In honor of my 38th birthday, I wanted to share what inspired me to leave the corporate world to then start Cook Smarts 8 years ago. Hint: it was more than just a love for food and cooking but a life-altering medical diagnosis that ended up changing my whole perspective on life and health. At the age of 17, in 1998, I was diagnosed with Hepatitis C, and in today’s episode I talk about how it all happened and how a potentially life-threatening illness became one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.    If you want to leave me some birthday love, got a question you want us to answer, or comments about a previous episode, give us a call at 650-386-0290 and leave us a voicemail (or a text for those who have no idea how to use their phone as a phone).  Want to be a super supporter of the show and home cooking? Please share this episode with all your friends who want to be better cooks, and leave us a review on Apple Podcast. If we share your review in a future episode, we’ll send you a Cook Smarts tote bag to bring you more fun and eco-friendly grocery shopping!