I live in Houston with a wonderful husband and two fluffy Golden Retrievers, Leopold and Charlie. Currently, I’m striving to wrap up my rather protracted undergraduate career. I should graduate in December with a B.A. in English and Psychology. I would like to pursue nutrition, homeopathy, and naturopathy in the future, but formal study will probably need to wait for a while. I need a break from school, and we hope to start a family next year.
Although I’ve always been interested in nutrition and health, holistic wellness became a true passion for me after my health broke down in 2004 and again in 2006. My problems are not life-threatening, but they drastically impair my quality of life. The issues I have dealt with include hypothyroidism, hypoglycemia, hormone imbalance, food allergies (including a gluten allergy), food sensitivities, environmental and chemical allergies, gastrointestinal difficulties, chronic nausea and headaches, candidiasis, UTIs, BV, frequent illness, and other related conditions. By God’s grace, many of those are now only memories. I’m still wrestling with a few, but even those are getting better all the time!
In writing this blog, I simply aim to share what I’m learning about holistic health with others. I’m not an expert–just a curious person. I love to research and to ask questions; inquiry is a way of life for me. Perhaps something that’s helped me can help you too.
This blog also reflects my love of cooking. I launched my kitchen career at six years old, and I’m still going strong. As my nutritional needs have become a priority, I’ve had to overhaul my recipe collection. I think that most of us struggle to build a repertoire of dishes that serve our bodies and our senses well. ”What’s for dinner?” seems to be one of the biggest obstacles to healthier living. Maybe the recipes I share here can help you answer that question with a smile on your face, rather than dread in your heart. Eating healthfully doesn’t have to be tasteless and repetitive!
I pray that the information you find here will serve you in your pursuit of a truly health life.
Sincerely,
Alison
P.S. If you’re feeling really curious, you can check out some pictures of us in our wedding slideshow, found here. [Edited 8/20/08: The link is not working right now. I'm not sure why. Sorry! I'll put some wedding photos in a post on my anniversary, which is coming up next month.]
I applaud you for compiling this info. I moved to a micro-biotic/semi-vegetarian diet a few weeks ago. We are kept so much in the dark about the pollutants (and now nano-techs) in our food.
What did it for me was reading a letter from a professor who went to Wellesly with Hillary. She basically broke down what went wrong with Monsanto, Tyson, and the Clinton’s involvement with GMA and big AG taking over the FDA, USDA, and the legislative process. The fact that Bill Clinton threatened to take milk off the shelves if the dairies put hormone-free labels on the cartons was unbelievable.
Anyways, I am just getting into new recipes and ways to make the vittles tasty, so I will check out your offerings.
Hey there, cutie!
I bookmarked your page so I can keep up with you more now. I’m working on getting my new blog up and running and I’ll let you know when I do. I haven’t talked to you in forever!! I am so sad that we are so far apart, Tim and I would’ve loved keeping up with y’all. Well, hopefully we can thanks to the i-net.
Keep up the yummy recipes! I’m going to try your quick Mexican chicken soup one.
~Stacy
Thanks for the recipes- I can’t wait to try them. I just completed my first batch of cultured vegetables today. Wish me luck! Oh yeah, your wedding dress is beautiful!
Christa,
Congratulations on your first batch! I hope you like them. I enjoy them more and more each time I make them. Let me know how it goes.
Thank you for the compliment. I absolutely loved my wedding gown. I felt like a princess!
Allison,
Your wedding slideshow was just beautiful. I’m glad you included that for those of us who were “really curious.”
I found your blog searching for a great hummus recipe. My wife is stopping by the store on her way home tonight so I can try out your recipe.
Thanks for posting it!
Joshua Zader
Mudita Journal
My hat is off to you on a charming and exciting blog - just the kind of ’stuff’ thats right down my alley. My preference too, is of the green leafy ilk rather than the crawling, swimming or running kind that I grew up with. I am falling in love with your blog already and I haven’t even read the recipes yet, so you can count on me being back.
I too, loved your wedding photos, tho I had a little trouble seeing all, kept stopping on me - did what I could and enjoyed your wedding - what a hunk your hubby is! You little lady have impressed me deeply with your smarts and obvious ability - I see a future of your choosing around the corner for you. Keep dreaming and hold the faith.
I am new to blogging, only the second time I have commented as I have hands full trying to learn how to blog just to get my own up and running. I quit smoking 14 years ago and that is what my blog is about. Had tried everything and still I would go back to the habit - but that is another subject, suffice it to say, I finally had success and now want to give it to others. Come see me some time precious lady. Whether you do or don’t, I shall be back. Many thanks, you are making my day. Jan T.
Jan,
Thank you for your kind words! I must agree that my husband is quite a good looking fellow.
And he’s a wonderful man on the inside too. I think I got quite a catch!
I would love to visit your blog sometime, though I don’t see your URL anywhere. If you let me know how to find you, I’ll drop in. Isn’t blogging overwhelming? I knew absolutely *nothing* when I started, and I’m still learning so, so much. It’s a very steep learning curve.
