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Best Gift Idea for Foodies and Cooks

Looking for the best gift ideas for the foodies and cooks in your life?! On the following pages, you'll find the best kitchen gadgets, gift baskets, food gifts, small appliances, dishes, and more. We're always on the lookout for gift ideas that'll blow your foodies and cooks away!

Adorable Kitchen Gadgets for Kids who LOVE Dinosaurs!

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I was on Amazon earlier (full disclosure, I’m never really officially off Amazon), looking for dinosaur-related plates for my grand-babies. I have three grand babies and they’re all little boys – one is 2 years old, one is almost 6 months old, and the youngest? Well, he isn’t officially here yet, but he IS officially loved!

I found three WONDERFUL Dinosaur Food Holders from Funwares:

The TriceraTaco (the triceratops is one of kids favorite dinosaurs) is pictured on the left. It can hold tacos – or sandwiches, waffles, toast, English muffins, fish sticks, chicken nuggets, etc.

On the right is another one I’m kind of freaking out over, the NachoSaurus. I love that he comes with his little food dish for dunking and dipping. He could be used for fries with ketchup just as easily as chips with salsa or cheese. He could also hold candy, carrot sticks, or other snacks.

Last, but in no way least, is TacoSaurus Rex (pictured below). This guy can hold tacos, sandwiches, bagels… whatever the little “boss” has consented to eat that day!

I can’t wait to whip these out on my 2 year old grandson – he is WILD WILD WILD about dinosaurs and will love these.


How a Captain Named Rodney Can Make Your Chicken Extraordinary….

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One of the things I often preach on the food blog (as well as in person, of course, but most of you will miss that rousing “in person” performance) is this:

If you want to be an extra special cook (and who would want to settle for okay when they can be extra special??), you need to get creative and step out of the ordinary. This means trying new kitchen tools and gadgets, cooking your favorite foods in new, exciting ways, and trying new sauces, seasonings, and ingredients. Not only is it a creative way to approach cooking… it’s a delicious way to approach life.

While there’ll be times you try something that makes you whisper to your cat, “That never happened,” other times you find something that’ll become a kitchen staple – something you’d no sooner allow yourself to run out of than you would salt and pepper. Captain Rodney’s Original Boucan Glaze (Amazon link) has been such a staple in our kitchen for many years.

It is OUTSTANDING. Sorry for yelling, but it is that extraordinary. Captain Rodney’s makes several seasonings, sauces, and glazes (click here to see their entire collection on Amazon).

The “set” pictured on the left is one I have my eye on – you get two bottles (which last quite a while, as only a little bit is necessary for the “rock your world” flavor) and a silicone basting brush. I’m a sucker for a basting brush.

How I Use Captain Rodney’s Original Boucan Glaze (sorry to keep using the full name, but I want to differentiate because there are several):

  1. This glaze is delicious when you add a little to cooked, hot rice. It takes it to the next level.
  2. I love to pour a little on top of a block of cream cheese and serve with crackers. Buttery Ritz or Ritz-type crackers are the best for this.
  3. Hamburgers – A little Captain Rodney’s on a burger with sauteed onions is out of this world good.
  4. It’s wonderful on pork chops. It just takes a little to get that wonderful, “I’ll never let myself run out of this stuff” flavor.
  5. Chicken. Chicken. Chicken. Chicken. Chicken.
  6. Chicken.

Continued Below…

Captain Rodney's Original Boucan Pepper Glaze

Captain Rodney’s Original Boucan Pepper Glaze

My favorite way to cook chicken is as follows:

I take chicken tenders, salt and pepper them, then marinate them in Italian Dressing (bottled or the kind you make with a mix) and a little honey. I try to let them marinate in the fridge in this mixture for at least 3 hours.

I heat my iron skillet on medium-high and add a mixture of butter and olive oil (the olive oil keeps the butter from getting too brown). Don’t use too much butter/olive oil – you want enough for the tenders to sizzle but you don’t want to drown them. When the skillet is hot, I cook each side for about 4 minutes (always use a meat thermometer when cooking chicken – you want 165 F).

When I put them on the serving platter, I go ahead and add a little Captain Rodney’s Original Boucan Glaze (Amazon link). Makes them feel good about themselves and makes the tenders disappear off of said platter likety split.

