“Food as your medicine is anything that's not processed. These are things that we should be eating [because they] prevent you from having to take drugs. So if you're interested in health, you should be eating holistically in that regard.” —Kevin Bressani Your best self starts on the plate! The food we put on our plates each day has a profound impact on our health and well-being. Yet in our fast-paced world, it's easy to lose sight of how the small daily choices around what we eat can nourish our minds and bodies. During his travels abroad, Healthy Roots Chef Kevin Bressani was exposed to permaculture and the connection between soil health, biodiversity, and nutrition. This experience brought him to an awareness of how this impacts the whole food production process, and ultimately the health of the consumers. In this conversation, Chef Kevin shares insights into how eating for optimal health starts on the plate by cooking in tune with the seasons from sustainable, organic sources. Justine and Chef Kevin also delve into how prioritizing whole, minimally processed foods and supporting local farms through our shopping decisions can help optimize wellness from the ground up. Tune in to learn practical strategies for making meals that not only taste delicious but also care for people and the planet. Meet Kevin:  Chef Kevin Bressani has always been passionate about food and nutrition. As a young kid, he became interested in cooking by watching great chefs such as Jacques Pepin and Julia Child on television. This interest sparked a desire to work in various restaurants and to travel around the world to places like Australia where he worked and learned on organic and biodynamic farms. Kevin also traveled to Belize to study the natural healing power of plants and herbs with traditional Mayan healers. Through these adventures, he became inspired to nourish his community by creating healthy meals.    In 2009, he enrolled in the Natural Chef program at Bauman College in Berkeley, California.  He polished his culinary skills and expanded his knowledge of therapeutic cooking at Bauman College and an internship at Three Stone Hearth, a community supported kitchen in Berkeley, CA.  Chef Kevin believes that food is a powerful medicine and a vital component in our own longevity.  As a personal chef, his cooking philosophy emphasizes the use of whole, local, and organic foods to provide every cell in the body with the vital nutrients and minerals needed to stay healthy and prevent disease.   Website  LinkedIn     Connect with NextGen Purpose: Website Facebook Instagram  LinkedIn YouTube Episode Highlights: 01:30 Food Choices and Seasonal Eating  05:59 Personalized Meal Planning and Holistic Health  11:13 Private Chef Services 15:59 Evolving a Food Business with a Focus on Healthy Products