What happens when two grandmothers decide to create a revolution? It usually starts to happen. When Kathy D’Agati’s son was diagnosed with cancer, this mom went to work learning everything she could about nutrition. Her plan was to nourish him back to health.
Ellen Harnett’s plan was to heal with her own recipes as a self-trained natural food chef. When her mom got cancer and the chemotherapy affected her taste for food, Ellen went to work developing recipes that were both healing and appealing to eat. A sufferer of acid reflux and IBS herself, Ellen worked to create a healthy “gut friendly” diet and in effect, she healed herself.
Then together, Kathy and Ellen took an intensive program at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City. It was a year long program followed by an “immersion program” that was taught by some of the best known nutrition experts in the country. The two women saw that they were on the same page and decided to join forces to create a program that would bring client’s back to wellness through their coaching and instruction. They named their new venture, Back to Basics Wellness.
“Our target market is women who are 45 – 60 years old and coming in to their own. These women realize they can’t eat what they used to and many are suffering from weight gain, headaches, joint pain, sleep issues and exhaustion.” Kathy and Ellen believe that gluten, dairy and sugar are amongst the culprits contributing to many of these symptoms. “Our goal is to make it simple for busy women to prepare delicious meals that take away hunger and eliminate cravings so they can have sustainable weight loss and all day energy.”
As they garners participants, the two women realized they could reach more people if they created a virtual program that everyone could follow. “Creating our own web site,” Ellen says, “was a slow and painful process, but we did it.” A friend helped them set up a shopping cart and incorporate it into the new site.
The programs they offer include personal coaching so these digestive divas can tailor the eating lifestyle to each person’s needs. Every day a participant receives a newsletter with the information and suggestions for the day. It might be to drink 8 glasses of water one day and eliminate sugar the next all building up to the healthy diet the two women advocate. You also get a list of foods to choose from and recipes to create from the suggested foods. “So many of our clients tell us we have changed their lives through food and that is extremely satisfying.”
These are two Grandmothers on a mission, “We are worried about our grandchildren’s generation and want to educate the public.” Taking their message to the masses, Kathy and Ellen have corporate clients as well. “This allows us to reach a larger audience at one time and keep our prices affordable.” In many cases the corporations hire the two women to walk their employees through their wellness program. These two are passionate about their message and driven to be heard. No doubt they will be.
Contact: www.backtobasicswellness.com
VentureMom Tip
Make it personal.