Skillet Chicken Tenders with Captain Rodney's Glaze

Chaffles 101: A New Obsession for MANY Reasons

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Chaffle Waffles

Chaffles with Blueberries… Delicious!

Have you ever heard of Chaffles? Whether you eat Keto, gluten-free, or simply love trying out fun, delicious new food trends, you’re going to love these!

First of all, what is a chaffle? The basic chaffle is simply 1 egg (beaten) with 1/2 cup of shredded cheese (usually mozzarella, because it’s neutral in flavor, for a basic chaffle)… combined and cooked for 3-4 minutes in a waffle iron or chaffle maker.

Why I, Personally, am OBSESSED with Chaffles:

  1. I have to eat gluten-free (health reasons) and chaffles (even when you add extra ingredients) are gluten-free. However, unlike most gluten-free waffles, breads, etc.. they don’t cost an arm and a leg. Heck they don’t even cost one limb. Shredded cheese and an egg. That’s it.
  2. I have been experimenting with “Keto” recipes because I’m cutting into the number of carbs I eat. I’m not cutting them out, mind you, but I figure I can at least cut back on the number of carbs I consume. The best way I’ve found to do so is to experiment with Keto recipes. Chaffles are Keto-Friendly.
  3. They are crazy fun to make and to experiment with. The options are endless. If you’re making chaffles as “waffles,” you can try a lot of different fruits and/or nuts. My favorite is blueberries but other berries are delicious as well. If you want your chaffle to serve as bread, add a little garlic powder. When I make them for pasta, I use a little extra mozzarella (makes them crispier) and add some garlic powder before cooking. I also make a melted garlic butter for dunking them in. I promise… the flavor is exactly like garlic cheese bread. Before I had to give up gluten/wheat, one of my favorite things to make was garlic cheese bread – French bread with butter, garlic, and melted mozzarella cheese. When I first took a bite of chaffles made with garlic, dipped in melted garlic butter, the flavor took me right back to the French bread. Without the large carb count OR gluten.
  4. I happen to have a hiatal hernia which doesn’t normally cause problems. However, because of this guy, I need to eat frequent, smaller meals and dense food can be a problem. Gluten-free bread and certain other gluten-free food is about as dense as dense gets. Chaffles provide a softer, far less dense way to enjoy waffles, sandwiches, ‘toast,” etc.

The Original Chaffle Recipe by It’s Creator (Not Me)

The video below is the original Chaffle recipe and video from the creator of the chaffle, Kat Keto Doss (link to her YouTube Channel). Unfortunately it is not me.. I’d love to have been that clever! I felt it only fair to include the creator in an article about chaffles. Many have taken the premise and have come up with new techniques, new flavors, new creations, etc. but this is the brains behind the entire food craze.

(Continued below…)

When making chaffles, I, personally, combine the cheese and beaten egg and place it directly on the waffle iron on in the chaffle maker. Simple as simple gets. I don’t follow a strict Keto diet, either, so I never weigh my cheese – I use 1/4 cup, plus usually a tiny bit extra down on the bottom of the iron and a little extra on top of the egg mixture before I close the iron. This adds a little extra crunchiness and I just appreciate the golden brown color.

