Jo Whitton lives in Far North Queensland where she runs her business, Quirky Cooking, from home and enjoys the country life. Due to food intolerances in her family (herself and her four children), Jo began researching ways to improve their health through diet from the time her kids were very young. In December 2008 she began her blog, Quirky Cooking, to share what she was learning and the recipes she was developing for her family. In May 2014 she published her best-selling Quirky Cooking cookbook, and began teaching allergy-friendly cooking seminars. However, about this time her son Isaac began to really struggle with his mental health. He was diagnosed with severe OCD and anxiety in October 2014, and Jo’s mission to help her son heal naturally began.

As Jo learnt more about the importance of a healthy gut for reducing inflammation and healing both physical and mental health issues, she began to focus specifically on traditional, healing foods and ‘food as medicine’, rather than just avoiding allergy-friendly cooking to reduce allergies and reactions. Not only did Isaac’s mental health stabilise, but her whole family saw massive improvements in their overall health.

In December 2014 Jo began sharing her family’s journey to good health on her podcast, ‘A Quirky Journey’, and over the years it has become a great resource for people who are interested in healing naturally. In 2017, Jo published her second best-selling cookbook, ‘Life-Changing Food’, with her friend and co-host Fouad Kassab (food writer and whole food chef). The focus of this cookbook is on traditional, healing food, and showcases the kinds of recipes Jo and Fouad found helpful in their own healing journeys.

Jo runs health seminars, retreats and other events both in Australia and overseas, sharing how to transition to a healing, whole food diet without the overwhelm. She also facilitates online programs and workshops to support people working through healing with food, is always working on developing new recipes for her audience, shares daily cooking videos from her kitchen, and has some exciting new projects in the pipeline for 2020 including cookbook no. 3!

Find out more about the work Jo does and check out her recipes at Quirky Cooking, as well as on her Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube channel.