Founded by Diane Carlson,
former Co-President, Director and Chef/Instructor
at The Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts in New York City for 11 years, The
Conscious Gourmet features unique culinary
programs in exciting vacation destinations
and include:
- Health-supportive cooking retreats and
adventure programs
- The Core Program in natural foods cooking, previously offered only in New York City by the Natural Gourmet Institute for Food and Health
- Personalized retreats
- Teacher’s Training Program in Conscious
Gourmet cooking & theory
- Local Home cooking classes and lecture/workshops
Why be a Conscious Gourmet?
A gourmet is a lover of good food,
but all too often our daily food choices are based
upon familiarity and availability,
lack of time, convenience, and ease
of preparation. Unaware of the effects of our
food choices on our health and wellbeing, we often experience
weight gain, mood swings, decreased energy and attention
levels, and cravings for nutrition deficient food.
We unconsciously create food sensitivities, accelerate
the aging process and repeatedly make choices that
contribute to numerous unhealthy and life diminishing
conditions that can sabotage our best efforts to maintain a healthy diet.
The Conscious Gourmet teaches
the relationship between our food choices and our physical, mental and emotional health . Our cooking classes and lecture/workshops immerse participants in the hands-on preparation of health-supportive foods as well as an ever-expanding array of nutritional approaches to assist you in choosing foods that balance you .
If your goal is simply to eat more healthfully, or, to fine tune a diet you are presently following-- low carb, vegetarian, raw foods, whole foods or any other diet-- you'll learn how to consciously apply our intentional eating principles to achieve the highest level of nutrition, balance and satisfaction possible.
You'll learn new and exciting kitchen friendly recipes and culinary techniques, how to have more energy, think more clearly, look and feel better, eliminate cravings and maintain or lose weight—often a by-product of a healthier diet. Food Philosophy
We use the highest quality foods available that sustain
both the individual and the planet including:
- Whole, fresh, natural, seasonal, REAL food—organic
whenever possible, without the use of refined sugar,
white flour and limited dairy (you won’t want
to miss our
wheat-and-dairy-free Chocolate Mousse Cake with Chocolate
Fudge Frosting!)
- Retreats are based on health-supportive food and
may be vegan, vegetarian, mostly
vegetarian including some fish, or based on organic/grass
fed animal protein. See individual retreat listings
for the specific program content.
Who Attends the Retreats
People of all ages and experience levels who have
a spirit of adventure, love to eat and/or cook, and
choose to do it healthfully—singles, couples,
mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, sisters,
groups of friends, you and me.
The Perfect Gift
Cooking retreats make a perfect gift — Birthdays, Mother's Day, Anniversaries, Father's Day, Christmas or Hanukah, Graduations—or, for no reason at all!
Join the fun and camaraderie with like-minded people
only a retreat setting can provide! |
