Lil Nickelson

I consider myself a home chef that cooks with my conscious to: • cook consciously with the seasons • embrace the region in which I live and work • consciously think of the nutritional benefits that my food offers • select only the finest ingredients in preparing foods • become more conscious of what I want from foods.

I cook because it is an expression of my passion for creating great dining experiences in my home. It is an important fiber in my family heritage. My maternal grandmother worked as a cook, and she taught her daughters. My Mom was her first born and she taught all her children how to cook. Cooking great meals runs on Daddy’s side too. We cook as a family for any occasion: bridal and baby showers, birthdays, weddings, funerals, holidays, tail gating parties and just because days. As a freshmen in college I started cooking; I missed the “soul” in the home cooked meals I ate every day in my parent’s home.

Becoming a diabetic has encouraged me to expand into eating what is in season, what is grown locally, and to eat and cook with a conscious. Besides allergies, I don’t believe that there are any bad foods. What makes food bad for us is how often we eat it, and the portion sizes we eat based on our level of exercise.