Times Herald-Record

Cookbook signing draws crowd interested in healthy eating

PORT JERVIS - About 30 people seeking healthier recipes gathered recently at Foundry 42 for the “Well + Good” cookbook signing and tasting with co-author Melisse Gelula.

Foundry co-founder Cooper Boone provided hors d’oeuvres inspired by recipes in the book, as Gelula explained the reasoning behind the recipes and noted the wellness notables who contributed them. The contributors ranged from celebrity “functional medicine” physician Mark Hyman and tennis star Venus Williams to Gabrielle Bernstein, whom Gelula called “the Carrie Bradshaw of spirituality.”

“We asked people what they make when they get home hungry at 7 p.m. You cook more healthy food if it’s simple and fast,” said Gelula, who has a house in Narrowsburg.

With her co-author Alexia Brue, she co-founded a popular wellness trend website, wellandgood.com.

As for Gelula’s favorite recipe, that, she said, is chef Jodi Moreno’s white bean egg bake, labeled in the cookbook as being good for skin and being gluten- and dairy-free. All of the recipes specify their bodily benefits and diet suitability.

As one hors d’oeuvre was offered around, Boone pointed out how zucchini “elevated” the lamb in it.

“Think of zucchini with any meat, for health, flair and profile,” he said.

Elsewhere in the room, chatting and sampling at a table were Lisa Haggerty, an optometrist, and Lisa McAteer, a Realtor, from Milford, Pa. McAteer heard about the event from a friend and made a plan to use the cookbook with her two children, ages 12 and 7.

“I’ll have each pick out a recipe from the book. We’ll shop for ingredients, and I’ll supervise when they cook,” she said. “I want to get them interested in cooking healthy.”

Haggerty also wanted better meals for her children, who are 7 and 9. “We have a problem with consistency. We’re always in a rush and don’t have opportunities for wonderful meals together,” she said.

Bonnie Natt, from Middletown, and Eileen Ollinger, from Sugar Loaf, both Realtors, came because they heard Port Jervis is on the rise, and they wanted to eat more healthfully.

“We’re interested in health and cookbooks and a night out,” said Natt, noting that she follows Hyman on Instagram.

Nearby, Kristen Hanson, of Glen Spey, said she came to the event because she had been following Gelula’s food blogs.

“I went back to school to study integrative nutrition,” she said. “There’s so much you can do with food to prevent serious illness.”

Her husband died in 2017 of brain cancer that might have resulted from exposure to toxins in Iraq when he was a Marine, she said. He had been given four months to live, but lived four years, long enough for her to give birth to a second son and also start a nonprofit, Can’t Hurt Steel, to help community members with catastrophic illnesses and provide free or low cost wellness programs.

If they had understood his vulnerability, Hanson said, “We would have eliminated unhealthy foods, minimized sugar and environmental toxins, and eaten more anti-oxidants. I think the majority of illnesses result from poor nutrition and lifestyle choices. It’s easier to prevent disease than do symptom management.”