In the Pursuit of Healthiness (and happiness)

Hello there, internet world.  My name is Kristy and I am on a mission to get myself healthier, and hopefully as a result, happier.

I've always been more of the "chubby" one in groups of friends.  I never really paid much attention to what I was eating.  If I wanted potato chips, cookies, cake, whatever it was, I would eat it.  Typical family dinners always consisted of a meat and some kind of starchy side - bread, pasta, rice.  Maybe a can of corn or green beans as well.  Point is, healthy food was never a huge focus.  Well, once I got into high school, my mom and I did start exercising together and trying to plan healthier meals, but still, it just wasn't that big a priority.

About a year and a half ago, I was getting sick a lot, missing work, and spending a lot of time lying in bed.  I finally went to the doctor, because I was having some similar symptoms to what my mom experienced when she had gall stones and had to have her gall bladder removed.  However, everything came back normal.  The doctor suggested I try a gluten free diet for about a month and see if that made a difference.  The idea of a gluten free diet really kind of freaked me out.  First off, I wasn't really familiar with it or with celiac disease.  I'd heard of celebrities going on a gluten free diet, and had kind of just assumed it was another "fad" type diet.  And what would I do without pasta, mac and cheese, bread, pizza, cake...

When I decided to start my month of gluten free eating, I bought a couple cookbooks and researched online, and all the symptoms I read about matched how I'd been feeling, and I didn't feel like some crazy person that was just making up not feeling well (kind of how the doctor made me feel...).

And within just a couple weeks, I really did start to feel better.  No more stabbing pains in my side, no more feeling like I needed to stay close to the bathroom, no more being super tired and staying in bed all day.  I don't know if I have a gluten sensitivity or actually have celiac disease, but I know I certainly feel a lot better when I eat no gluten, and eating any amount of gluten can cause problems for me.  

I've always been interested in starting a blog but it just hasn't really happened before.  I figured why not try to do it now, to keep some record of my (hopefully) healthier choices in food, recipes, maybe some random stuff.  Who knows.  And maybe my journey to a healthier, happier, and gluten free lifestyle can help somebody out there, just like other blogs have helped me out.

And in case you wonder about the name of the blog "Teddy in the Kitchen," it is inspired by my little kitty buddy Teddy who loves to help me out anywhere and everywhere.  There are actually four kitties in the house...all of them terrific kitchen helpers, but especially Harbin!

Chewy the tortie girl, Oliver the orange tabby boy, Harbin the tuxedo boy, and Teddy the tabby boy

Do you have some food for me?  Harbin LOVES food...