Note from Heather: As a paleo teenager, I love finding other paleo teenagers and college-age paleo bloggers. I’ve been blogging here for nearly two years now, and I’ve been blessed to be able to connect with many other paleo food bloggers in my age group. The Paleo: The Next Generation series is meant to highlight their blogs and accomplishments while proving that you can eat paleo – and be a blogger! – at any age!
Today’s interview is with the amazing Kaylie of Joyful Bite! She has a beautiful blog and amazing healing story!
Q: Tell us a little about yourself and how you found paleo/real food eating?
Hi! I am Kaylie, the teenage home chef and creator over at my blog, Joyful Bite. I have found an immeasurable amount of healing from auto immune health disorders through the paleo diet and am here to share my journey. The day I stumbled upon the Paleo lifestyle was the day my Mom brought home a basic Paleo cookbook. I immersed myself in the pages of recipes and carefully studied the ingredients and chemistry of Paleo cooking. I was impressed by the wholesome nutritious foundation of the diet principals. It sounded like the perfect direction for building health and maintaining it. I was intrigued by the exciting challenge of cooking without grains and dairy.
I never enjoyed cooking growing up; in fact, there was a time that my Mom was genuinely worried that I wouldn’t know how to cook anything except pasta and sauce:) I grew up in a very health conscious family, which made it much less daunting and overwhelming when I switched from gluten free to paleo. I decided to try the paleo diet though because I was willing to try anything to help my body feel better. I was suffering from constant intense pain, chronic fatigue, and swelling, but I had been feeling this way for so long, I thought it was normal. I ignored all warning signs that my body needed help and kept exerting myself until I snapped.
I went from being extremely active and full of energy and life to laying in bed in constant excruciating pain. After visiting several natural heath care practitioners, chiropractors, and experimenting with several holistic remedies, I was constantly being diagnosed: mono, adrenal burnout, thyroid dysfunction, a blood disorder called thalassemia, fibromyalgia, blood sugar problems, a pile of allergies, leaky gut, high mold and viruses in my brain, and all throughout my body. I received many holistic treatments, visited many doctors, tried a myriad of tinctures and vitamins, but nothing seemed to be helping. My body kept deteriorating until this past winter when I felt like a 90 year old woman; barely walking around the house not able to lift a glass of water. My health care practitioners were alarmed at my state of health and have said that they had never worked on anyone so hypersensitive. My body was not healing its self no matter how many treatments I received.
In my time of need and my darkest hour when all doctors had failed me and left me with no hope, the ultimate Healer, Jesus, reached down and touched me. Through a miraculous set of events, my body began responding to the treatments and supplements and I finally started to feel an improvement! My pain has begun subsiding and things are starting to go back into order. All the chaos is slowly being calmed into still waters. I still go to bed and wake up in pain everyday, but I know that I am beginning to heal. I do a double take every time I realize I walked an hour or had enough energy to wipe the kitchen counters! I believe in whole foods now more than ever and I am in awe of the beauty in God’s original design for the human body’s self healing process through food based nutrients. The smallest victories are so powerful and the hope and positive impact paleo has made in my world makes me excited to share it with others!
Q: How did you get into blogging and what’s been your favorite thing about it?
The years that I spent in bed or confined to the house left me without my normal hobbies of skiing, climbing, and hiking, so I had to be creative and decided that since I still had to eat, I could at least create an adventure out of the challenge of eating grain and dairy free! I began experimenting with recipes and scribbling down recipes as they came to me. I started to find, that I had one small thing to look forward to in the morning: creating recipes. I wanted to share this new discovery and love for healing whole foods with others and so I began putting together a cookbook and then published my blog in order to reach out to other people in similar situations and maybe help them find joy in the midst of health battles.
Q: What’s the best thing about being a paleo teenager?
The best thing about being a paleo teenager is…. not having to pay for the grocery bill! But seriously, it’s real! No, the best part about being young and on the paleo diet is that it has taught me so much! I have learned how to listen to my own body and be in tune with it’s deficiencies and what my body thrives on! My Mom always told us, “ you have to be your own doctor!”.
Eating paleo has been another step in my search for building health. It has taught me that everyone’s body is different, we all have different needs, and diet and health is defiantly not a one size fits all! Another bonus to being a paleo teen is learning so much while I’m young! Hopefully, I am more equipped with knowledge and experience to handle future health situations for me and others. Discovering the paleo approach has opened up a whole other set of opportunities! I have met so many amazing and wonderful people along the way who have helped shape my journey and I have found a new love for cooking and photography! I dream up recipes late at night and read cookbooks all the time for fun:)
Q: What’s the hardest thing about being a paleo teenager?
Now for the other side of the story: the hardest things for me about being a paleo teenager is, that more often then not, I am misunderstood because of it. People tend to be really confused when I explain my situation to them. They end up thinking that I need “fixing” or that I am starving to death or something. At that point I just laugh to myself because I know that if they knew how delicious eating paleo is, then they would be jealous.
Since my diet not only is paleo, but excludes even many paleo approved items, I rarely eat at my friends houses or anywhere I go. Eating at college was especially hard because all of the meal were planned out, so I couldn’t cook much, but I have found it easy otherwise to plan and cook up whatever I need wherever I’m going. I have taken salad and hardboiled eggs on backpack trips and week long river trips, so it is possible to be limitless even with a a limited diet!!! I wish more people could realize this! It just looks a little different and I think that this is where a lot of people get turned and misunderstand the diet.
Dinner out means the health food section of the grocery store… which actually, I love! No complaints here! More accurately, I just feel bad for the people hosting me; trying to scrounge up something I can eat for dinner! If only our society ate real food, then we would be the normal ones:)
Q: What’s your favorite recipe on your blog and why?
One of my favorite recipes on my blog has to be, Cake Roll! The first time I created this, it was devoured immediately, so I had to make another one! This cake roll recipe is absolutely timeless and deliciously light and fluffy. With mounds of whipped cream and fresh berries rolled up in layers of sponge cake, it’s almost impossible to go wrong! Check out the recipe on my blog!
Q: What advice do you have for other young people for eating healthier in the teen to twenty something world?
If you are thinking about the paleo approach, my advise is go for it! You will know if it’s not for you, but what’s the worst case scenario? You feel better, have more energy, start feeling healthier and more vibrant?! If I could give you one golden nugget to take away it would be, have fun and don’t take yourself too seriously! Food is only food and God made it for your enjoyment! If you are happy with what you are eating, it is already a bonus, because it improves your digestion! So my advise is to make healthy choices, but don’t let rules confine you… listen to your body:) Treat yourself to paleo baked goods and desserts; this is an essential and one of the more enlightening discoveries I have made, which has helped me to stay on track! Enjoy life and eat some chocolate:) Yes, it’s paleo.
Q: Any other words of wisdom?
Be patient with yourself, nothing changes overnight. Achieving optimum health looks different for everybody and it’s all about the journey! You are the biggest part of your journey and your thoughts and choices affect not only you, but those around you! Choosing healing choices not only affects your body, but also you mind! Keep choosing life!!! Each thought of thankfulness and positivity can do no harm, it can only build health:) If you’d like to get in touch and stay updated, you can visit me and/or subscribe to my Joyful Bite newsletter. Let’s connect on Facebook and Pinterest!
~Kaylie
[…] about paleo teenagers by Heather from Cook It Up Paleo. You can read my full interview over on Heather’s blog for answers to questions like: what is the easiest and hardest thing about being a paleo teenager […]