The Suzannegelist, Healthy Living Expert

Written by:

Maia James

08/27/2011

Updated: 08/27/2011

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I have great news! My amazing mother has decided to join me in this endeavor and beef up Gimme the Good Stuff.

8 Things You Need to Know About “The Suzannegelist”

  1. Raised in central Pennsylvania, Suzanne Weaver was a soda-drinking, cigarette-smoking lover of disco music and heavy eyeliner when she met my dad, a guitar-strumming surfer from Hawaii who favored communal living and outhouses instead of indoor plumbing. The two fled to Northern California and eventually Vermont to live amongst friends who named their children things like “Twig,” “Indigo,” and “Brave.”
  2. Suzanne, also known as Nana, has her Masters in elementary education and was formerly a Waldorf School teacher, where she spent her days singing about the solstice, knitting with organic yarn from wool she spun herself, molding fragrant beeswax, and dancing around maypoles. (Naturally, Twig, Indigo, and Brave joined her in these activities.)
  3. Nana is an Attachment Parenting guru. She nursed me longer than I care to think about and my brother for even longer, sacrificed a beautiful sleigh bed for the sake of safe co-sleeping, and has gone head to head with numerous doctor friends with her strident opposition to medicated childbirth.
  4. This is a woman who spent a decade as a macrobiotic (if I never eat another adzuki bean it’ll be too soon), and another as a Sally Fallon/Weston Price follower (prompting her to buy an entire (dead) cow from a local farmer one winter).Nana helps Felix blow out the candles on his (sprouted, carrot) cake.
  5. Suze can (and will!) tell you the health consequences of eating evaporated cane juice versus sucanat, rapadura, date sugar, agave, or maple sugar and why you should opt for chia seeds instead of flax. She’ll offer this unsolicited advice while presenting you with a frothing smoothie made of raw milk and hemp, filling her dehydrator with corn for raw taco shells, and putting the finishing touches on a batch of homemade kombucha.
  6. My mother is truly a Baby Whisperer Extraordinaire. Hand her a squirming, shrieking infant, and within moments she’s got him sleeping or cooing happily. My son, Felix, is nearly two and when asked what he feels for Nana, proudly replies, “epic love!” (He may or may not know exactly what this means, but it certainly reflects his affection for his “best friend.”)
  7. As you might imagine, the above qualities make Suzanne just a touch sanctimonious, which is why her three brothers call her The Suzannegelist. She’s really, really good at convincing others to adopt her way of life. And some remnant adolescent part of me still is irritated by how often she’s ahead of the curve on so many health trends. Back in 1995 she was constantly telling me not to put my car phone next to my head–years before The New York Times linked cell phones to cancer).
  8. Lest I paint the wrong picture here, I should mention that Mom highlights her hair (at an organic salon, of course), loves Kate Spade shoes and pomegranate cosmos, and is obsessed–I mean OBSESSED–with The Bachelor/The Bachelorette/The Bachelor Pad shows as well as any romantic comedy starring Catherine Heigl or Jennifer Lopez.
Sprouted-cake
Nana helps Felix blow out the candles on his (sprouted, carrot) cake.

With her incredible knowledge of alternative living and health, as well as her unique ability to entertain Felix while I write, we will be able to…

•    Post more product reviews, more quickly. This summer has been sloooow I know, but we have several reviews in the pipeline, so I appreciate your patience!

•    Launch a blog (you’re reading the first installment!), where we will share topical info on healthy living, recipes, and whatever else you want to hear about (let us know!).

•    Sell safe products. Since starting this site, I’ve met a few vendors who produce SUPER good stuff but don’t sell it anywhere online. Mostly, these are women mixing up skincare products in their homes to sell at local farmers markets and such. I’d love to help these ladies increase their reach, offer my readers a chance to try this legitimately awesome stuff, and maybe make a bit of money for my efforts on this site–so that I can keep doing this, which I love, instead of going back to work in an office!

What kind of things do you want to learn from The Suzannegelist? We can’t wait to hear from you!

Nana took Fe to the farmers market in Montpelier, VT, when he was ten months old.

Nana took Fe to the farmers market in Montpelier, VT, when he was ten months old.

Stay sane,

Maia, Founder & CEO

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Leave a Reply

  1. pat Avatar
    pat

    That is such a perfect write up of your mom, by buddy SUZ! Bought back some fun memories….Adzukie bean brownies!!

    That pregnant picture of you? I took that at your wedding?
    I just remembered those lovely photos!! and that wonderful weekend.

    Miss you all.

  2. Raissa Avatar
    Raissa

    Can you tell me if there is a safe dehydrator on the market ?

  3. Suzanne Weaver-Goss Avatar
    Suzanne Weaver-Goss

    Aloha,

    This is Suzanne. My husband ( Maia's Dad) was born and raised in Oahu so I get the shaved ice reference. Lucky you, that you live there!

    I changed my diet when I was quite young in college because I went to college in Northern California and everyone was very health conscious. Also, my mother had died very young from illness and I was motivated to live a long and healthy life.

    Good for you that you changed your diet to improve your health rather than using medication. Medication can help symptoms but rarely fixes the underlying causes of disease. Not everyone is so open minded and aware of the choices that we have to improve our health.

    Glad you love adzuki beans! They are very good for you!

    Regards,

    Suzanne

  4. Chaz at Best Plumbers In Honolulu Avatar

    Hey, I love adzuki beans! But, it has to be in shave ice:) Can you tell I'm from Hawaii? Did Suzannegelist change her diet because she "had" to or because she wanted to? I had to watch what I ate per my Naturalpathic Doctor, Kevin Gibson. Had a little bout of colitis and went the diet route instead of the medication route. Glad I did.

    Well, they say "you are what you eat," and that is true, for the majority. Just look at diseases prevalent in geographical/ cultural areas. It's a reflection of the main diet.

    I loved the introduction, Maia.

    Aloooooooooha!

    -C