How I ended up in the kitchen………
I wish that I would have known much younger how enjoyable it is to cook. My passion for cooking quite honestly came out of necessity. I did a study abroad program in Peru and while I was their I got really sick. When I came home, no one could figure out what it was for months. Not until I went to a parasitologist (I bet you didn’t know they existed) did I finally find out what I had, giardia. By that point, the giardia had wreaked havoc, leaving my whole digestive system a complete wreck. I was a mess for a long time. I went to countless doctors with no answers how to repair the damage done. I started realizing that if I wanted to feel better I needed to do something different. Before my diet had consisted of quick college food, Dinty Moore beef stew, and spirals macaroni and cheese. Not that my mom hadn’t raised me to eat healthy, but in college I went for mostly convenience.
I started researching and studying nutrition. I realized how powerful food can be to nourish the body and heal it. It opened up a whole new world for me. At about that point I saw a doctor who put me on a whole foods cleanse. The cleanse for pure necessity made me get really creative in the kitchen, ( I really wanted treats, and sugar was off limits) I started experimenting with different ingredients and natural sweeteners, and my love for cooking was born. I felt so good, I had forgotten that I could ever feel that good.
As part of the cleanse I was off of gluten for months, that is when I felt the best. When I went off of the cleanse I maintained a whole foods diet, but I put gluten back into my diet. After awhile I started having some of the bloating and pains in my stomach come back. I kept eating it for awhile but it just continued to get worse. I took it out of my diet again. I felt a big difference after a couple of weeks of not having it again. Since then I have maintained a mostly gluten free diet. I just feel better that way. As my body has healed I have been able to eat some spelt and kamut. My family on the other hand does eat some gluten so not all recipes are gluten free. All of the gluten free recipes are under special diet section in the recipe categories
Looking back having gone through all of this, getting sick is one of the greatest gifts that I have been given. I have learned how to nourish my family and myself, eating real food. I have had the opportunity to share my passion with others, by teaching cooking classes, doing contract work with recipe development, and even co authoring a cookbook with Green Smoothie Girl. It has been an incredible journey, and one that I would love to continue sharing with others.
Thanks for your great blog. Last year I started with similar symptoms that I probably had had for awhile, but ignored until they got really bad. We homeschool, so finding time to plan meals has gotten really tough, not to mention my kids who complain that mommy makes everything with whole wheat flour.
I will explore your site some more and see what develops!
Hi Megan! Have you tried soft white wheat flour-that doesn’t taste near as “wheaty” as red whole wheat flour. Good luck! It has made a world of difference for me changing my diet. Also taking out wheat really helped-not sure if you have an intolerance or not. My family doesn’t so I still make things with wheat for them. Let me know what develops!
Hi just found your website today. Looks interesting. Especially the Blendtec give away and the free year of your program. Wish me luck
Hi Resa! Fingers crossed
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I am so excited that I found your webiste (through 100 days of food) I am just starting out trying to cut sugars out of my diet and start my kids off on the right foot (my 3yr old already loooves treats) You have such a nice presentation -both your website and videos- they are easy to follow and I love how you make everything seem like it is the best thing ever – it is easy to get excited about making things! Im looking forward to trying the 30 day greens challenge in may
Hi Sarah! Thanks for making me smile! It means a lot to me. I am so happy that you signed up for the challenge. It is going to be a lot of fun! Your family is lucky to have you! It gets easier I promise as you go on making changes.
I happened upon your website when searching for “freezing greens” and am so glad I found you. I was diagnosed with MS a couple of years ago and have forgone traditional meds for nutritional meds – with great success. I look forward to searching through your website and possibly getting the rest of my family on board with some healthy eating!
Hi Julia-I am SO glad you found us too. I love the what you said about nutritional meds-they are the BEST kind right? Way to go!! Please let us help you out in anyway possible. I love hearing stories like yours. Just be a good example, and give your family time they will come around bit by bit.
I have been participating in your 30 green smoothy challenge. I have absolutely loved it! Thank You!
The reason I’m writing is because I am trying to decide how to best further my education in nutrition. I could return to school on a traditional college campus or embark on a journey of self education. I would like to open a “clean eating” restaurant in my community. However; I feel that I need to know SO much more then I currently do.
I’ve done the college thing and earned a bachelors degree in business 22 years ago so college isn’t terribly threatening to me but it is extremely expensive and its been a LONG time! Self-education is difficult because I don’t know where to start and how to proceed. There is so much information out there; how do you know which sources to trust.
Any direction would be greatly appreciated.