My Story

Growing up, I heard the phrase, "You are what you eat." I never gave it much thought, though. I probably would have just avoided Dum Dums, Ding Dongs, and suckers, and stuck to Smarties and Angel Food cakes instead, all while hoping to meet a Big Hunk someday. (I did, by the way. I even married him.)

It wasn't until my health crashed in my early thirties that I realized how true the statement was. I had eaten a lot of junk, and that is exactly how I felt. I was tired and grouchy all the time, I had a lot of the symptoms of diabetes, and I had a yellow/orange hue to my skin that had me looking like a tanning lotion application gone wrong.

Eventually, I found that I had hypothyroidism, anemia, blood sugar stabilization problems, hormone imbalances, and gluten, starch, and other food intolerances. At first, I felt very sorry for myself and cried a lot. In fact, I thought I was pregnant because I cried so much, even at the end of Mulan when her dad said she had honored him by saving China. (Sorry to those of you who haven't seen the end and I just blew it.) But I wasn't pregnant, and there would be no joy of holding a new little one in my arms after months of pregnant-like symptoms.

Then I decided to take action. I was going to feel better even if it killed me, and I knew that improving my diet was the first place to start. I delved into understanding how people have eaten for generations on this planet, a time before food was refined and processed, a time where civilizations lived completely off the land, and a time before diseases like hypothyroidism, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, autoimmune disease, and obesity existed. I discovered that our ancient ancestors were remarkably healthy, living for years longer than we do now, and didn't have these diseases. What they ate and how they prepared it determined their health, and I could apply this knowledge to my own cooking.

So I started having fun making healthy, whole foods based on these principles and found that my body could easily digest and assimilate them, even gluten containing foods because I applied the lost preparation techniques. I wasn't surprised that my health improved, but I was surprised that cooking this way made the food taste so awesome.

I couldn't keep these secrets to myself, so I began sharing my creations. The next thing I knew, I was teaching classes about true nutrition, selling my desserts, making a tasty berry cream pie on live TV, catering, and writing and compiling this cookbook with the culinary talents of Michelle Stewart, whose own health story, beliefs, and cooking experiences are quite similar to mine.

The Diet Rebel's Cookbook is made of more than 300 delicious recipes based on the forgotten food preparation techniques. Not only do the recipes taste wonderful, but they are easier to digest, help stabilize blood sugars, teach how to eat wheat when gluten intolerant, and how to properly use grains, beans, and nuts so you can increase nutrients and decrease gas. But most of all, you really are what you eat, and using this cookbook can make it wonderful.

To peek inside this book, click here.