Henry B. – Weightlifting, Mediterranean, Whole30: A Senior Project Cookbook

Hey, my name is Henry Boone and I have gone to LREI for all of high school and will be attending the University of Miami in the fall. For my senior project, I created a nutritional and fitness-based cookbook. This cookbook was designed around my essential question: How does living a healthy lifestyle affect someone athletically, and additionally affect other aspects of their life, and how does changing a diet strengthen the mind-muscle connection within one’s body?

I have been an athlete all my life and physical fitness is a very important thing to me. Since before I can remember, I have always had some type of ball in my hands; from my very first tee-ball game when I was in kindergarten to my final few basketball games as my high school career comes to an end, sports is something that I have always loved, and playing has made me the person I am today. Additionally, I have been a picky eater ever since I was a child and have never really tried to expand my palate. I always struggled with eating enough food because I just didn’t have enough types of foods I enjoyed. I wanted my project to incorporate both of these aspects of my identity while teaching others and myself how to stay fit.

What really inspired me to create this project was thinking about kids and young adults like me, who are picky eaters and can’t find foods they like, and additionally are afraid of the gym or unmotivated to change their habits for the better. I know what it feels like and I know it’s possible to overcome these challenges.

As I was developing and creating my cookbook, I took a lot of influence and inspiration from my mother who is a chef and has created many cookbooks in the past. She helped me through the process and guided me in this foreign environment. Additionally, my training and nutrition habits were influenced by creators such as Joe Fazer, Scott Herman, and Noel Deyzel. These content creators helped me learn my way in the weight room, by educating me on proper form and giving me workouts, but also in the kitchen, on what to eat and how to recover.

After a lot of hard and intense work, my senior project has now come to an end. A project that was definitely not easy, and each week came with new challenges. From dealing with soreness from a vaccine shot to having to deal with small injuries and recovery, to not liking certain meals but having to eat them anyway, I went through a lot. You can check out my cookbook below.