If you would have told me five years ago that I would be living in Europe, married to the man of my dreams and cooking for a living…I would have snickered and told you that you were full of…

But here I am in Kaiserslautern, Germany with my Army husband Alex and my adorably mischievous dog, Axel.

I have always loved cooking. My first cookbook was Gold Medal’s Alpha-bakery. I have fond memories of making sugar cookies for my stoner older brother and his friends. Still too short to reach the stove top or cupboards, I used a step ladder to acquire all my coveted ingredients. Flour, sugar, butter…and my absolute favorite, almond extract. That smell still takes me back to being a child and sitting Indian-style in front of the oven and intently staring at my baked good slowly coming to life.

So five year ago. I left my life in Richmond, Virginia and set off to the little town of Williamsburg, Virginia to start a 3 year culinary apprenticeship. I have never loved working so hard for so little in all my life. The sounds of the kitchen were mesmerizing. Clanking pots and pans, burners igniting, knives gliding along fresh herbs and the shouting and banter of servers and cooks. A 40 hour work week was slow. As an apprentice not only did I work 5-7 days a week, I also went to school and did special projects for the chef off the clock. The only books I read were cookbooks, the only TV I watched were food channels and the only clothes I wore were chef whites. It was a good life.

After 5 years of pastry school, culinary school and apprenticeship…I have gained about 75 pounds. So with that horrifying information, I am setting forth on a Paleo journey…and lots of weight lifting and cardio.