us” and “we” refers to my husband, Richard, who is a more than willing partner in this ongoing search for a holistic, healthful, sustainable lifestyle.)

Healthy living, food, nutrition and integrative medicine have been a major focus of my education, project development and personal journey. I am a passionate cook with a large culinary library and also a cruising sailor with a well-supplied galley. Wherever we travel – on land or on sea – we try to learn about the local cuisine from upscale restaurants (that generally and happily provide a lovely, and often innovative, plant-based meal) to local cafes, food courts and trucks – and the occasional cooking class. And we always search out the best of the local vegan/WPB-focused eateries with help from HappyCow.com and the rest of the bolgosphere, as well as find and shop at the local Farmers Markets (we have visted over a hundred unique markets around the world and will, graduallly, post notes and photos of all of them).

Among many health-focused endeavors, I was the originator and developer of Alt-HealthWatch, the world’s largest full-text and image database on complementary and alternative medicine, acquired by Ebsco, that covered over 200 categories of Integrative Medicine and Nutrition. I hold a masters in Health Education (with a focus in nutrition) from Columbia University (where I studied with Joan Dye Gussow), a doctorate in Technology and New Media, also from Columbia, and a Bachelors in Journalism from Boston University.  I am a CHES (Certified Health Education Specialist), have a Certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from eCornell and the T. Colin Campbell Foundation, have completed two of Rouxbe’s plant-based culinary programs (Culinary Rx and Forks Over Knives), studied with Annemarie Colbin at the Natural Gourmet Institute for Food & Health (with whom I also partnered in developing “It’s Only Natural”) and with Jim Gordon at the Institute for Mind-Body Medicine.

Other parts of my life:

In addition to blogging about food, plant-based nutrition and alternative approaches to health, I am the primary writer/photographer and editor of the Atlantic Cruising Club’s Guides to Marinas that cover, in seven volumes, Halifax, NS to Pensacola, FL on the NA East Coast and Campbell River to the Oregon/CA borner on the West Coast. These are boater-biased editorial works (books with bound-in DVDs) that visit, review and rate the facilities and “what’s nearby.”  Thousands of photos tell the real story. All of this data resides on the mobile-friendly website as well: AtlanticCruisingClub.com. Our personal cruisng adventures are chronicled on WandeirngMariner.com.

As an independent producer, I also executive produced and produced documentaries on social justice, the environment and technology in education, including the award-winning “Children of War”, “Students at Work” and “Earth Friends.” My portfolio also contains technical, corporate and educational videos produced for companies like Ricoh and Canon. For six years, I was President and Vice-President of the Board of Trustees of Wainwright House (the oldest holistic center in the US and a UN NGO) and studied with spiritual teachers at, among others, WH, Omega Institute, Kripalu and was certified as a Reikii Master. I am a member of ASJA – American Society of Journalists and Authors and SATW – Society of American Travel Writers.

Most important of all, I am the mother of two wonderful children and the grandmother of three spectacular, amazing and perfect grandchildren.

Throughout it all, I cooked!! For my family, for my crews, for my teachers, for my friends….