I've always loved cooking. Right from the beginning. Watching my parents cook together fascinated me.Weird right?! For someone so young I was in awe!Once I got older I was involved more and more. Watching dad bbq and experiment with new spices was so cool. I mean why can't you put that on this meat? wait you can? Let me try that!!Even at grandma's. If you wanted potatoes with your supper you can bet I was out there digging those potatoes out of the garden to wash and eat or how about those fresh garden strawberries for dessert?! yup I was there digging them out too!! I mean who doesn't love fresh garden produce anyways right?!
Fast forwarding a few years I still loved to cook. Even if it was JUST making kraft dinner for friends in high school, alll the way upto college making kraft dinner still with the bestie!
Every box made a new memory to me.
But nothing could prepare me for the college life I walked into.The chef's I had, the friendships I made were life changing. They, hand in hand, broadened my view for cooking and grew my passion to extents I never knew possible. I knew I was in the field I loved and would stay with forever.
Then my world got flipped upside down! My 1st boy was born, wayyy too early in fact.
And there I would stay, in a NICU for months on end struggling to survive another day.
And we did.
We survived day after day.
Tests after test.
IT WAS SCARY, INTENSE, and honestly LIFE CHANGING.
We got handed so many allergy positive testing it was over whelming. Dairy, egg, wheat, gluten. Celiac disease?! What the heck is that and why are you putting tubes into my babies intestines?!
Well... because we needed him to survive. He was always sick, he stopped breathing constantly and couldn't keep anything down. Each day was a guessing game if he would make it.
But he did so don't you worry because my little man was and is a fighter. And going through all of that got me prepared for our future.
Once home.. FINALLY...(NICU life is nothing I wish upon anyone.)
I went to work.. I needed him to be healthy, and I NEVER wanted my baby to be missing out on thing's. Especially once you see how many things gluten, wheat and eggs are in.. Your mind is blown.. seriously.
So despite the struggles I started growing my 7 years in the making recipes.
GLUTEN FREE WAS F***ING HARD seriously... thousands upon hundreds of waste on crap products, grainy flours.. bleh
but... I wouldn't give up. Because.. well diet restrictions or not, no one deserves to limit themselves especially my little love bug who survived the impossible. Eventually we perfected what we needed to get by. And boy was it was good, tasty, non grainy, just pure perfection. Yum, right?!?!
Our life was WONDERFUL.
Then I fell in love, then my little man fell in love with him too! The absolute perfect love story. 2 chefs collide at work then bam he meets my little guy and we move forward together as a family of 3.
We then decided to move back to the place I felt most at home and made my career choice certain. Lethbridge, Alberta :)
Anytime I baked or cooked I just loved it. Everyone around me loved my baking, encouraged me to sell my baking to the growing gluten free world, share my products with those who need them most.
So, with my two boys behind me I jumped in.
Then No-Wheat Treats was born!! HOW COOL IS THIS?!
(So thrilling to be able to help many more people like my boy eat what everyone else eats!)
SINCE WE OPENED NO-WHEAT TREATS WE HAVE ADDED YET ANOTHER NICU MIRACLE BOY TO OUR LIVES. Yes, seriously.. a second NICU miracle. But I must add having someone by my side helping OUR boy survive in the NICU was a little easier than the 1st time alone.
And then shortly after our second NICU experience was over I was diagnosed a type 1 diabetic. Crazy right? Now more for me to figure out what I can eat!
BUT REGARDLESS WHAT WE HAVE BEEN THROUGH, WHAT I HAVE BEEN THROUGH, WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN THROUGH
We keep pushing and coming back with new and better products safe for EVERYONE with diet restrictions.
If you read this far, thank you! Let me hear your story, or what you think of mine. I love feedback as most of you must know by now! :)
