Chrisetta Mosley had a stunning yet simple epiphany when her weight crested at 388 pounds in 2004 — cooking is good for you.
Mosley, 39, of east Vancouver, went on a mission in 2004 to learn how to lose the weight that was making her miserable. She’s dropped 170 pounds since then by teaching herself to cook and adding exercise to her routine.
“I learned a lot about making better choices based on my research,” Mosley said. “Eating out of boxes, processed foods, that was my downfall. It’s too convenient. To cook at home is harder. You have to be prepared. You have to make a commitment.”
She’s not finished with her efforts to drop weight, but she also likes to share what she’s learned with others.
Mosley has chronicled her experiences through a blog called “Farewell Fatso” and last week she self-published her first cookbook, “Bringing Cooking Back.”
Perhaps the most interesting thing she learned, she said, was that you don’t have to give up things like butter, sugar and oil in order to make food more healthy.
“People have eaten those things for hundreds of years, yet it’s only recently that we’ve had this obesity epidemic,” Mosley said. “I cook with what I cook with, but I use different recipes. And I use a lot of vegetables.”
Some of her recipes include a spinach, bacon and feta cheese frittata, Southwestern chicken soup, pasta salad and Parmesan roasted cauliflower.
“Cooking healthy can be really simple,” Mosley said. “And it doesn’t have to taste bad.”
Mosley’s cookbook is available through her personal blog at http://foronceandforallfarewellfatso.blogspot.com/. She also blogs on The Columbian’s Live Well site.
—Sue Vorenberg
Young Vancouver actor enjoys making audiences laugh
Vancouver resident Collin Carver always envisioned being an entertainer, loving to make people laugh. “I remember the very first show I did, I got to tell one funny line in my script, so I went over and over that line so that every voice inflection was right,” he said, making sure the line would have the biggest comedic impact on the audience. Collin has performed with local groups Christian Community Theater and Christian Youth Theater, as well as Beaverton Civic Theater. Currently, he’s part of the Oregon Children’s Theatre’s Young Professionals program and their production “A World War II Radio Christmas.” The 18-year-old has treasured his experiences in front of a live audience. “There is just something about entertaining people that is so fulfilling,” he wrote in an email.
Carver plays Alfred Bell, the chief announcer and boss of the 1940s radio station broadcasting Christmas stories and carols to the soldiers overseas. Carver describes his character as having a dry sarcastic wit. “He’s not afraid to have fun, but he definitely knows he’s running the show.” Carver’s favorite part of the production plays to his own comedic tendencies, as he’s responsible for warming up the audience with an improvisational monologue at the beginning of the show.
In the future, Carver hopes to pursue acting in films and commercials. “I just really like entertaining, it’s what I was born to do,” he said.
Catch Carver and the rest of the cast in “A World War II Radio Christmas” at 2 p.m. Dec. 10-11 at Curious Comedy Theatre, 5225 N.E. Martin Luther King Blvd., Portland. Tickets are $10. Seating is limited. Call 503-228-9571 or visit http://octc.org.
—Ashley Swanson
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