DIET | DETECTIVE^®

ART GINSBURG, known as MR. FOOD to his fans, appears on over 140 television stations across the nation.  Syndicated by CBS/King World, his 90-second segment is shown on daily newscasts, reaching over 6 million viewers every weekday.  Over the past two decades, he has written dozens of cookbooks that provide food preparation solutions for everyone from the novice to the experienced cook.

Name: Art Ginsburg, a.k.a. "Mr. Food"

Birthday: July 29 (Yes, I'm a Leo!)

Location: Very near my mother…in Upstate New York

Q: Tell us how you got to where you are now.

A: Through hard work, liking people, and by wanting to make people happy. Oh – and with some good luck, the will to survive, and the values and love of family. That's a lot, isn't it?

Q: Define and discuss failure.

A: I would rather think of it as "temporary disappointment" rather than failure, because I've found that there's always a lesson learned from every situation.

Q: Is there anything about yourself that you've changed your mind about in the last 20 years?

A: Yes, I'm more inclined to listen to suggestions than I used to be. These days, after I listen to the suggestions of others THEN I weigh my options.

Q: What's the next major item on your "to-do" list?

A: Every day is a new day of possibilities – and those possibilities are now coming to me rather than me chasing them down. There's so much to do, who knows what I'll do first?!

Q: Define individual responsibility and how you react to adverse situations?

A: I believe our sense and understanding of responsibility is formed by our upbringing. We learn early on what we must do and, hopefully, figure out our priorities soon after.

Q: When do you have time to think about your mistakes, mishaps, achievements, and minor victories; in other words, do you have any reflective time for yourself of your career?

A: Yes, at night, after the lights go out. Also, when I'm driving alone in my car with no music on and no distractions.

Q: What is your most influential story, fiction or nonfiction, from a film, book, magazine, newspaper or parable? Explain its impact on your life? What's you're favorite saying?

A; The adages and commonsense sayings that my parents instilled in me have had the most influence on my life. Their stories still come back to me every day; they were timely then, and they're timely now. My favorite saying? No special one – there are lots that bring a smile to me AND to whoever I share my parents' wisdom with.

Q: Was there a defining moment in your life when you made a decision that changed the course of the rest of your life forever?

A: Yes, it was when I stopped following my love of being on stage and concentrated on bringing gratification to people through my love of food. I guess what I'm doing now brings me my food jollies AND my stage jollies. I'm lucky, huh?!

Q: What's the most bodacious chance you've ever taken?

A: Putting my Mr. Food career in the hands of the King World syndication family. It has been the most rewarding, the most fair, the most gracious, and the most trusting business experience of my years.

Q: What's the biggest lesson you've learned about yourself? What's the biggest lesson you haven't learned?

A: The biggest "me" lesson? Sometimes I trust too easily. The one thing I haven't learned? How to tell the difference.

Q: What keeps you going (your motivation)?

A: The will to be productive. I just want to give back to this world more than I've taken.

Q: What dessert do you dream about?

A: I don't. I know it sounds crazy, but I'm not a sweets lover.

Q: If there were one healthy food item (something you love) that you had to eat every day, what would it be?

A: Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes…homegrown native tomatoes.

Q: What’s the best book about health that you’ve read?

A: I'm not overly fond of general health books – they all seem to have their own slant toward perfect health, and seem to think their way works for everybody. While writing my diabetic cookbooks over the past few years, I've found the diabetic diet to be the closest to my philosophy of moderation. The diabetic diet allows people with diabetes to eat practically every food, as long as portion control is practiced. Now that's the moderation I'm talking about.

Q: What do you consider the world’s most perfect food?

A: If it can't be tomatoes, then I'll leave it to the scientists and the advertising community to battle that one out.

Q: What physical activity do you do to keep yourself in shape?

A: I do push-ups every day, and some casual calisthenics. I play golf as much as possible, and I also practice knowing when to stop eating.

Q: Do you have a favorite healthy recipe or cooking tip? If so would you share it?

A: MODERATION – Eat everything BUT in moderation.

Q: Do you have a Calorie Bargain? What food did it replace? Was that an important food in your diet, since you ate it so often?

A: I'm almost positive that "tomatoes" is the answer to this question too…AND making the kitchen a fun place. "OOH IT'S SO GOOD!!^®"

Bookmark:

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed