A wise women once told me aka my mom, each and everyone of us comes to this planet with a struggle area or something that challenges us beyond anything else. A gift that once understood would truly be a gift to many and thyself. For me, mine so happens to be personal nutrition and finding the balance.
I guess you could say it was a bit strange for a farm girl like me at the age of three to decide on my own to become vegetarian or now days known as a plant-based veggie lover! The biggest question WHY? For me it was easy, I loved animals so deeply I couldn’t even fathom eating the cows, eggs, or any animal of that concern that I saw and loved on the farm everyday. The journey of figuring it out on my own was definitely and still can be very testing. From growing up in a location where healthy living and nutrition was foreign to many, the healthiest grocery store being over an hour away and still is, to being made fun of all throughout school because of how I ate. I now realize that those making fun of me was just the uncertainty of someone else being different aka special in their own way. Thank gosh I realized that sooner than later. It does get easier with age!!
Having parents that were both meat eaters and not having a clue what to feed me, it would come down to cereal or PBJ. Yep that’s right..... as a health advocate looking back to where I was I cringe just thinking about what I was eating due to lack of knowledge. I also look back thinking WOW I still survived and I am blessed to have struggled so deeply with this to be able to hopefully impact others that seek advice, support, or great plant-based recipes. Throughout that time I developed a love hate relationship with food definitely more so hate. Constantly feeling drained and confused as too what to eat or why it was so hard. As with time and knowledge I learned what foods to eat that would fuel me and heal me, and what foods to avoid that made me feel sluggish and sick. Still nurturing my own path as a plant-based farm girl no matter the obstacle. I will say there are many benefits of being plant-based the number one.... I now grow most of my own veggies and fruit in my beautiful garden and save lots of money from not buying all those processed foods that would make me sick. It also allows me to get creative with my cooking which is so much fun and to be the healthiest I have ever been. To this day I am constantly working on bringing balance to my body through #1 food, exercise, yoga, and meditation.
The coolest part is this “gift” has opened so many doors and opportunities that I would have never though possible like writing this recipe book or developing a health+ fitness business and coaching others to find their own inner balance. Allowing me to use something that was such a struggle and turn it into a mission of purpose. Whatever your reason may be for buying this book I hope it not only fuels you with delicious foods but inspires you to stay the path that is right for you and to find your own gift and share it with the world!
Do share what your gift is with me @emilyawasheleski on Facebook or Instagram and spread your light, gorgeous!
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