Living Well with PI-IBS/IBS
Dreams are really interesting to me. Until last year, I rarely remembered my dreams the next morning. But then life happened. And then the nightmares happened. And then, with a lot of work and effort, growth happened. Whether you believe in "meaning" behind dreams or not is fine with me either way, but I tend …
Now that we're back from our blissful ten-day trip to Seattle/cruise to Alaska, I've received a load of questions about how my medical dietary needs were met during the trip. As many of you already know, living low-FODMAP can be hard, even when you are able to control your own kitchen, so going on this …
Continue reading "Vacation Time: Living Low-FODMAP on an Alaskan Cruise"
One of the final, major steps in some forms of PTSD recovery is In Vivo Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PET). In this form of treatment, the PTSD survivor returns to the original (or a very similar) trauma site to face his or her fears associated with the trauma location. To give you a little background in …
Continue reading "So Lucky For It: My Prolonged Exposure Therapy Experience in Alaska"
The journal I used throughout my PTSD treatment has a quote by Henri Matisse on the cover: "There are always flowers for those who want to see them." I chose this notebook because, during that time of my life, I was bombarded by fear, anxiety, panic attacks, flashbacks, and nightmares - not to mention the …
Continue reading "Finding the Flowers: When You Don’t Get What You Want"
I know I normally share an entire meal's worth of recipe with you, but today's recipe can pair with so many different low-FODMAP options, I decided to give it to you as a stand-alone. If you're looking for a full meal, bake some ham (this is our favorite brand; we get the EZ Cut Boneless …
On a sunny afternoon in August 2008, I walked into Dean Hall at approximately 2:54 p.m. and experienced one of the most significant moments of my life. Did I know it at the time, you ask? Nope. Not a clue. During that moment, I laid eyes on Erin Brown for the first time. Almost eleven …
I've never been what you would call a "still" person. A go-getter, absolutely. Intense at times, yes. But "still"...if you've known me longer than a year or two, probably not so much. I finished my four-year bachelor's degree a semester early, Magna Cum Laude, while working 30-hours per week and planning/executing a wedding and starting …
It occurred to me a few days ago that I haven't written one of my easiest and most-used recipes: the simplest low-FODMAP chicken noodle soup you'll ever make, or "Feel Better Soup" as I like to call it. To give you a little background, I was in a near-constant state of flare with my PI-IBS …
Continue reading "“Feel Better Soup”…and Other Ways to Get Through a Flare Successfully"
If you're anything like us, you love hearty breakfast food any time of day. Last weekend, we decided to branch out and try our hand at making quiche...and I'm so glad we did! The delish results wound up looking like this: After seeing that picture, I know you want to give these little guys a …
A few days ago, I saw a beautiful sculpture on social media. It was a huge tree trunk, carved in the middle to reveal the tree's "younger self" inside. It was a striking representation of growth. Just like all great art is supposed to do, this piece got me thinking: What did that tree go …
IBS Takes Guts 