An Interview With Monica Corrado – Whole Foods Chef

by Lee Warren

We LOVE that Monica is coming to the Southeast Women’s Herbal Conference this year as one of our star teachers. She’s bound to inspire us anew to whole foods cooking and nutrient dense eating. YEAH!

Check out her intensive entitled: Helping Chronic Illness through Digestion—A Path to Physical and Mental Health being offered during the conference weekend.

What inspired you to teach others about food?

To tell you the truth, I was asked to do it. I had my own organic and biodynamic catering company at the time. Someone called me and said “Monica, will you teach Nourishing Traditions?” And I said “sure, why not.” I developed the classes and then once I taught the first one, I just knew it was going to be my passion.

I love to feed people but even more now I love to teach people to do it themselves.

If you could change one thing about how most women eat, what would it be?

FAT. That’s the beginning of the conversation. Eat more fat! In the form of healthy, grass fed butter, full-fat yogurt, other full-fat foods.  Women don’t absorb calcium unless they’re eating their dairy full-fat.

What are you most excited about teaching these days?

All of it.

I’ve got 40 classes that I’ve developed and I get most excited about teaching to people who want to take their power back in the kitchen.

More specifically I love the GAPS protocol, teaching other teachers about traditional foods cooking, and a class I call “What is Real Food and Why Does it Matter.” I love seeing the light bulbs go off in people’s heads.

What’s your current favorite dish?

Eggnog, for sure. My recipe is one quart of raw milk with 7 egg yolks and a little bit of maple syrup and cinnamon.

Oh, and liver. When I’m lucky I have it with bacon and onions. Or chicken livers wrapped in bacon.

Of course all these foods are pastured raised and organic – never caged or feed lot produced.

Monica Corrado, MA, CNC, is a traditional food chef and holistic Certified Nutritional Consultant. She is the author of With Love from Grandmother’s Kitchen: Traditional Cooking Techniques for Well-Being, and an adjunct professor at Tai Sophia Institute. Monica has appeared on public television speaking on the issue of children and nutrition, is involved in the White House Chefs Move! to Schools initiative and was featured on the front page of the Washington Post Food Section.