I believe one of my biggest responsibilities is to provide the best nutrition to my family and
I am dedicated to helping other parents integrate fresh live foods into their family’s daily lives.
MY STORY:
I grew up a very picky eater. I lived on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, snack foods, and lots of processed foods.
I had no idea about how eating processed and fast foods could affect the body in a negative way-when I got married my husband and I spent our first few years of marriage indulging in restaurants, fast foods, highly processed meals, and baked goods.
Five years into our marriage I became pregnant with my daughter. We were excited and proud new parents- our baby girl was beautiful. A few months later, as we started introducing solid foods it became apparent that she had food allergies. I had no experience with food allergies or with any allergies as I had never experienced an allergic reaction myself. My husband also had no known food allergies so watching my daughter’s face and eyes swell was very scary to both of us.
Within her first year of life we realized that she was allergic to dairy, eggs, and nuts.
I was at a point where I just didn’t know what to feed her, I was afraid that she wasn’t getting what she needed for a healthy development. I turned to her pediatricians and asked other moms but it seemed no one was really able to help. I decided to research on my own.
My first search led me to find out about partially hydrogenated fats, otherwise known as trans fats. I started reading about how bad these were for our bodies and when I started to check the labels on foods in our own house over 90% of it contained this terrible ingredient.
I also started to read and find out about real foods-
FRUITS and VEGETABLES!!!
Sadly, these were not something that was a part of my diet very often and therefore not a part of my daughters at the time either.
I started given her things like bananas, avocados, tomatoes, and grapes.
Little did I know that this was just the beginning of an even longer journey for myself and my family……
When my daughter was 3 I became pregnant again-this time we were having a son. Again we were excited to be welcoming another addition into our family and my daughter was so excited to have a sibling!
During my pregnancy though my husband started to become sick. He was eventually diagnosed as having Ulcerative Colitis-an autoimmune disorder that affects the intestines. The doctors placed him on a cocktail of medications and told us that we did not have to change his diet-that eating healthy or non healthy wouldn’t make any difference in his condition. I spoke with several gastroenterologists that would confirm this thinking.
During this time, I gave birth to my son and within 3 days of him being born he had his first major allergic reaction to the formula that is given to infants in the hospital. At this point, I knew that he would most likely have the same allergies as my daughter-which he did-but he was also diagnosed later with asthma and eczema.
When my son was only 10 months old my husband was hospitalized for his ulcerative colitis. He had lost 50 lbs bringing him to down to 130 lbs. His skin had a greyish tint and his eyes had sunk into his head. He could barely eat and what he did eat wasn’t being digested or used by his body. He needed blood transfusions and a week stay in the hospital being monitored and drugged.
This is the point that I made a decision.
I was going to dedicate my time and my life to help my husband and my kids live the healthiest life possible.
I began reading, researching, and studying anything I could get my hands on about nutrition and how it affects our bodies. I started to incorporate as much fresh foods into our diet as possible. It was a slow process but we started to see the benefits of living and eating this way.
My kids are now 9 and 5…my husband and I are celebrating 14 years of marriage this year….and we are living healthy, happy lives!!
I am a firm believer that the best nutrition is based on unprocessed whole foods.
I am now passionate about sharing my story and helping other families learn how to eat
The Color Wheel Way!!!
Hello Rawkinmom,
It’s always nice to meet “green rawkin mommies” ☺ I would love to be part of your project. You can send me details @ salsaviafr@yahoo.fr.
HippieMom♥
Hi Rawkinmom,
I just wanted to say thank you for asking if i’d like to be part of your e-book project. It sounds amazing! Your comment was perfect timing because I was just thinking of doing a post on children/toddler friendly raw meals, snacks, etc…I would be very interested in contributing..you can reach me at margaretdonald@yahoo.ca
~Maggie (livingfoodjunkie)
Hey, just found your blog, great stuff! I have Crohn’s disease so I can relate to your husbands battle. Anyway, glad I found you, adding you to my blogroll now:)
Hi!! thanks for stopping by!! It has been a rough road for sure but he is doing well and medicine free!! Thanks for adding me to your blogroll!! I will do the same!!
Congratulations on 13 years. That is quite a story to tell and must have caused so much stress. I love the fact that you are finding something positive to do out of the experience.
I’m not great on nutrition so be sure to nag me on it!
Thanks Marty!!! I was stressed and it was rough for a long time….thanks for visiting!!!
Awesome story! I love how you didn’t take the medical community’s word for it and set out on your own to research things. I’m a vegetarian (close to vegan) and I care about nutrition as well.
Thank you Leanne!!
This is going to be a great resource! Thanks for posting it.
I grew up the way you did…eating junk!
Little by little, I’ve started weeding it out…cutting out carbonated soda and drinking water almost exclusively. I’ve found that I don’t even want the pop any more.
I also weaned myself off of fast food…now when I have to eat it (on rare occasions), it just makes me almost nauseated thinking about it!
Strange how that works.
Congratulations on your 13 years together and making the decision to live a better life for your kids (and then sharing that with us!)
Thanks Steve!! That is the best way to go about it I think…little by little….I know what you mean about fast food…I used to drive past and smell it and my mouth would water…now it actually stinks to me!!!
Wow – What a wonderful story! And, a beautiful family to boot
It’s funny how things come to fruition!
THANKS!!!
I think we don’t realize how much junk we put into our bodies! I am learning a lot from you. Thanks for sharing your story. I enjoy reading your blog.
Thanks Alene!!! It is amazing how much we have really gotten away from whole foods!!!
Thanks for being part of the Good Fight!
We can do this together!
woohoo!!!! YES, we can!!!!
Your (families) story is amazing. It is awesome to hear successful stories like yours. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much!!
Hi Samantha! I just found your blog and it sounds like we have a lot in common (including our kids’ ages). I too believe that our diets can truly heal us in more ways than we even know. I look forward to looking around and reading more!
Hi!!! Thanks for introducing yourself!!! I am heading over to check out your blog now!!
I love your blog! There so many wonderfully healthy raw ideas in your posts!
awwwww…thank you so much!!!!
So awesome that you took charge of your families health! You have a beautiful family!
Thank you so much!!! Very nice words to wake up to!!!
Just discovered your blog! My eldest son has food allergies to dairy,egg,beef,sesame,fish, shellfish,peanut/tree nuts, raspberries and mustard. He also suffers with eczema (more under control now) and asthma. My second son is allergic to peanut/tree nuts and has asthma. My boys are 15 and 13 now. It has been quite a journey…I just started a blog chronicling our life’s journey called The Food Allergy Chronicles. Susan H.
UGH!! I know about all of that all to well!! We have my sons under control for the most part now, but it was a long road!!!
We certainly applaud you for taking the initiative to provide healthy meals for your family and for all other readers! Poking around a bit, the meals look delicious and look like a lot of fun, too! We are of course, lovers of the theory of color, especially the color wheel so we love any way of incorporating color into your day to day life!
Thank you!! I am happy that you stopped by!!!
so happy to have found your blog! my daughter has a peanut allergy and my fella has ulcertive colitis too. i’ve seen the ups and downs of it first hand too
we’re also starting my daughter on a gluten free diet to hopefully relieve some tummy issues she’s been having.
i have a little blog, mainly focusing on healthy lunch packing for my daughter.
looking so forward to checking out more of your posts!
awesome!! How did you find me??
Can’t wait to check out your blog!!!
Hi Samantha! I just found your site, and I want to say thanks so much for sharing your family’s story. I can’t help but smile whenever I see other moms spreading the message of good health. Keep up the great work!
HI!! Awesome-thanks!!! Can’t wait to check out your site!!
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