Chaffle Waffles with Blueberries

A Few Personal Tips of the Trade When Making Chaffles

  • I’ve found that I prefer finely shredded cheese over the traditional shredded cheese, but I guess it’s a personal thing.
  • If you like for them to have a firmer texture, allow them to sit a minute or two when you remove them from the waffle iron or chaffle maker.
  • While I do have, use, and love a chaffle maker, I use my Hamilton Beach Waffle Maker more than the Dash chaffle maker. The chaffle maker is ideal for making one (or even two) chaffles if you’re cooking for one person and I use it for my own lunches throughout the week. However, if you’re using chaffles for making several sandwiches or if you’re cooking for several people, the traditional waffle maker is much faster. The waffle maker also makes them larger, obviously, so there is more chaffle to nom on! However, the chaffle maker make a super cute size for small sandwiches (extra delicious with sausage and egg).
  • Chaffles EASILY replace waffles. Just be sure to use mozzarella or the taste will be way off. Basically, you don’t want your cheese to bring any flavor with it, which is why mozzarella perfect for the job. When you add a little butter and syrup, I promise you, you’ll be convinced you are eating good old fashioned waffles. It honestly just blows me away.
  • I love pizza chaffles – they’re an ideal way to conquer pizza cravings. I make them as I would a normal chaffle, but add a little oregano before pouring into the iron. I always add a small amount of mozzarella to the iron as well. While the chaffle is cooking, I warm some pizza sauce (my favorite is Classico, but any will do). When the chaffle comes out of the waffle iron or chaffle maker, I add a little sauce and Parmesan. I normally top mine with sliced olives, but any toppings will do. It’s usually best if you warm the toppings up first, as well as the sauce.
  • You can add a little coconut flour, gluten-free flour blend, rice flour, or almond flour to give your chaffles a more bread-like consistency. I’ve done this before when my chaffles were pulling garlic bread duty. It’s excellent also for pizza chaffles.

Whether you eat keto, lazy-keto, gluten-free, or simply want to cut unnecessary carbs, you’re going to love chaffles. I hope you’ll try them asap. You’ll be hooked!

Below is a keto, gluten-free (and delicious) way to enjoy chili dogs without bread – I made chaffles with cheddar cheese and piled the hot dogs, chili, cheese, and onions on top. It was seriously, seriously good!


Multi Hard Boiled Egg Peeler: One A-Peeling Kitchen Gadget!

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Ingenious! This Multi Hard Boiled Egg Peeler is going under the 2019 Christmas Gifts for Cooks Guide category but, let’s be honest here, this is something most of us will want… not just before Christmas, but also before Thanksgiving. Kangaroo Eggs (Deviled Eggs to most of you, but one of my daughters started calling them Kangaroo Eggs when she was little and they’ve been Kangaroo Eggs in our family since. Come on, how could they NOT be?) are a staple of our family gatherings. Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Fourth of July – hmmm, now that I think about it, they’re at get-togethers as much as I am.

The only thing I hate about making Kangaroo Eggs (Deviled Eggs) is the peeling. Hate it with a passion. Some have a beautiful gift for shelling a hard-boiled egg without causing any damage to the egg, itself. They’re peels even look like works of art. My youngest daughter, Stephany, is the world’s most gifted egg artist. Every egg, perfect. Every peel, long and glorious. She doesn’t even chip a nail in the process.

I do NOT have this gift. Like, at all.

That’s why I am very excited about the Multi Hard Boiled Egg Peeler, on the left.

I’ll soon be making these popular eggs and everyone will think Steph made them! I may or may not let them in on my secret.

Multi-Hard Boiled Egg Peeler Description:

  • Peels 1-3 eggs in under ten seconds. Quick, simply & no mess.
  • Egg Stripper spins and rotates in water to loosen and remove egg shells.
  • Simply fill the egg stripper base with water up to the water fill line. Add hard-boiled & chilled eggs. Close & shake it up and down (but not too hard!) for about 5 seconds.
  • Seeing the white of the egg indicates that egg shell was loosened enough and the egg will be ready to slip out of its shell.

The Multi Hard Boiled Egg Peeler is available in two sizes – the small allows you peel 3 eggs at once, while the larger one accommodates 5 eggs. Since I make mine in batches of 12, I’m just ridiculously anal enough to go with the smaller one, as 3 is a factor of 12…. 4 spins around the block will get the job done.

And they thought I never paid attention in math class. Obviously I did…. that day.

For those who want to REALLY make Kangaroo Eggs (Deviled eggs) as simple as is legal, check out the Dash Egg Cooker.


Gorgeous Pfaltzgraff Football Platter

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The gorgeous Pfaltzgraff Football Platter shown here isn’t just on my gift-giving list this year, it’s at the top of my, “Buy for my own darn self” list as well.

My family celebrates any and all seasons, days and occasions as we can. What can I say? We love to eat, love to laugh, love to make a lot of noise and look for a reason to do all of the above at once.

Football season was made for families like this one!

Whether it’s college football or the NFL, weekends just become a lot more fun this time of year, don’t they?

