Hi! Let's start with a little background check. We are the Rays. We've been married for almost 5 years!
My name is Lauren, and I'm 25 (about to be 26 ugh) I love to cook. I think it's one of the best feelings to know that you created something that others love! My other obsession is with crafts! I love to make things! Wreaths, hairbows, vinyls etc. You name it and I've probably attempted to make it at one point in my life. Photography is my main hobby. I take senior pictures on occasion to make a little fun money! My number one job, though, is I am a stay at home mom to this little guy:
His name is Porter and he's almost 6 months old! (FYI I will post some of my baby food recipes on here too!) He was born in April and is the absolute light of our lives! He's got his own little personality and we love to see him grow!
My husband is Chris. He's 24 (yeah I'm a cougar, rawr) and he works at a chemical plant in town. He is a sports fanatic. He absolutely LOVES football. We are huge Auburn Tigers fans and the two of us are involved with fantasy football. Chris is also the main reason we eat the way we do.
When I was about 5 weeks pregnant, Chris and I were at home and he started having some weird stomach aches and pains. After about an hour or two of pains he reluctantly went to a local walk in clinic. The nurse said he might have appendicitis and we should get to an ER immediately. Five long hours and one MRI later, Chris was admitted to the hospital.
He was stuck in the hospital for almost a week and was never really given any answers. The main diagnosis was pancreatitis, an inflammation of the pancreas. Chris went from specialist to specialist to find out why he was having pancreas problems. The only answer he would get was, "well most of the time this is caused by excessive alcohol use". My husband was the furthest thing from an alcoholic so we pressed on in finding someone who would listen to us.
Chris had his gallbladder removed a few months after this all began, thinking that it might have been the problem. He was better for a few days. There was a strict diet he had to follow and it was mostly chicken and rice. I, being very pregnant at this point, hated the smell of boiled chicken and reluctantly prepared it night after night. Finally the recovery period was over and the diet could stop. We went back to eating out and eating junk. Bad idea. He kept having serious issues with food. Bloating, constipation, stomach pain were just a few of the recurring problems.
Chris was still seeking answers and tried a new doctor. We began to think it could be diverticulitis or irritable bowel, or possibly GERD. No one could tell us for sure. There were some medications that would seem to help, but they had strict stipulations and restrictions to adhere to. This was not going to fly with us. At this point we just wanted answers and a solution.
Our son came along and we put his problems on the backburner for a bit. I had an easy pregnancy and a fairly easy delivery, so it wasn't hard for me to deal with all of Chris's problems but it was nice to not think about them for a few months. Through ups and downs we made it through our first months of parenthood and adjusting.
Chris had been researching what is in foods to try and find what it is that was causing his problems. The number one thing that kept coming up was gluten. He asked me about gluten-free things because I had worked with a girl who was gluten and dairy free due to an intolerance.
We decided to give it a try. The things we began to buy had to be checked for gluten in the ingredients. This led to looking at alot of ingredients. There are so many chemicals in our food and big words that are totally unpronounceable (is that a word?). MY hubby, being around chemicals at work began researching what some of these things are. The things we had been eating and putting into our bodies are so so so horrible for us. Most of the food we were eating wasn't food. It was chemically modified things. That is what finally got me. The chemicals. Gross.
We looked at the hormones and modified ingredients in dairy and became concerned that this too, was hurting Chris. We made the decision to go dairy free and soy free. There are a mountain of alternatives to dairy and you wont miss it if you cut it out. I promise!
Our dietary change completely turned Chris's gastro problems around. No more pain, no more bloating, no more meds. We both lost a tremendous amount of weight. I am finally happy with my body (with a little bit of help, ok ALOT of help from Crossfit)! We feel so much more energized without the chemicals holding down our bodies! Every once in a while Chris will have a flair up but it's usually from eating a cheat meal (which for us is something like putting butter in gluten free brownies).
My challenge then became cooking. Before we ate this way we were eating really really bad. My specialty was chicken fried steak and gravy. We would pick up McDonald's on the way home and don't get me started on pizza. How was I going to go from all this junk food to grilled chicken and vegetables? Well, I improvised. I scoured the internet for recipes and substitutions for ingredients that we could no longer have. It was definitely a challenge.
I have found so many delicious treats and recipes that are GF (gluten free) and DF (dairy free) and this blog is how I'm going to prove to everyone that it's not hard to do, nor does the food taste gross. So I hope you enjoy my recipes and other junk I may post!!
