Welcome!  We are so happy you are here!  We are very excited to share our kitchen adventures with you.

Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Robin Paone.  I am 58 years old.  I have been married to Anthony Paone (aka Tony, TP, TP109) for 38 years.  We have two beautiful children, Chris and Ameera (aka Monkey).  I am also a grandmother.  My son and his beautiful wife, Katie have an amazingly adorable daughter, Charlotte Louise.

(Granddaughter, Charlotte)

I grew up with a wooden spoon in my hand. I come from a long line of amazing cooks and bakers.  I passed this love of cooking and baking on to my children, just as my mother and grandmother passed the love of cooking on to me.   Both Chris and Ameera are amazing cooks.  They both have exceptional palates and are very artistic in the kitchen.  I am so very proud of them both.

WFPB Journey

Ameera and I made the transition to Whole Food Plant Based in early 2017.  The transition wasn’t difficult as we originally started out as vegetarians.  We then became vegans (diet), and then finally landed upon the Whole Food Plant Based diet as we felt that this lifestyle suited us best.   I think the gradual transition made it easier for us.  Giving up oil was the most challenging for me, let me tell ya!

I have been dealing with a number of medical issues over the years.  These medical conditions were the driving force behind why I made the decision to transition to a Whole Food Plant Based diet.

Listed below are some of medical issues that I have had to deal with over the past 20 years: rosacea, hypothyroidism, thinning hair, slightly anemic, overweight, high blood pressure, gall bladder removed, hysterectomy due to fibroid tumors, 3 breast lumpectomies due to calcifications, ovaries removed due to ovarian cysts, acid reflux, gluten sensitivity, migraines, severe allergies, insomnia, arthritis, pre-diabetic, fatty liver, cataracts, sleep apnea, and hearing loss.

The Whole Food Plant Based diet has eased a number of these medical conditions.  My rosacea isn’t as prominent.  I am slowly losing weight.  My blood pressure has dropped to a normal range.  I no longer have acid reflux.  My A1C has dropped to a normal range. My arthritis pain is more tolerable.  My migraines and allergies have eased.  I have a lot more energy and I generally feel so much better.  I am thrilled, all due to eating a healthy diet.  Monkey and I are now passionate advocates of the Whole Food Plant Based heathy lifestyle.  I’m excited that through the Whole Food Plant Based lifestyle, I can continue to improve my health.

Monkey asked me to list some fun facts about me.  Normally, I don’t consider myself an interesting person, but I thought I would give this a shot. 🙂

10 Interesting Facts About Me

(Yes, that is me in the bottom left being crazy – lol)

1. I grew up in a rural farm setting.

From sun up to well past sun down, my brother, sister and I played outside in the fields and farms.  We ran around unsupervised and enjoyed the perks of country living.  We slept outside under the stars every night in the summer because there was no air conditioning.

2. My mom was a housewife.

I have fond memories of my mom, aunt “Sooge”, Mary (my sister), and I making a billion holiday cookies every Christmas and giving them away as Christmas gifts.  Monkey and I carried on this tradition until we went WFPB.  We are working on hustling up some excellent WFPB holiday cookies.

3. I have a BA from Malone College in Business Management.

I work fulltime as a Process Management Specialist for a large company.  I love my job.  I am very analytical and enjoy details.

(Chris)

4. My son, Chris, was diagnosed with Celiac disease several years ago.

This prompted me and Monkey to cook and bake gluten free.  Since going gluten free, both Monkey and I quickly recognized that we were gluten sensitive.  We realized this when some of our own symptoms, like bloating and acid reflux, stopped when we went gluten free.

(Chris, TP, and Katie)

5. Why do I call my husband “TP” and “TP109?”

My husband is retired.  He also worked at the same large company that I am currently working.  We actually met there.  He always signed all his work “TP”.   I always thought that was kind of cute.  He has a degree in history from the University of Albany.  Since Tony is a huge history buff and also a Kennedy fan, I thought wouldn’t it be fun to start calling him “TP109” after the Motor Torpedo boat, “PT109”?  A little history lesson here – PT109 was a boat last commanded by Lieutenant, John F. Kennedy.

6. Why do I call my daughter, Ameera, Monkey?

Monkey was always a climber.  Whenever I was in the kitchen, she would climb right up my legs to see what I was cooking.  She showed an interest in cooking at a very early age.  She always wanted to cook with me.  I started calling her my little monkey.

7. We are simple people.

Believe it or not, we do not have a dishwasher in our home.  Yup, that’s right, no dishwasher.  I wash all the dishes by hand as I have done for many, many years.  People are always shocked when they find this out, but I honestly do not mind hand washing dishes. Everyone in our home contributes to washing dishes. I love beautiful dish towels.  I guess that makes sense since we do not have a dishwasher, right? We are very frugal people and live simply and humbly.

(Monkey and Mike)

8. Who lives in our household?

My husband, Tony, Monkey and her husband, Michael, and I live in our home.  I love having Monkey and Mike living with us.  They live downstairs in a converted living space.  Michael is a police officer.  He works midnights so sometimes it is challenging trying to be somewhat quiet during the day so Mike can get some sleep.  We are the “loud” family.  Poor Mike! – LOL

(Chris and Katie)

9. Where does Chris live?

Chris and his wife, Katie, and their daughter, Charlotte live in Connecticut.  I miss them so much.  It is difficult only seeing them on occasion, but thankfully we FaceTime quite a bit.  Typically, when Charlotte is having a snack or eating.  Monkey and I are her entertainment; we use finger puppets, and stuffed animals to amuse her. We talk in various silly voices, and we put on our own little dinner show for Charlotte.  She is 18 months old and so smart and adorable.  She laughs and seems to enjoy our shows – 😀

10. People always ask me if I wasn’t on this diet and could eat anything I wanted and not suffer any consequences from it, what would I eat?

Ahhhh, wouldn’t it be nice to not ever suffer any consequences from what we eat?  Unfortunately, the bottom line is, I am suffering the consequences from years of poor health choices; however, to answer the question, I would eat pizza, potato chips and chip dip.

So where do we go from here?

If you would like to learn more about Monkey, head on over to Ameera’s About me page.

If you would like to find out how Monkey and I started our blog, head over to our About Our Blog page.

If you would like some additional information and resources on the Whole Food Plant Based diet, head on over to our Resources page.

If you are here to find delicious and healthy recipes, head on over to our Recipes.

Or perhaps you are looking to learn more about our lives and everyday living on the Whole Food Plant Based diet, then head on over to our Lifestyle pages.

Thank you so much for joining us. We would love to connect with you on social media, and hope you stop by our Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or Twitter.

Looking forward to chatting with you soon!