Co-authors and nutritionists Wendy Bright-Fallon and Debbie Peterson visit Oceanic Library Saturday to promote a newly published edition of their popular cookbook, ‘Nourish.’
As longtime friends and collaborators, Debbie Peterson and Wendy Bright-Fallon could claim a few things in common. For one, they each married a local dentist — Debbie to Doug Peteron, of Little Silver Dental Care; Wendy to Red Bank-based cosmetic dental specialist Dana Fallon. They’ve forged professional partnerships with makers of progressive and socially conscious bodycare products. They enjoy a range of hobbies that include reading, sailing, tennis, knitting, gardening and the care of numerous furry family members.
But while they had fulfilling careers in education and the corporate world, not all was as well-balanced as it may have seemed, as job pressures and fertility issues were taking a toll upon their overall well-being.
It wasn’t until they enrolled in New York’s Institute for Integrative Nutrition that they made each other’s acquaintance — graduating with certifications as health and nutrition counselors (while studying with such household-name experts as Deeprak Chopra and Dr. Andrew Weil), and bonding over a shared mission to “make the world a healthier place.” It’s an avenue of focus that led to the newly minted nutritionists establishing their own businesses both separately (Red Bank’s Renew Wellness; Little Silver’s 180 Health) and in partnership as Nourish Coaches — a collaboration that sprang from their joint project NOURISH, a “community supported cookbook” that celebrates the release of its second edition with a special event at Rumson’s Oceanic Free Library.
Scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, the event finds the cookbook’s co-authors signing copies of the newly updated collection, a set of recipes that range from “cooked, raw, vegan, animal and everything in between, using no artificial ingredients or refined sugars.” Featuring updated nutritional information (plus full color photos for each of the book’s 135 dishes), Nourish is a followup to taste, the duo’s first published project that was released as an electronic title in 2011.
Reflecting the authors’ shared interests in traditional therapies, mind/body connections, “detox” practices and “new, interesting, unfamiliar, healthy foods,” the book seeks to promote weight loss, energy enhancement, improved sleep and the kind of self-education that can help even the most casual chef make informed choices about the things that they and their families eat.
Signing copies of Nourish will be available for purchase on site at the venerable local landmark library (a former librarian herself, Peterson has also taught as an adjunct at Monmouth University and Brookdale Community College) — and the authors will be discussing the life paths that led them to their current calling, in addition to offering attendees “a taste from one of their favorite recipes.” Call (732) 842-2692 to reserve a copy, or for further info.
