23. April 2026

Why You Can't Put Wellness in a Bottle

I’ve been thinking a lot about wellness lately. Well, more than lately. Really the past 30 years as I've dedicated my career to it.

It started when I began a career in the natural products industry, working for a chain of gourmet markets called Alfalfa's. The basis of the stores was all about delivering a lifestyle, not just products, to help you live well. People flocked to it for its innovative merchandising, quality, locally produced and sourced items, community events and cooking demonstrations - which I coordinated for the 11 stores. They were always packed! Our customers absolutely loved this daily ritual of the in-store cooking show, wayyyy before The Food Network.

Somewhere along the way, we took something that should feel intuitive—how we eat, how we move, how we live—and turned it into a full-time job. There are protocols for everything. Morning routines that feel like Olympic events. Powders for your powders.

And still… so many of us feel off. Tired. Disconnected.
Like we’re doing all the “right” things and somehow missing the point.

That’s what led me to write my latest article for Edible Orange County, “Three Steps Removed: The Wellness Reset You Can’t Bottle.” And if I’m being honest, it’s less of a story… and more of a realization I keep coming back to.

Wellness isn’t something you build. It’s something you return to.

I felt it again in Costa Rica. This wasn’t my first time there—I’ve been going back every year since the world reopened after 2020—but this trip hit differently. Maybe because I needed it more. Maybe because I was finally ready to stop visiting as a tourist but just a person in dire need of unplugging after the crippling task of filming Next Level Chef.

It was not a good experience for me. At all. The tape kept replaying on all the things I did wrong and how I muffed it up so badly. I beat myself up pretty badly. More on that later.

It took a little while to realize, disconnecting from the world - social media and the internet included - was going to be mandatory for my nervous system. And that's the moment I identified this “three steps removed” concept.

It’s subtle at first. The noise drops. Your shoulders unclench. You realize you actually enjoy having no cell service.

And then it hits you:
Oh. This is what it feels like to not be constantly managing life.

We stayed in Mal País, tucked into the southern edge of the Nicoya Peninsula—one of those places where time feels more like a suggestion than a rule and probably why it's one of the Blue Zones where people live the longest.

Mornings started slowly. Organic coffee in hand, barefoot on cool tile, easing into a hammock like it was my full-time job. No agenda. No pressure to “make the most of it.” Because this was it.

And something interesting happened. When I slowed down… everything else followed.

I wasn’t grabbing food between tasks—I was actually tasting it. Fresh papaya that didn’t need anything added to it, including the peppery, mustard flavored seeds. Eggs with the brightest orange yolks from chickens living their best lives. Meals that felt alive instead of processed and tasteless.

It made me realize how disconnected we’ve become from something so basic.

We don’t just rush our days—we rush our nourishment, our time with others - even our free time becomes a checklist of to-do's and to-see's.

And then there was Barrigona.

If Mal País is where you exhale, Barrigona is where you disappear—in the best possible way. A stretch of beach so untouched it almost feels like you’re not supposed to be there.

No beach clubs. No music. No one trying to sell you anything. Just warm clean water, silky sand, sunsets that look like the sky is on fire and quiet. Ahh, the quiet.

We had a simple picnic—ceviche, patacones, fresh fruit drinks—hosted by Hacienda Barrigona, an incredible 200+ acre estate where you can rent a private villa for 2 to 22, and it was one of the most satisfying meals I’ve had in a long time. Not because it was elaborate… but because it wasn’t. Just beautiful fresh fish treated with citrus, yucca crisped and sprinkled with salt and the freshest guacamole and salsa. I'm hungry just thinking about it.

At some point, we invited the people who prepared the food to sit and eat with us. Not as a “moment.” Not for content. Just because it felt like this was too beautiful not to share with everyone who was so gracious to us.

And that’s the thing about stepping outside your usual environment—
the walls you didn’t even realize were there start to fall away. It wasn’t guests and staff anymore. It was just people sharing food, sharing stories, across languages and cultures.

Like I always say, food tastes better when it’s shared.

Somewhere between those two places, something clicked for me.

We haven’t just overcomplicated wellness, we’ve made it an epic track event of hurdles. We analyze every bite like it’s a business decision. What do you think the centenarians in the Blue Zone have been doing to live that long? I'll tell you, it's definitely not about powders.

But then you walk into a local market in Costa Rica and none of that exists. Just real food. Real color. Real life. No one’s talking about macros. No one’s apologizing for banana bread. And if they are, it's for the tourists.

That’s why I’m so passionate about going off the beaten path - because it gives you access to something you can’t find in the curated version of a place, which is basically never a good representation of a country. It's the highlighted reel.

Here’s what I came home with:

Not a new routine.
Not a new plan. Just a reminder.

That wellness isn’t something you need to chase down or figure out or optimize.

It’s in the quiet moments. The simple meals. The connections that happen when you’re not trying so hard to control everything. The grace you give yourself for screwing up. And remembering to play.

You don’t need a plane ticket to find it, just need to be willing to take a few steps back from the noise, and maybe even your cell phone.

This was just a glimpse. The full story—where distance, immersion, and connection come together—is in my latest piece for Edible Orange County.

Read “Three Steps Removed: The Wellness Reset You Can’t Bottle” and experience the reset for yourself.