About Me

Hi! My name is Kellie and I have a weakness for food. Especially cookies, milk chocolate, brownies, and cheesy garlic bread.  Thing is, those foods do NOT like me.

It started when I was 12 years old:  unbelievable stomach cramping that would have me running for a bathroom and stuck there for anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes. Graphic? Yes.  But the reason I share this is because I know there are people out there that, like me, have this same adverse reaction to certain foods.

I first 'solved' my tummy problem with a combination of 1) avoidance of dairy and 2) taking lactose pills before each meal.  I figured I was lactose intolerant, but never got tested since the correlation seemed so clear. Fast forward to college where the stomach pain morphed.  I remember the day vividly:  finals week of my freshman year. 

I was extremely studious: did all of my homework and went to every class.  This was a math final too, which for me meant easy.  Yet, I was nervous.  As I packed my backpack to head to the test the stomach cramps hit. HARD. During my entire freshman year I did my best to avoid dairy because I lived in the campus dorms and, really, who wants to have a dairy induced 'episode' in the very public ladies bathroom on your floor? Not me.  Thankfully, I had my list of restrooms that were more private than others and was able to make it to the test.  I made an appointment with the campus physician the same day.  He thought that my tummy troubles may be related to stress so he set me up to see a counsellor who could teach me some stress reduction techniques.

To keep a long story short, mediation and relaxation didn't work. So I continued with the status quo. Fast forward to after college.  While doing online research about stomach pain I came across 'celiac disease' and the connection between wheat and stomach pain.  So I added wheat to my list of foods to avoid.  Still, being a poor college graduate sharing a house with 3 men (a la 'New Girl') I didn't quite have the luxury to always avoid the things I wanted to.  In other words, there was a lot of Top Ramen consumed. What can you do?

Life went on for a few more years.  Along the way I was finding more and more that there was something else that was triggering my stomach pains than just milk and bread, but I hadn't the time or energy to find out what it was.  Instead I ate whatever, whenever and dealt with the repercussions when they arose.  I toughed it out.

One summer I decided that a diet change was in order and went Vegan. I bought organic foods, a vegan cookbook, and started to feel better! Was this the answer to my problems?! I continued for a number of months eating all the vegan convenience foods I could buy at Whole Foods, Safeway, Fred Meyer and all stores in between. But then the cramps came back. Crap. Literally. I was pissed off.  I had not found the solution after all. Back to the status quo and toughing it out.

Later that same summer I went on a sailing trip with my best friend.  We ate, drank, and snacked to our hearts content. Then the photos came.  I immediately noticed my double chin. Gross. We were both of a 'healthy' size. And by healthy I mean plump. However, it was she that first reacted and made the decision to lose weight. "Good for her" I thought.  Then she came to a family gathering of mine.  Holy crap! She was much thinner and now the same size as me!  What was she doing? Working out, eating nothing but fruits, veggies, lean meats, water, black coffee and, if I remember correctly, vodka (cuz a girl needs a cocktail, right?).  And running. Something neither of us liked, but it was visibly working.  I decided to get on board and began eating more cleanly and picked up running as well.

At this point I had just met my current boyfriend and as he put it: not doing what 'most girls do' - meaning getting comfortable in a relationship and putting on weight. Instead, I kept with my new regimen and lost weight steadily to the tune of 30 lbs.  I had topped out at 152 lbs and hit my low about a year later at 119 lbs. For the next year I maintained my weight, kept running, and started running 5k's.  But I was still having the occasional stomach episode which was fine, I could handle it.  

Then last Easter I ate a TON of chocolate and candy. Both on that day and all throughout the following week.  I'm not sure why, but there was a lot of it and as I mentioned: I have a weakness for food.  The stomach aches started as usual but, unusually, did not stop.  Days, then weeks went by.  Constant pain everyday. I had to stay home and miss out on any activity that would take me away from a restroom. With my Mom's help we called my health plan's nurse hotline (I was in no condition to leave the house for anything other than work).  The nurse suggested I eat some probiotic yogurt, take some Imodium and make an appointment at the allergy center.  I had already become good friends with her second suggestion, Imodium, and dairy yogurt was not an option so I bought probiotic capsules instead and made that appointment.

The First Appointment

The probiotcs helped get me back to normal and that appointment turned out to be fruitless as my body does not have a histamine reaction to any allergens.  I decided that since my problem is obviously related to food and diet there needed to be a change made. Now. I had narrowed down my 'triggers' to:

+ Dairy 

+ Wheat

+ MSG and 

+ Soy (primarily soy lecithin)

I did research into various diets and stumbled upon the paleo diet.  Bingo!  A popular diet with a TON of online resources that avoids all of the ingredients that hate me.

That brings us to today.  It's been almost a year since 'going paleo' as we call it and I feel really good.  I only have 'episodes' when I eat things I know I shouldn't - but at least they are predictable now.  I still run and just completed my first 15k; something unthinkable a year ago as I was too afraid to run for that amount of time for fear of needing a restroom in the middle of a race.  A terrifying thought. 

As I have told my story to my family it has come to light that there are others with similar issues and I have offered help as much and as often as I can.  That got me thinking: how many others are out there that could use my experience as a reference?  And so this blog was born.  I hope it to be a reference for anyone that may be going through the same things I did or is looking for new culinary ideas to add to their recipe repertuar. 

A few important notes about this blog: 

1. I am not a nutritionist, dietitian or health professional of any kind.  No blog or website can take the place of a doctor.

2. I am not paid to endorse or recommend any products mentioned on my blog. My opinions are my own.

3. When cooking, I rarely use measurements.  I apologize to all OCD individuals who may read my recipes, but I cook quickly and do not have time to get out, dirty, and clean measuring spoons/cups. Ain't no body got time for that!