Before I started this blog, I was in a dark place in my life. (Quite literally at one point. Closed up in a dark house with nothing but black clothes.) Though I hoped the removal of my gallbladder was going to suddenly solve my health issues, it didn't. I was desperate, tired, and depressed. Part of the reason was due to life events, but later I realized how gluten was not only affecting my physical health, but my mental health, and had been for most of my life. Despite dealing with feelings of complete hopelessness, depression, anxiety, and struggling with my self-worth, I wanted to write. I wanted to share. I wanted to help others, even when I barely knew how to help myself...
(Side note: For me, going gluten-free has positively affected my mental health immensely. One day I might be brave enough to tell the whole story and how I began to finally crawl out of the dark hole.)
Don't want to read but want to get the Chowstalker Community eCookbook? Find it as part of the limited time Primal Life Kit here.
So...I wrote about my Whole30 experience. Though I don't think I'm great or anything, writing has always been my creative outlet. Whether a poem about love, treasure hunt clues for the kids, rants about my beliefs, or my-type-of-humor explanation about food, writing is how I express my creativity or make it through a difficult time. When time and energy allowed, I continued writing, despite the anxiety I experienced when I published a post. I'm not an expert at any of this and I'm just learning as I go, with limited resources. I'm writing about my journey, my struggles, my experiences and experiments, and the foods that I enjoy and eat (though I've tweaked some older recipes I posted too soon). And I hope someone out there is listening, learning, and maybe even enjoying something I create. Because it's not about me. It's about you. Whoever is reading this.
So, where am I going with this? When I was invited to contribute to The Chowstalker Community Cookbook, I almost said no because of the anxiety and self-doubt it would cause. I've done many things in my life that take strength (joining the military) and guts (skydiving, anyone? :)), yet this was different. I still have a lot of anxiety about putting myself out there "in public." But I went for it. This journey is all about progress. Not just your health, but in anything else in your life you want to improve upon. Maybe you are having a difficult time with paleo, or maybe you struggle with loving yourself, or with some other aspect of yourself or life. The journey and the progress are more important than the destination. Although lately I haven't written more about the struggles I've had, I want to get back to doing more of that (with the other things). To share my journey, with food and healing, so you know you are not alone or to help you see the (sometimes slow) progress. It can take time, but real food and natural living can heal!
| Lots of tips! |
So today, I'm sharing this new ebook with you, one that I am
I'm late posting this, but you still have until Monday, April 28th to grab the book as part of the Primal Life Kit here.
About the book:
The lovely Patty and Ron Strilaeff of Chowstalker.com really put together a great resource, full of beautiful recipes and extra tips and information. Right now, you can get the Chowstalker Community Cookbook as part of a limited time bundle. It will be available later on its own, but with so many other valuable resources, it's a really great time to grab your copy. It's beautiful and informative and I even helped edit all 200-something pages of it! It's so informative that while editing, I took some of the advice in the book and reached out to a farmer to see if I could get some offal (more on that later). But it's so much more.
It's full of recipes from a large range of bloggers. Some you definitely have heard of (Domestic Man, The Clothes Make the Girl) and some you may be discovering for the first time. But I can tell you from seeing the book that it is filled with lots of delicious looking recipes (many are exclusive to this book). It's strictly main and side dishes, all paleo, and all inexpensive. There are no desserts. This is a paleo-based book, and there are a lot of meats, seafood, and egg recipes included. And of course, there are veggies. You will find two of my favorites I've posted: Cauliflower Steaks with Chimichurri and Roasted Carrots with Carrot Top Pesto. I wanted to include a new recipe (one that I've been dying to share with you guys), but I didn't have time to do so.
See the full list of resources and products HERE.
If you choose to purchase through my link, I will receive a commission. This is just a way to support my site and my part in the book. I truly appreciate any of you that choose to purchase through my links.
Important: When you purchase the $39 Primal Life Kit you will get over $1500 worth of some very popular and life-changing Paleo and Primal resources and products. It might seem like an overwhelming amount of information, but if you find two or three resources that you really want, it makes the whole deal worth it. So take a look at the full list and see if it's something you will actually use. All of these are available for just $39 for this week only (April 21st through April 28th). You will not be shipped any physical goods. All items are web-based. They are in PDF format, so you can read them on any device (computer, phone, Kindle, etc.).
Please contact neely@paleoplan.com with any questions about the Primal Life Kit.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through an affiliate link, while your costs remain the same, Livin' the Crunchy Life will receive a small commission. Affiliate links are used to pay for any blog costs, including ingredients for recipe development. I appreciate your support!
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