Hello!
My name is Danielle and welcome to my ramblings! I am a stay at home mom residing in Tennessee. This blog will be a mix of random things in my life.
I wanted to begin by writing something close to me.
I am on a journey to healthier eating all while remaining edible and tasty. You see, I have been dairy free since 2014 and gluten free since March of 2015. I'll get into why a little later. So if you're just beginning your journey of eliminating foods for whatever reason you've choosen, let me tell you, it's not the end of your life and you can still eat all while satisfying your craving. It's all about learning and experimenting. Cooking and baking without gluten and dairy is a learning curve. It is doable because many like myself are doing it everyday. At first you will probably feel overwhelmed, confused, lost and even worried where you go from here. These feelings are all normal. They will start to subside when you begin feeling comfortable with elimination and cooking. I too felt lost but, don't fret, your options nowadays are endless when it comes to grocery shopping, makeup, lotions and household products. Many companies are realizing a real need for gluten free and vegan products as more and more consumers are speaking up about their health issues. Let me start on why I eliminated gluten and dairy from my life. As a child I suffered from health issues that my parents, doctors and nurses were unaware of. I battled with stomach issues, terrible constipation, diarrhea, vitamin defincency that turned into anemia, enamel loss, irregular menstrual cycles and very painful ones, I dealt with infertility and I also did not grow as I should have. I have insufficient glandular tissue which basically, my breasts do not have the correct amount of glandular tissue; the tissue needed for optimal milk production to sustain a hungry baby when breastfeeding. These can all drain you emotionally, physically and mentally especially with no answers to your inquiring mind. I first stripped dairy from my diet February of 2014 thinking this would rid me of my everyday pain I suffered from. While it did ease some symptoms it did not take away my everyday gastrointestinal problems. Doctors were getting me no where and kept misdiagnosing me with IBS. So fast forward to a year later I decided to take matters into my own hands and try another elimination diet only this time with gluten. I decided I would start with a two week trial. Eating mostly at home made it easier for me to start this trial since I was able to clearly look at what I was eating. So after a couple days without gluten I remember saying to myself, oh wow I haven't hurt all day! I haven't bloated after eating, which is something I figured was normal but, I'm telling you it most certainly isn't. For almost 12 years I hurt everyday, something was always wrong with me. I would skip meals with the thought of atleast I wouldn't hurt which only lead to more problems. My stomach would hurt to the point where I'd lean against anything that offered relief. It was debilitating. I'd lye down with my legs curled up into a fetal position and heating elements like a heating pad were my go to along with ibuprofen for pain and inflammation. This two week trial literally changed my life! It opened my eyes to my underlying problem. I lost 15 lbs and I believe it was due to all the built up inflammation. I gained energy that I did not have before and the pain had vanished! Poof! It was like someone flipped a switch on my body. My menstrual cycles are now normal and not near as heavy as they were. That is something I almost couldn't believe . Mother nature came in my life at 12, I had terrible pain and they were never regular, always late and lasted anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks at a time. Talk about a bad week(s)! I remained dairy free along with being gluten free and it's the best decision I could have ever made. This entry might be TMI but may also help someone as I had noone in my life who could relate to my issues, not even family. Anyhow, I'll write random entries about my life, my family, etc. I hope you enjoy and feel free to comment.
Thank you!
💜Danielle💜
