About Jess

I’m Jess, a full time working mom (of 1 girl) and wife, finding balance with work, family and a healthy lifestyle.

Weekdays are spent working out and blogging first thing in the morning, drive to work, sit at a desk for 8-9 hours,  more sitting in LA traffic, finally get home to the family for some quality time, sleep…repeat. Sound familiar?

One of the things that helps me get through my day without snapping is FOOD! I LOVE FOOD! Like many Americans, family functions were based around food.  When driving somewhere we used restaurants as landmarks rather than street signs.  I’m an unapologetic FOODIE!

In 2003 I weighed in at 278 lbs, probably not my highest weight, but the last high number I care to remember. Tired of being obese, scared at what my life might become, I made some huge changes and began my weight loss struggle.  Now, I say struggle, because it is, if it was fun and full of adventure I might say journey, but I’m not going to lie, there was not site seeing or souvenirs, just work.  Over the years I tried many methods, pills, starvation, fad diets as well as conventional clean eating which included lots and lots of whole grains.  Though I lost over 100 lbs, I was not feeling healthy.  My hair and nails were brittle, skin was patchy and my iron was at an all time low.

Finally, I sought medical advice and in 2010 my love for all things food altered a bit when I was mis-diagnosed with a rare cancer that left me months to live, this then was re-diagnosed as a wheat-sensitivity.  Finally, after going to multiple doctors I was properly tested and diagnosed with Celiac, an autoimmune disease.  I’ve had to completely change what foods are allowed in the house, where we can go out to eat as well as finding time to nurture my body. The simple modification of removing wheat from my diet has changed my health exponentially.

The household has 3 levels of eating

CELIAC DISEASE (Me) – Completely wheat & gluten-free.  I’ve adopted a Paleo way of eating, which in my opinion is just the best way to eat when you have an autoimmune condition. You can read here about my Paleo lifestyle.

WHEAT SENSITIVITY (Zoe my daughter) – For the most part, it’s the same meal plan as mine, just a little less extreme. I make tiny allowances for her  so she doesn’t feel she’s missing out on things her friends are eating.  Her only request is that I do not feed her pork…simple enough.

CONVENTIONAL (Darren my husband) Then there’s my husband who can eat gluten, but gladly eats whatever I give him.  If he wants something other than what I’m willing to provide him (e.g. bread, sugar and processed foods) he buys and prepares it himself…fair enough.

Unfortunately, eating healthy takes a bit more time (at first) and money (at first), but I’ve found ways to keep things within our (very tight) budget as well as quick & simple so we all have time to live an active and (mostly) stress-free life.

Nummy For My Tummy is a collection of quick, easy and inexpensive recipes that I’ve created for my family.  In addition you will find random musings and reviews on products I run across when out and about.

Finding balance in this “Get there fast” and “I want it now” world takes some time, but is possible.  Patience and planning are key.  Do the best you can with the tools you have available.

Disclaimer: This website contains general information about medical conditions and treatments. The information is not advice, and should not be treated as such. I do not have any  type of medical training. Anything found on this blog is documentation of my journey and experiences only.