Judy DeLorenzo, Connecticut Organic Garden Enthusiast and Plant-Based Foodie
Occupation: Author, daycare founder, plant-based diet coach
Place of Residence: Northwest Connecticut, Planting Zone 5b
Background and Personal History: Judy and Jamie have been walking the organic gardening path together for over 35 years. They built their home, prepared gardens, planted trees and berry bushes, and started their beloved family in a rural town that most people have never heard of.
Jamie was a “weekend warrior” gardener for many years while working full-time at the phone company. Judy founded a large childcare center in their community so she could be with their growing family but still earn an income.
After the three kids got older, Judy began to pursue her other love, holistic health. She completed a 3-year course in Transformational Energy Healing, studied homeopathy, earned a certificate from eCornell in Whole Foods Plant-Based Nutrition, and studied herbalism. Eventually the kids flew out of the nest and a few years later Judy’s 90-year-old mother moved in.
Judy lives her life with a deep understanding that “we are what we eat” and must treat our bodies with respect by eating pure, whole, super nutritious foods. She carefully stocks the pantry with only clean and nourishing ingredients, cooks meals from scratch, and puts up the annual harvest so that homegrown food is available year round. She’s full of recipes and inspiration to help one transition to a healthier way of eating.
Current Projects: Judy recently published a plant-based cookbook and healthy eating guide, From Chronically Ill to Vibrantly Well: Recovery Through a Plant-Based Diet.
Other Fun Facts: Jamie is semi-retired and grows huge vegetable gardens even though they’re empty nesters. He tells Judy it’s her fault because she eats plant-based, but everyone knows it’s because he’s an organic micro-farmer gone wild! Playing in the dirt is how Jamie relaxes and what makes him feel good, just as playing in the kitchen brings Judy joy.
They strive to put up 100 pounds of potatoes, 360 heads of garlic, and at least a bushel of onions each growing season. They have approximately 300 raspberry bushes, an ever-bearing variety that produces from early August through frost. They also grow blueberries and have 20 fruit trees: peaches, pears, apples, paw paws, and figs. In 2006 Jamie built a 60-foot-by-28-foot greenhouse so he can follow Eliot Coleman’s method of growing four seasons. One of their children is developing a permaculture farm in southern Maine with a focus on nut and fruit trees.
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