About

ME

I grew up on a small farm just outside of Austin, Texas, with my parents, sister, brother, and a horde of animals (pigs, horses, cows, chickens, dogs, cats, guinea pigs, tarantulas, you name it). Because we lived 30+ minutes from the nearest grocery store, I learned how to cook from the best freezer-stocker, non-recipe-following lady around. Although I'm now spoiled enough to live within walking distance of both an HEB and Trader Joe's, I still like to have some dinner options tucked in the freezer just in case I'm "feeling (chili, hamburgers, steak, chicken...) tonight." 

I currently live in Houston with my husband Travis and cat Cash.  

            MY MAN          CHIEF MISCREANT

           "Just along for the ride."            "Willing to accept raw bacon and canned 
                                                                tuna if you want to rub my belly."

My Food Journey

Lactose

When I was a baby, doctors diagnosed me as having "colic." Mom says back then they didn't think that kids could be allergic to breastmilk, so she just kept doing her thing while I projectile vomited everywhere. Seriously, my grandparents refused to hold me. I cried from 5pm to 10pm every night, and it was only when I started eating regular foods that my stomach issues calmed down. In 8th grade, I started having these weird stomach issues that would culminate in severe vomiting every few months. It wasn't until my freshman year in college that these episodes occurred each time I ate dairy, and after a particularly unpleasant night on the dorm's bathroom floor, I decided to cut out lactose. Lactose pills have never really helped, but every now and then I'll "save up" and eat some cheese. Worth it. Oh, and I also cook with regular butter because all those chemicals in butter substitutes scare me.

Gluten

My mama has always been kind of a hippie, so when she started having crazy stomach issues with no definite answers from the doctor, she decided to cut out gluten.That was six-ish years ago, and she's been great ever since. After I went lactose-free, I noticed that I was still having issues, so I talked to her about going gluten-free as well. She recommended I try it for two weeks just to see. All of a sudden, I had noticeably more energy, so much that my husband joked about making me eat gluten again. It's been over a year now, and besides a random temptation now and then to lick a good crusty loaf of sourdough, I have not (willingly) relapsed.

FODMAPs

"FODMAP" stands for a group of sugars that some people find difficult to digest. It's been way more researched in Australia than the U.S., but I think it's finally catching on here, especially among those with IBS. Well, in addition to my GI issues, Travis has Crohn's disease. Lately, he's been having some flare-ups, and I've noticed some inexplicable stomach issues despite no gluten and lactose. I've had the doctor rule out gallstones, stomach ulcers, and IBD, so I'm following in the footsteps of my hippie mama and trying to fix the issues via food restrictions before I do anything more drastic. Interestingly, lactose and dairy are both excluded in the low FODMAP regimen, and Travis has noticed that a lot of the things that bother him are also on that list (onions, garlic, rum, honey, etc.). We've decided to at least reduce the amount of FODMAP foods we eat in hopes of feeling a bit better.

It is sometimes a struggle to reconcile my love of food with my/our GI issues, so Travis encouraged me to start a blog to keep track of things we like. Here goes nothing.