Product Description from Amazon

  • This rectangular Football Platter will be a big winner on game day
  • Designed to look like a football field, this platter is perfect for serving your guests lunch meat and cheese, hors d’oeuvres and more
  • Football platter measures 17 inch long x 11 inch wide
  • Crafted of ceramic
  • Use & Care: Microwave and dishwasher safe

I’m picturing so many delicious things on this gorgeous platter…. pigs in blankets, cookies, brownies, sandwiches, chips, cheese and crackers… and, just like that, I’ve made myself hungry.

See Pfaltzgraff Football Platter for more information and a closer look. This is a beauty.


Kicking off the Christmas Gift Guide with a Sloth in a Coffee Cup (Because Why Wouldn’t I??)

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I have good news and bad news for you… the window of opportunity for Christmas shopping is now officially wide open! You can shop for Christmas gifts now without being looked at like you have three heads. That’s the good news.

The bad news is this window begins closing a little bit each day, until it relentlessly slams shut before you know it!

That’s why I’m beginning the 2019 Gift Guide for Cooks and Foodies today. I may not have the graphic for the sidebar yet (soon, soon) but I have a fun gift to kick things off with – the Feeling Slothee, Need a Coffee mug you see here.

Crazy cute!

For whatever reasons, gifts like this are my favorite to give AND receive – the deliciously unique and fun variety. The kind that makes the recipient smile ear to ear as they show it off to everyone in the room.

  • Designed exclusively by Geek Details and shipped exclusively from Geek Details.
  • The imprinted design is beautifully displayed on both sides of the mug and looks as pictured. It stops approximately 1 inch from both sides of the C-handle.
  • The premium full color sublimation imprint creates vibrant, long lasting, lead-free designs.
  • Microwave and dishwasher safe for your convenience.
  • Eleven ounce white ceramic coffee mug also holds a great cup of tea and includes a large, easy to grip C-handle.

I love everything about this adorable coffee mug, especially the fact that it is an exclusive design (there’s that uniqueness that floats my boat). I also love the fact that the design is on both sides.

See Feeling Slothee, Need a Coffee for a closer look. SO DARN CUTE!


FUN Pig Molds for Pig Collectors

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  I have a few things I love to collect and pigs are one of them. Not the real kind, unfortunately. My cats draw the line at sharing their food, attention, cuddles, or beds with anything that snorts.

When I found these adorable Pig Molds on Amazon, I knew I had to tell y’all about them because I’ve heard from many of the food blog’s readers who love pigs as much as I do.

First is Piggy Pop (pictured to the left).

Piggy Pop makes Pigs in Blankets easy peasy.
Product Description

  • Use any dough or pancake batter
  • Fast, fun and easy
  • Dishwasher safe
  • Easy as fill, insert and bake!
  • BPA free

Piggy Pop provides a cute and creative way to make Pigs in a Blanket and then some. This is a silicone baking pan that bakes 12 pig shaped treats at a time. Simple and easy to use, you simply fill each of Piggy Pop‘s molds with pancake batter or dough, add the cocktail franks and bake.

Piggy Pop comes with a recipe guide that includes 12 tasty recipes. The baking pan is oven safe and heat resistant up to 500 ° F.  I love the fact that it’s dishwasher safe.

Pig-Shaped Pancake Molds

Next up – Silicone Pig Pancake Molds (pictured to the right). I love these just as much as Piggy Pop. My grandbaby, Maddox is absolutely obsessed with Pigs (and with adorably making the “oink” sound!) and I cannot wait to make him pig pancakes!

Product Description

  • Make breakfast more fun with pig-shaped pancakes; bake 2 at a time with this set
  • Stainless steel curled tail functions as a stay-cool handle; folds flat for storage
  • This silicone mold is heat resistant up to 500F, BPA free
  • Dishwasher safe so cleanup is a breeze
  • Designed in the USA

Candy Molds

Last, but not least, the Perny Silicone Pig Candy Molds (left). Again, I am SO anxious to make Maddox pig candy. It’ll be the first Halloween candy I make and you bet it’ll be used for many Christmas candies!

With these adorable molds, you can make 20 pig-shaped candies (or chocolates, jell-o, ice cubes…) at once. The molds are BPA free and made from high quality 100% food grade silicone.

These are safe for use in the oven, freezer, microwave, and dishwasher.

