Details about us and the program

Thank you for joining 60 Day Challenge: Resolve to Eat Real Food. Today we'd like to share some more about ourselves and this program.

About the program

Email: You can expect to get an email from us every day. The length will vary. Don't fret, this will likely be the longest one:) Some emails will just have a link to a new blog post. Emails will be labeled with the Phase we're in followed by the day of that phase. For example, today's subject line is "Week Zero: Day 2 of...." Next Monday will be "Phase 1: Day 1 ...." If a day comes with no email, check your spam folder and be sure to add us to your address book (see the footer of this email).

Blog posts: We will post articles that will be helpful to you, but will also benefit readers who have yet to start the diet, are not a part of the program or thinking about trying the diet. We will email you to let you know of any new posts. More specific information about the program will come in the daily email.

Questions and comments: You will see a “comments” section below all posts and recipes. We encourage questions because others in the program may have the same question so would benefit from reading the answer.

Facebook: If you have a Facebook account “become a fan” on our Facebook page. We will answer any questions that have to do with nutrition, finding products, the recipes, the diet, etc. This is a good place to interact if you believe that others may want to discuss the same topic. We realize that not everyone is on Facebook so will be sure to share vital information that transpires there via email or as a blog post.

Further details about the program can be found here.

About us

As you know, my mom (Gail) and I (Laura) are the co-authors of Recipes for Repair. My mom is the talent behind the recipes and food styling and I am the talent behind the creative. I designed the book, photographed all of the recipes, designed the web site and am the voice behind the blog and emails.

We both have made a permanent lifestyle change in how we shop, cook and eat. We both are in a modified version of Phase 4 (due to food sensitivities we don't eat eggs, dairy or gluten). We have many strategies that help make this less convenient, but much more healthy way of eating fit into our busy lives. We created this program to share these strategies with you so that you can find success in the diet and enjoy this new way of eating as much as we do.

Here are some more details that you may not know, which are relevant to the program:

Laura Piazza

I have been in Phase 4 since early 2010. I have cheated only a handful of times and wholeheartedly believe in the clean way of eating that this diet promotes.
I have chronic Lyme and two other tick-borne illnesses, which were misdiagnosed for over a decade. I am still battling the illness. No diet can cure a person from a chronic bacterial infection, of course, but this nutritional approach has helped to improve or eliminate some of my symptoms.
I am a foodie by nature and probably genetics! I would never be able to stick to a restricted diet if I felt deprived.
I do the food prep and cooking for my husband and I. We split the shopping and he does most of the kitchen clean up.
I have a permanent part-time job so am out of the house from 7-6 or 7 two to three times per week. The other days I do freelance work. I make the time that I need in the kitchen to prepare healthy at-home or to-go meals.
I do not eat dairy, eggs, gluten-containing grains, yeast. By nature of this diet I also don't eat the foods never allowed back (cane sugar, artificial ingredients, refined ingredients, trans-fats, etc.)
I have no training in the kitchen beyond what I've learned from my mom and the experience gained over the last four years of cooking my meals from scratch.
When I find a product I like at the natural food store, I look at the ingredients and try to make it myself. Sometimes I figure it out. When I don't, I call my mom to help!
I like to use my design skills to create tools and resources that will help readers to be organized and have an easy time as possible implementing the diet. Check out our resources page and the area titled "Diet Toolkit" in the sidebar on our web site for these downloadable files.

Gail Piazza

She has spent her 35+ year career developing recipes and styling food for packaging, TV and print ads.
She developed all the recipes in the book.
She does not have Lyme or tick-borne illness.
She tested and retested the recipes until they were up to her standards and satisfaction, but didn't try the diet until after the book was published.
She has had unexplained stomach problems for decades but no doctor has been able to figure out the cause.
A test result confirmed inflammation so she decided to try the diet.
She discovered food sensitivities.
She has done the diet twice now to really try to pin down what foods are causing her problems.
She is a total foodie as well and likes great variety in her day to day menu.
The second time going through Phase 1 she wanted more options so developed more than a dozen new Phase 1 recipes (all available on our site).
She doesn't eat eggs, gluten and for dairy only eats hard cheese.
She still has a number of clients and continues to work at home testing pans, appliances, etc. or developing recipes (she has two kitchens!)
She's always up for a challenge when I find a product that I think tastes great but is really pricey. She'll work to figure out how it was made and then sends me the recipe. Usually it's better than the product. (I know, I'm so lucky to have her as my mom!)
Her role in the challenge is to answer any cooking or recipe questions.
She is not computer savvy so I do all the technical aspects (the blog, these emails, facebook). When there's a question that she's better suited to answer she emails me her response and I post it for her:)

Please note: My mom has her Master's Degree in Food and Nutrition but is not a dietician. Neither of us have any medical training so can not answer any medical questions. If you have any concerns in regard to your health, speak with your practitioner, health coach or nutritionist (if you're in NH we have recommendations we can share).

This week

For today, continue doing the things we recommended in yesterday's email. This week you can expect:

Meal planning advice
Shopping tips
Product suggestions
Food prep suggestions
A survey: We are working on a short survey to send you in the next couple of days. If you could take a few minutes to fill it out the results will give us more information about the group as a whole. This will help us to tailor the program to best suit the needs of all participating in the program.
and more

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!