Why are health and wellness so important to you?

When I was younger, I was in a lot of Disney commercials and always dreamed of being a singer (read: Britney Spears). While in high school, I started a million “fad” diets. Ultimately, they didn’t work but I would take something I learned from each and make adjustments. One day it clicked: good health is so much bigger than “restrictions.” And while being Britney Spears has its obvious perks, being me was better for me.

Nutrition is so important because it forces you to be more mindful of everything you do. Why go to McDonald’s when you have no connection to it? You have no idea where the food originates from, you didn’t cook it. Cooking your own food forces mindfulness. It forces you to recognize what makes you feel good.

How did you get to where you are?

Long story short, I majored in fashion marketing and management at Savannah College of Art and Design. Then I went to New York City for an internship, hated it, came back, graduated, and decided to get an online degree in Integrative Medicine [which is considered to offer more holistic health treatments].

I stayed in Savannah for a bit, worked at a juice bar and then later worked for an organic meal service in New York. I did a string of other jobs, including some writing about wellness, briefly lived in Wyoming, and then came back home to be nearer to family and to further explore this whole health thing.

Tell us something we might not know about you.

Most people assume I’m vegan, but I’m not. I’m plant-based– that means I avoid dairy and gluten but I still eat whatever I want, though I shy away from too much sugar. I’ve been studying a bit of genealogy and how it plays into what you should/shouldn’t eat.

For example, I’m Irish. That means for many years long before me, my ancestors were eating leafy greens, kale, and potatoes; therefore, my body should break those things down better than someone not of Irish descent.

You also work as a health coach– what are the advantages of working with one?

They help you form habits of checking in with your own well-being. Health is not a one-size-fits-all. While genetics play a big part in your future, they’re not your destiny. Think of this like playing the piano: Your genes are the keys on the piano. Your lifestyle and habits are your fingers on the keys. How you live your life is how your song plays out.

Where did you get the idea for a healthy guide to eating out in Orlando?

A client complained that she couldn’t stick to her diet when she would go out for dinner with her girlfriends. So I made this e-book called the “Healthy Eating Restaurant Guide Orlando.”

You also have a personal website where you write about health and wellness. What are the site’s future plans?

I’m looking forward to turning the healthy eating guide into an app and launching in different cities with my sister Caroline. We’ve been documenting our eating when we travel for years. The goal is to create an app that makes eating healthier while eating out easier for you and to create a space that allows our users to still eat out and have fun.

The art of community and connection is just as important as eating your salad and drinking your juice. This guide will help you still be a part of the community.

Tell us your favorite Orlandoans to follow on Instagram and why.

   🌱 @consciouslycoastal – amazing plant-based recipes from my girl Noeli
   ✍ @danidillard – for some seriously inspiring words and authenticity
   📰 @orlandoweekly – to stay on top of what’s going on in town

Learn more about Hannah by checking out her website here, and following her on Instagram here.

Do you know someone that we should include in our Monday Makers series? If so, send them our way by simply replying to this email or dropping us a line at hello@pulp.town.

All in a day’s climb. We’re curious. Did you know that there was such thing as champion tree climbing? And that our statewide competition happened here in Orlando in March? There’s also a national tree climbing championship. While Florida’s top tree climber lives in Miami, seems we also have some pretty impressive Orlando climbers too. (Miami New Times)

A change is gonna come. The U.S. Supreme Court just made a decision to expand the law that allows states to apply a sales tax to major online retailers. This could lead to a major impact on Florida. Taxing online purchases is something brick-and-mortar retailers have wanted for years, saying that evading the sales taxes creates a competitive advantage for online retailers. (Gainesville.com)

Big brother no more? The Orlando Police Department’s pilot program with Amazon’s facial recognition testing has expired and we are in the dark on its next steps. The software is meant to pick out a person in a crowd and track their movements in real time, but neither the police department nor Amazon has been super clear about how exactly they want to use this technology. Seven police officers voluntarily signed up to be watched during the pilot. (Orlando Sentinel, NPR)

Speaking of which, how are we feeling about facial scanning? Right now Orlando International Airport’s facial scanning program is garnering national attention. Thursday’s announcement to expand to all international passengers at MCO has some privacy advocates up in arms. They say there are currently “no formal rules in place for handling data gleaned from the scans, nor formal guidelines on what should happen if a passenger is wrongly prevented from boarding.” While other airports across the country already use facial scans for some departing international flights, they don’t currently do it for all flights. (CBS News)

Does this study make us look fat? A recent study by the University of Florida that looked at data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Floridians are 10 percent fatter than first reported in a 2013 CDC report. That’s because the data was self-reported and as humans, we tend to fudge a little when it comes to the scale. The initial report said that 28 percent of Floridians were obese, but UF researchers say that number is looking more like 37 percent. (Naples News)

Oops. In Friday’s newsletter, we incorrectly said gubernatorial in reference to Bill Nelson’s campaign. Bill Nelson is running for the Senate. Here’s the article again for your reference.

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Here’s a sweet reminder of that one time Anthony Bourdain traveled through Florida and made a few stops along the way in some nearby South Florida cities.

See you tomorrow, toots!

– Pulptown