This is me!

Let me introduce you to an easy way of eating healthy, nutritious, far from boring meals every day. I'll start by telling you my story...

I am Hannah, hi! I am a musician and songwriter. I like cats and shoes. I am also a gluten-free and dairy-free vegetarian. I've been vegetarian from birth, a second generation veggie, but It wasn't until 5 years ago I cut out gluten and 4 since I cut out dairy from my diet.
There were always a few lucky teens who never saw a spot, that was me, but when I went to university everything changed. Living on a student diet consisting heavily of pizza and toast probably caused an overload in my system leading my body to react heavily. I put on a lot of weight and my skin was covered in acne, junk food probably a cause I know, but I was also experiencing terrible acid reflux and irregular cycles. By the time I came out of university I knew something dramatic had to be done to make myself better.

My younger brother had been diagnosed with Crohn's disease and I saw how the SCD diet had helped heal him and allow him to flourish (http://glutenfreescdandveggie.blogspot.co.uk/p/about.html) and we discovered after a bit of research that maybe it was gluten that was effecting me so heavily.
I'd been checked for polycystic ovaries with no clear gone conclusion after 2 scans (one positive, one unclear) but doctors believed that there was a strong chance that I was positive. I'd had a strong reaction to dairy as a baby but id been weaned onto it. I couldn't bear to lose the dairy straight away as I love cheese and I miss it every day but gluten definitely had to go.

I was skeptical, I'll be honest, but after a few months I'd lost weight and kept it off (without really trying), I didn't feel as bloated and puffy, I didn't have that over-full feeling after every meal, the reflux started to subside and my body started to "calm down". The real test would be to have something containing gluten and see what happened to my body now. I didn't make the best choice in my life here. After about six months of going cold turkey, I had pizza...I felt miserable: extremely bloated and nauseous and I spent the rest of the night at home in the bathroom. I couldn't have eaten anything worse. Something was clearly not right. Dairy had to go too.

I'd never liked milk. Being forced into drinking milk cartons at school as a small child was a cruel daily punishment for me. I clearly knew something even then! After a few months I noticed my sinuses started to clear, my voice and importantly my singing voice became less nasal. I wasn't phlegmy every morning any longer which was amazing.

Every day I thank the universe that I changed my diet as a few accidental attacks have taught me that my body is a temple. Wellness is a blessing and we don't appreciate it until we get sick. It isn't easy to have a balanced diet with so many restrictions imposed on me but that is why it's so important to know the benefits of the food we eat and what our body needs. Everyone deserves a treat now and again but let's start to nourish ourselves and stop feeling like we're missing out if we don't have white carbs, slabs of meat and sugar and butter hidden in every component of the meal. THIS WAY OF EATING IS FOR EVERYONE because, as a wise man once told me, food is food and as long as it's delicious (and nutritious) we will enjoy it. And I want to show you how I enjoy eating :)