Hi, I'm Lindsay "Mama" O'Neill. Growing up in NYC taught me how to be the best grill master possible! HAHA! JK. (If you believed that, I have a star to sell you). We didn't have a grill... well, I had a George Forman panini press, which evolved to a nice grill pan, but that was it, until 5 years ago when I moved to the BURBS!

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At the end of 2012 we moved to Harrison, NY with 2 year old and 3 week old baby girls. I was the VP of a Big Data/Tech company. I went back to work in February 2013, after maternity leave, and Rocket Fuel went public in September 2013. While my exit plan was not ideal at the time, everything works out for a reason. 

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I was tired of the advertising game. Jamming messages down consumers throats, or building tech to creepily follow consumers around the web - re-targeting them with products they browsed... yes, sorry, that was me!

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Being the mom of two girls, I wanted to do something to help people - especially kids. My parents divorced when I was 9, and so I had to learn how to fend for myself (and my little sister) in the kitchen from a young age. In January 2014 I launched CookingWithKiddies.com - a resource for parents and kids to cook easy & healthy meals. A month later I found out I was pregnant with my 3rd girl!

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Passion projects are not always lucrative. So while I ran Cooking With Kiddies, and was pregnant with a 1 and 3 year old at home, I decided to pursue a few digital media/ad-tech consulting gigs... the industry is like the mob, once you get in you can never get out. 

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Trying to find a balance in life was difficult, but not impossible. And I was happy to finally do something I love, that gave me a warm fuzzy feeling inside. Then, I was hit by a car at 7 months pregnant in August 2014. No more consulting, no more teaching classes, mandatory bed-rest for 6 weeks. 

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I went nuts for the first 2 weeks. It was like being in jail. I couldn't play with my kids, I couldn't cook, and I couldn't work. I was scared to lose the baby, and was in a ton of pain - but couldn't take pain meds. So I started researching anti-inflammatory foods, and would have my nanny (God bless her), my mom or husband, try new recipes. I began writing down what worked, and tweaking recipes so they would taste better, but still retain all of the nutritional benefits. 

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After Brynn was born (at a healthy 9lbs 1oz) in October 2014, I expanded Cooking With Kiddies to MamaONeill.com - healthy recipes for families (everyone from kids, to moms, pregnant women, women trying to get pregnant, etc.). The content is great, but I went back to consulting to help pay for my passion project. 

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I tried to work for companies who needed a content marketing strategy, to use my expertise but also to hone my new skills, and to make MamaONeill.com better. I started to fall in love with storytelling. Helping brands and companies be themselves... be unique... be awesome. 

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So in addition to purusing my passion as a chef, coach and storyteller, I'm also acting as the head of business development for linknexus - the ONLY tech company dedicated to treating both brand marketer AND consumer as a HUMAN ;) 

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I'll sleep when I'm dead. Enjoy GrillVIP. It's a fun project, but also a great way to get outside and stay healthy, happy and satisfied!

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Love & Yum,

Lindsay "Mama" O'Neill

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