Donna is a certified holistic health counselor
(with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and the American
Association of Drugless Practitioners), certified fitness nutritionist
(with the National Exercise & Sports Trainers Association),
natural foods personal chef (certified with the United States
Personal Chef Association), certified personal trainer (with the
Aerobics and Fitness Association of America) as well as the founder
of Basil & Barbells, Inc., a holistic nutrition services corporation
based in New York City, serving clients nationwide.
I have always been interested in nutrition, fitness and cooking
and the way they work together to either improve or hinder our
health.
I started my career as a certified personal trainer, adding additional
certifications as group fitness instructor and kick boxing instructor.
My next stop was culinary school to learn more about cooking.
I chose to specialize in healthy cooking techniques and studied
at The Natural Gourmet Institute for Food and Health with AnneMarie
Colbin, The New School and The Culinary Academy of New York. With
my new found knowledge of healthy cooking techniques, I experimented
with different recipes and used my family and friends as guinea
pigs, fortunately, I was met with rave reviews!
In 2003 I started Basil & Barbells, Inc. specializing in preparing
healthy meals for clients in their homes, along with my already
existing personal training business. I found that my background
in nutrition, as well as my reputation as a natural foods personal
chef brought me clients with many formidable health issues. I
started to specialize in cooking for people with high cholesterol,
pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes as well
as people who were in dire need of losing weight for their health.
After six years, I decided that it was necessary for Basil & Barbells,
Inc. to expand beyond the kitchen and gym. I want to teach people
to do for themselves what I have been doing for them. My education
at The Insitute for Integrative Nutrition to practice health counseling
taught me how to pass her knowledge on to others.
I have had the prividlege of learning
from some of the leader in the Alternative Medicine, Nutrition
and Culinary Industry.
This includes Deepok Chopra, Paul Pitchford MS, Annemarie
Colbin PhD, David Katz MD, Barry Sears PhD, Arthur Agatston MD, Marion Nestle PhD, Laurence Kushi,
Chef Christopher Burgos, Chef Peter Berley, Mark Hyman MD, Neal Barnard MD, Deepak Chopra MD, Walter Willett MD, Andrew Weil MD, John
Douillard DC PhD, Bernie Siegel, MD, Michael Jacobson, Sally Fallon Morell, Chef Billy DeMarco, Joshua Rosenthal MScEd, Chef Andrea Beaman and David Wolfe.