Simply pour your favorite recipe in the mold, prepare, and cool completely. Then turn it upside down, this flexible silicone candy molds offers a non-stick surface that allows the sweets to pop right out with a little push from the bottom.

If you prefer another animal, when you click through, you’ll find other animals and shapes available on Amazon.


Winco Hamburger Smasher and Turner: Perfect for Diner-Style Burgers

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Winco Hamburger Smasher and Turner

I love burgers. There, I said it. I love them more than words can even say. In fact, I wouldn’t spend too much time searching for words because that would be time taken away from eating burgers.

My favorite way to fix burgers is “diner-style,” just a food blogger cool way of saying, “burgers that are smashed into an iron skillet.”

Before we found  the HANDY as HECK Winco Burger Turner above (or as I call it, my smasher), it was a headache to smash the burgers into the skillet. I’d try to get my spatulas to go along with the plan, but they just weren’t built for it. You should’ve seen me, holding the spatula in one hand and placing a mug on top of the spatula with the other hand. The spatula took a beating, the mug felt anxious, and the cats laughed. Embarrassing.

This crazy cool and inexpensive little tool has made life a lot easier. It’s also perfect for the grill – gets the burgers nice and flat. This makes them cook quicker and, in my opinion, makes them tastier.

Product Description from Amazon

  • Stainless steel construction
  • Wooden handle
  • Winco products range from tabletop to kitchen utensils to food preparation supplies
  • Winco products are used by all foodservice and hospitality industry experts worldwide

See Winco Burger Turner for more information!


Curtis Stone Dura-Bake Nonstick 3-Piece Sheet Pan Baking Set

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We frequently buy kitchen gadgets, gizmos, small appliances, pans, dishes, and all things “COOKING” from the Home Shopping Network. One of the reasons is the convenience – see it, buy it, get it, use it… all without venturing into a single store. I’m not going to lie – I’m wild about that.

The main reason,  however, is the fact that they feature the best products imaginable. They often sell Curtis Stone pans and, as someone who spends a lot of time cooking, I can tell you – they aren’t just great – they’re phenomenal.

A recent purchase was this great looking Dura-Bake Nonstick 3-Piece Sheet Pan Baking Set (mine are even red, like the ones pictured here). They’re available on Amazon now, too, which is also crazy convenient.

The unique and divine Carbon steel with Dura-Bake nonstick coating makes these sheet pans not just gorgeous, not just excellent to cook with, but also easy to clean. Nothing sticks. I love that they come in three different sizes, too. Sometimes you just don’t need a great big pan – other times, only the big guy will do.

I’ve used mine for biscuits, pastry puffs, roasted vegetables, baked fish, fries, bacon-wrapped asparagus, garlic bread, cinnamon toast… They’re perfect each and every time. I love the easy cleanup and the performance but I think my favorite thing may be much more simple and shallow that the rest…. They’re gorgeous!

The largest one is ideal for most frozen pizzas – not that you or I would ever resort to something like frozen pizzas. But IF we did… well, it’s perfect. 😉

Below is bacon-wrapped asparagus I recently made on one of the pans in my set. As you can tell, I didn’t use parchment paper (something I’d normally ALWAYS do with traditional cooking sheets). It’s absolutely unnecessary with these pans simply because they clean up so easily.

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus on a Curtis Stone Sheet Pan

Product Description from Amazon:

What you get: 17″ x 12″ Sheet pan 15″ x 10″ Sheet pan 13″ x 9″ Sheet pan

Basic Measurements: 17″ x 12″ Sheet Pan – Approx. 17-1/2″L x 12-1/2″W x 1″H; 15″ x 10″ Sheet Pan – Approx. 15-1/2″L x 10-1/2″W x 1″H; 13″ x 9″ Sheet Pan – Approx. 13-1/2″L x 9-1/2″W x 1″H Base Thickness: 0.7mm

Material Composition: Carbon steel with Dura-Bake nonstick coating

Use and Care: Oven Safe Temperature: up to 450 degrees F

Care: Dishwasher safe, but hand washing is recommended

Features: Dura-Bake nonstick coating

Takes the successful nonstick capabilities of Dura-Pan nonstick and applies them to Curtis’ range of bakeware. Specially formulated multiple-layer nonstick coating engineered for added strength and durability. Offers improved nonstick performance in comparison to traditional nonstick bakeware. Provides premium food release when baking and easy cleanup 8 times stronger than unreinforced nonsticks. Versatile pans Perfect for baking, roasting and cooking one-pan meals Ideal size for baking a batch of cookies or cooking a sheet pan supper. Set of 3 sheet pans Includes a small pan, medium pan and large pan. Provides a perfectly sized pan for every dish. Carbon steel construction.

