My Thoughts Archive

One of my big projects this fall is to begin the process of getting certified to do animal-assisted therapy (AAT) with our dog Lily. This has been a goal of mine for several years now and I’m excited that it is finally becoming a reality! I took

In recent months I’ve made a major overhaul in my diet and am feeling fantastic, but the one area of good health that has remained elusive to me is quality sleep. Some nights I have trouble falling asleep, other nights I nod off right away but then

UPDATE: This post remains one of the most consistently visited on my blog, even five years after I originally wrote it. That tells me that there remains a huge need for information and recipes that help people follow the Paleo autoimmune protocol (AIP) while also managing digestive

It must be the German ancestry me in, but I adore a good sauerkraut. The fact that it is a fermented food and good for my gut health and managing Crohn’s disease is just a wonderful excuse for me to eat it regularly rather than just as

Chronic illness is a thief. It steals your identity and turns you into someone you never thought you’d be. It turns you into a liar, making you tell people you are feeling fine when you are not just so you don’t burden them with your constant problems.

In the first years after I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, no one ever mentioned vitamin D to me but recently my gastroenterologist has been paying close attention to my levels. For good reason. A simple Google search on “vitamin D and Crohn’s disease” returns thousands of

Today marks 45 straight days of eating squeaky clean paleo (with additional eliminations) and 30 days of paleo with autoimmune modifications. That means no grains, legumes, or dairy. I also eliminated nuts, seeds, coffee, chocolate and alcohol and then cut out eggs and nightshades for the past

Autoimmunity is a complex subject, even for medical people and scientists (which I am most definitely not!). It can affect pretty much any body system, is difficult to diagnose, and its causes appear to be multi-faceted. And even though various autoimmune disorders often overlap with one another,

Time is flying! I am now on day 21 of the paleo autoimmune protocol (AIP). The first two weeks (see my update #1 here and update #2 here) went by so slowly, but I have now hit my stride and the food planning, prepping, and eating is

It has now been 13 days since I started the paleo autoimmune protocol (AIP) and I am pleased with my progress so far. Week two had a few challenges and triumphs (like cleaning and cooking a whole fish!). I also had a little setback this week when