Had you handed me a script of my life up to 44 years old when I was 21, I’d think I was reading about someone else’s life. I suppose it’s a blessing that I was clueless about what would come my way. While I considered myself somewhat health conscious from early on, health and wellness would come to define my 30s and 40s in a profound way.
Five major events led to my interest in learning more about food and nutrition, medicine (natural + manufactured remedies), and overall health and well-being:
- My beloved yellow lab developed “muddy” ears and her fur began to fall out. I discovered she had a grain allergy.
- I stopped eating meat (10 years ago) and suddenly my skin cleared up, energy increased, and once I cut dairy, I lost the love handles that I carried for years.
- My son experienced frequent ear infections and rashes once he was introduced to solids. I stripped gluten from his diet and symptoms disappeared.
- My daughter’s diagnoses, which have a significant impact on GI health. From day one her diet has been free from gluten and limited in dairy. Countless times doctors said “she’ll never…”, “she’ll always struggle…”, “it’s impossible…”, etc. Well, the impossible become possible—she is thriving.
- Robyn O’Brien’s TEDxMileHigh talk. After hearing her discoveries about what’s in food, I tossed the cow’s milk and yogurt, and other various processed foods that had been staples in my fridge.
From food I began to take stock of what was in my environment: the laundry detergent and cleaning supplies that I used, the containers in which I store leftovers, and the products that I put on my skin and hair. Two years ago I began to meditate. My anxiety disappeared and I somehow created time in my day simply by positively refocusing my energy.
I’ve dabbled with lots of recipes, practices and products, and want to share my best discoveries with you—to help you live a healthier life, plus save time and money. Simple Spoils, Naturally chronicles my journey to a cleaner living and I hope that it will help inspire you to possibly think and do differently too.