See Dura-Bake Nonstick 3-Piece Sheet Pan Baking Set for more information. These would be IDEAL for Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.

Change Bites: Change Your Plate, Change Your Life (Review)

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I was recently sent a review copy of Change Bites: Change Your Plate Change Your Life in exchange for telling you about this exciting new book. Before I get to the actual book review, itself, I wanted to give a few quick thoughts as well as a brief personal story.

A Few Quick Thoughts

  • I love that the book is relatively short, totally uncomplicated, and very easy and fast to read. Let’s face it, most of us simply don’t have the luxury of sitting and reading for hours each day – especially around Christmas and New Year’s! The fact that this book reads fast is a huge bonus.
  • I love that the book, while using the author’s experiences as examples, focuses on the reader. This is YOUR story about YOUR health and it has the power to help a lot of people.
  • I love that the book is interactive. There are numerous places for you to jot down your symptoms, your goals, your plan of attacks, etc. Books that serve as workbooks keep the reader engaged and the change they seek is infinitely more likely to happen because they are taking an active part.
  • When doing book reviews on my various blogs, I often like to include a “Who Needs this Book” section. I’m not doing it this time simply because everyone needs this book! Whether you’re trying to transition to a vegetarian diet, trying to add more healthy foods into your daily meals, or suspect you may have an intolerance to dairy, gluten, and/or wheat, this book will help you tremendously. What’s more, if you simply want to take a proactive approach to your health and give yourself a good “once over,” this book will prove invaluable. 
  • I have multiple blogs and joyfully do book reviews on each. This year (seems to be a boon on great books!), I allowed myself to become swamped in books. I honestly had to struggle to keep up. Around October, I stopped taking in new books (for the rest of the year). Then the e-mail about this particular book came through. I knew, from the introductory e-mail, alone, that this was a very special book – one that could give people their lives back.. a book that could, in fact, even save lives. As you can see, I made an exception.

I’t a lot easier to take a leap of faith if your current state of “pain” is worse than the pain of changing. – page 21, Change BITES

My Personal Journey

Years ago, I began experiencing a number of health problems that I chalked up to a number of things: allergies, aging (after all, when you get on this side of 40, a lot of interesting things happen!), thyroid, etc. I had digestive issues that, honestly, became so commonplace that they didn’t even register with me. I was taking Benadryl daily – in fact, I averaged two or three a day.

The tiredness, lethargy, and overall feeling that I had to fight to make myself exert energy? That was attributed to the Benadryl – which, I’m certain didn’t help matters.

Worst of all, however, was the fact that I LITERALLY kept at least one mouth sore or mouth ulcer for over a year. That’s right… for over a year, each and every day I had at least one mouth sore. The doctors would prescribe medicines, I’d swish with salt water.. it was a nightmare that I cringe over to this day. Those things are painful!

Around this time, my oldest daughter, Emily, began to have a few health problems. She had to have her gallbladder removed and, just when we thought she was returning to normal, her health seemed to get worse. After reading everything I could get my hands on, I told her that I thought she should do an elimination diet with gluten/wheat because it sounded like she was either Celiac or extremely gluten-intolerant. 

I told her that I’d do it with her – to help her out and give her support. We researched food, restaurants, and armed ourselves with all the information we needed for the journey.  I’m an avid cook, so I knew that I’d be able to come up with gluten-free dishes for us to eat. What could have and maybe should have been frightening and depressing was actually kind of exciting and fun. Having someone with you on the journey, in my experience helps a lot.

We decided we’d give it a month and see if her symptoms improved. Not only did they improve – they improved after just two weeks of totally eliminating gluten/wheat from her diet.

But there’s more. 

