Dan’s Food Bio

I grew up on Long Island, or ‘longguyland’ as most people in my heavily Italian neighborhood would pronounce it, and from the day I was born I built a reputation on how much food I could eat.  I’ve always enjoyed the finer things in life (my favorite food at age 11 was, famously, lobster) but I would conquer any dish that was in my immediate vicinity.  Thankfully, both of my parents were decent cooks so there was always something good to eat in the house.  Staples were pasta and meatballs, steak, burgers, and things like eggs and cereal for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, etc.

When I got to Bard in 2008 I was in shape and feeling pretty good, with no aspirations of changing my diet whatsoever.   However after many semesters of non-stop music and academic work at Bard, by the Summer of 2011 I was about ready to throw in the towel.  I had developed many physical and emotional issues, and day after day I was feeling more run-down.  I studied in Amsterdam that Fall at the Conservatory of Amsterdam and although I was immersed in the food culture of the city, as well as the cultural foods of the places I traveled (Italy, Germany, and others) I was really hurting physically and mentally, and when I got home I was in a bad state.

Enjoying a glass of triple-dark lager in Bruges, Belgium

I took medical leave from Bard last Spring and Fall (2012) to concentrate on healing my body, and during those semesters I read books from across the spectrum on topics ranging from diet, fasting, meditation, yoga, and would spend entire days and nights devouring information on the web and Youtube.

A light video from one of my mentors, Dan McDonald aka ‘the Life Regenerator.’  He has over 1,300 videos on health, raw foods, and spirituality.

There is much more to tell, but I’ll leave it at this:  This last year of research and experimentation has been the most eye-opening and spiritually expansive experience I’ve ever had.  In terms of diet, I’ve jumped all over the map, and have settled now on a lifestyle that not only works for me, but is something that I’m proud to share with others.  I am vegan, and maintain a diet based on fruits, vegetables, starches, and non-gluten containing grains.  Not for nothing, I also refrain from using drugs and alcohol (I party hard on life).  I am also a proponent of a fruit and vegetable based diet, aka raw veganism or fruitarianism, and would maintain such a diet year-round if I could manage it (aka if it wasn’t so f-ing cold all the time) .  I’ve included below a documentary about the Woodstock Fruit Festival, an annual fruitarian retreat that I attended this past summer, which was probably the most fun I’ve ever had in a 9-day period (I’m going back this year, this time as the festival’s film crew manager 😉 ).