Sorry Alison, I had no idea that my identity was hidden from you. Usually when I pass the cursor over an avatar, the info come up to see who is there. Maybe I have disabled something which was enabled before. (I’m still learning too)
My blog is http://smokinchoices.wordpress.com, and of course, I would be happy to welcome you there. As the name implies, it is geared to the smoker who is helplessly engulfed with the habit and since I was once there and learned how to extract from it - I wanted to share with anyone who is willing to listen. So you see, my audience is by and large more limited, but the pain is everywhere. So if I can help/reach just one who needs it, it is worth it. Thanks for listening, didn’t mean to run on as I have read that that is a tacky thing to do on someone else’s blog. Now, on to recipes. Jan
Good Morning
I am in downtown Perth, Western Australia.
We are having the coldest weather - 1.7 this morning. And it’s now nearly 11am and it is still cold!
I googled for a recipe of green vegetable soup - and came up with your recipe + the other ‘bits’ - how interesting.
Most impressed by the wedding photos.
Cheers
g
Allison,
I am curious, I wanted to view your wedding pictures, they don’t seem to be available. I am enjoying your blogs. I am looking forward to trying some of your recipes.
Lisa
Lisa,
You know, I don’t understand exactly what is going on with the slideshow. It was there just a few days ago, and now it’s not. Hmmm… I’ll talk to the photographer. Sorry about that. If all else fails, I promise to post a few on the blog for my second anniversary. It’s coming up next month, so you won’t have to wait *too* long.
Thanks so much for visiting! It’s always encouraging to get feedback.
Alison
Alison,
I was sent a link to your blog and really enjoyed what I read. After reading your “about me” I felt compelled to write and tell you about some of the truths I have been learning as I, like you, love to research. My health quest started after I had a serious adverse reaction to the Hep B vaccine over 10 years ago. My family has struggled with many of the health issues that you yourself are I wanted to offer a book suggestion. “What the Bible Says about Healthy Living” by Dr. Rex Russell (a type 1 diabetic) was what got me started. I’d love to talk more to you about it if you are interested, feel free to e-mail me back! God bless you in your search for truth!
Sarah
Wow, I think you described me in that list of all of your ailments!! I am definitely going to become a regular reader of your blog.
I live a fairly normal life, but don’t claim to hardly ever feel like a normal person!
Rebekah,
It’s rough, isn’t it? I think it’s hard sometimes when we look normal to others because our problems aren’t life-threatening, but we are truly suffering. The good news is, there really is hope! I don’t pretend to have it all figured out, and I’m still dealing with some of these issues (the hypoglycemica, for example, has me especially frustrated at the moment), but it’s amazing how far I’ve come. I hope you will find the same gradual, steady improvement. Don’t give up. I look forward to seeing you around.
alison,
your web site is great and I would love to know what exatly your low glycemic breakfast shake recipe is.
I also suffer from hypoglycemia and hearing what other women are doing and what things they recommend to keep their sugar levels even is always helpful. I noticed your daily food menus only list 3 meals a day…Do you only eat 3x a day with nothing in between?
I also noted you use a lot of stevia. Stevia unfortunately lowers my blood sugar so I can’t use it often. It supposedly doesn’t alter sugar levels according to most manufacturers, but botanically stevia is known to lower blood sugar which is why its often recommended for diabetics. Many of my sugar sensitive friends can use stevia safely, but in the past when I’ve used a few packets a day in tea, and/or stirred some into my yogurt and smoothies, I would be ravenous all day long.
If you have any sugar craving busting tips you’d like to share, I’d would love to hear about them. I’m always dying for some sweet stuff and am an ice-cream junkie, (well more like soy ice cream and organic fat free fro-yo junkie… ) too.
peace…alii
alii,
Thanks! Actually, I will be posting this week on my latest dietary experiments, which will include the breakfast shake. So you’ve stopped by at an opportune time. Just check back over the next couple of days.
No, I don’t eat only 3 times a day. I eat all day long, every 2 to 3 hours. If I go more than 3 hours without eating, I have major problems. I only list 3 meals on the menu plan because, well, it’s a pain to list every single snack I eat. In fact, what I’ve listed for lunch…I’ll probably divide that in two and eat half of it around 11 and half around 1:30. I’ve learned to stretch out my food intake across the entire day.
About sugar cravings…yes, I know what you mean. To be honest, getting rid of my candida problem helped SO much. If you’ve never looked into the issue, I highly recommend it, especially since you’re hypoglycemic. A candida infection will give you major, major sugar cravings AND suck all the sugar out of your blood–thus exacerbating hypoglycemia. Killing off my candida infection improved my low blood sugar problems, sugar cravings, seasonal allergies, and a whole host of other issues. Email me if you want more info: alison (at) wholesomegoodness (dot) net. I’d be happy to share what I know.