My mouth sores and mouth ulcers disappeared and, over the years, have only returned when I’ve accidentally eaten wheat/gluten. My energy returned, I slept better, my digestive issues improved, and I was able to stop buying two boxes of Benadryl each week.

We’ve, needless to say, avoided gluten entirely since doing so put us squarely back in the game of life.

Change Bites: Change Your Plate, Change Your Life

Change Bites was written by Marissa S. Costonis, H.C., who had her own personal journey with her health and the way her body was responding to food.

It makes sense, when you think about. So much so that I’m amazed it takes most of us so long to make the food and body connection.

Imagine if a new experimental drug came onto the market. If you’re like me, there’s no way on earth you’d take even one, let alone a daily dose, if you weren’t certain of the effects it’d have on your body. Yet, we put bite after bite after bite of food into our mouths each day without a second thought.

Some of this food may be doing as much harm to your body as the drug would be.

One of the interactive exercises in this book involves taking a close look at your health. You’re asked questions you probably had not considered before and are given an opportunity to uncover clues your body has been leaving for you – clues that something is wrong. If my daughter and I had had this book years ago, we would have saved ourselves a lot of pain and sickness. What’s more, we’d have been able to STOP eating something that was causing damage to our bodies.

About the Author: Marissa S. Costonis spent over a decade in change management consulting leading a variety of business transformation initiatives around the world. After developing neuropathy and a host of other health problems began to pile up, Marissa decided to break down the change process one bite at a time to transform her health with great success. She became a Certified Health Coach and launched her business, Change Bites, LLC.

Change Bites by Marissa S. Costonis

From the Back Cover:

Finally, a step by step process for how to change your eating habits and transform your health!

  • Are you inspired or even forced to try a new eating strategy, but not sure how to get started?
  • Do you have a good sense of what to eat, but not sure how to to make lasting changes to your eating habits?
  • Want to improve your health, but don’t want to give up all the foods you love today?
  • Have a growing list of health problems, but afraid to admit that food could be the culprit and the cure?

 

New Year, New You?

My husband and I frequently talk about the important role food plays in health. I love how, on the back of Change BITES, the author says food can be the culprit and the cure. Profound and so very true.  Whatever the condition my daughter and I have, I’ve often thought of people in our family and wondered if they, too, had this condition and suffered needlessly. Perhaps, because their problem wasn’t caught early enough, they did lasting damage to their bodies.

I hope you’ll read more about Change Bites: Change Your Plate Change Your Life – if you recognize yourself in any of the following, this could be your first step to making 2019 the year you begin feeling better than you have in years!

  • Do you feel more tired than usual? It is NOT always a sign of the aging process. Your body could be maxed out simply trying to digest food that it’s having difficulty digesting.
  • Are you, for health or other reasons, thinking about becoming a vegetarian or vegan? This book can help you overcome any initial setbacks and help strengthen your mind and resolve.
  • Do you suspect that you have a food intolerance? Does dairy seem to make you bloat or do you feel unusually gassy after something as simple as a sandwich? Food you eat each and every day could be doing more harm than good. This book can help you know for sure.
  • Do you want 2019 to be the year you and your family eat healthier… and not just for the first two weeks of January?! The reason resolutions usually don’t stick is because we don’t have the “glue” to make them stick. This “glue” is how we react to change and the various challenges it presents. Again, this book could prove invaluable.
  • How about your moods? Food intolerances don’t just effect how we feel – they often effect how we behave. If you suspect you’ve been crankier or more emotional than you used to be (undoubtedly loved ones will let you know if this is the case), the cause may be in the kitchen and not the person in front of you. I read an article written by a man with a severe gluten-intolerance. He said that the first (and most profound) symptom he had when he had been accidentally glutened (when gluten or wheat passes your lips without you realizing it) was a severe shift in mood. In fact… and I found this kind of fascinating… his wife and children usually realized it before he did. They’d basically tell him to go to his man cave for a week or two until the symptoms passed! 

Basically, if you aren’t the same person you were a few years ago (or even a few months ago), it may be what you’re putting into your mouth. The self-assessment exercises and golden advice given in this book can help you get back to the person you remember. Again, I really, really, really hope you read more about Change Bites: Change Your Plate Change Your Life and consider grabbing a copy for you and/or anyone in your life who could benefit.

~ Joi (“Joy”)