Guest Post: Taylor Miller from GlutenAway

I got to know Taylor through social media, and talked this bright young blogger into writing a guest post for Paleo Newbie…

Most of us can be thankful we don’t suffer from celiac disease, much less a life-threatening adrenal disorder. Taylor has both. Through it all he’s managed to stay positive about his health, while also taking on the role of educating and inspiring others – especially young people – afflicted with celiac disease. This enterprising teenager is the author of the popular GlutenAway blog where you can learn more about his life, celiac disease, and try out some of his paleo and gluten-free recipes. Thanks so much Taylor for writing this guest post for Paleo Newbie! We wish you good health and continued success with your blog and all the other great things the future holds for you!  – Trina

A lot of people go through their day and get to look at food as a delicacy or an enjoyment. But unlike most people, I look at food as really more of a hassle and task now because of my diagnosis with Celiac Disease.

Food isn’t really something that I get to truly enjoy anymore because I have to worry about issues with cross contamination and worry about each thing I put in my mouth and if it’s going to get me sick or not. That’s one thing a lot of people who are gluten-free probably feel, but unlike most gluten-free people, I always found myself a little different.

I’m 16 years old and have been gluten-free for 3 years. By now I can say I’m a pro even though I’m so young! A lot of people get upset about the foods they can’t eat because of celiac disease and usually in general have a negative attitude about the whole situation.

I took my celiac diagnosis as a challenge and something I could take on day by day to get better at! I knew that as a 16 year old that it was obviously going to be hard with school and social situations, but I didn’t let that stop me.

I always tell people to pay attention to your body and eat only what makes you feel best day to day. Going off of someone else’s diet and trying someone else’s meal plan does not always work and isn’t something I really ever recommend.

I actually learned this the hard way with a diet you obviously all know, the paleo diet. [av_sidebar widget_area=’Lockerdome’ av_uid=’av-28pdlh’]

I’ve spent the last 3 years as a teenager really focusing on my diet and trying to solve most of my problems by controlling what I eat. The thing that seems to surprise so many people is that I am taking control of my diet at such a young age. But really I feel like if I do take care of my body, I’ll: 1.) I’ll feel better, and, 2.) I know I can help other kids if I lead by example!

The only way I got to where I am now though is by trying to remove certain foods to discover what my problems were in the first place. The first thing I tried to remove was gluten and dairy which obviously helped a lot. As much as that helped, I still didn’t feel 100% better each day and I still had low energy along with many other problems.

The paleo diet was one of the first things I researched and actually wanted to try because of all the benefits I saw it could have for me! I tried the paleo diet in January of 2013 at age 15 and was planning on doing it for a month to see how it would go. In the first week or so I noticed a huge difference and truly started to feel better each day! I had more energy, no more bloating, no more stomach problems, I really thought this was the solution to all my problems and was excited about it too.

But after a couple weeks going on to a month I started to have major problems that I knew was not normal. I would have low energy, dizziness, fatigue, hot flashes, and many other problems. I really was beginning to feel so awful that I knew I was going to have to go to the hospital sooner or later. I could either stop the diet I was on now or continue the diet which I knew would only make me feel worse.

If trying the paleo diet made me realize anything, it made me realize that the paleo diet definitely isn’t for everyone. The benefits of the paleo diet can truly be life changing and could benefit your day to day health in a major way. But, trying the paleo diet on your own and trying to do it without any research is, I think, a terrible idea.

I think it can help with improving energy, reducing GI problems, and improving your overall lifestyle. But only if you take the right precautions and realize what food affects your body best is the only way you will ever know.

I think that trying the paleo diet at age 15 on my own probably wasn’t the smartest idea. I’m pretty sure it made me deficient in many different vitamins which I know can be a big problem.

Since I noticed the paleo diet had a lot of benefits, I began to research another similar diet that could possibly give me the benefits of the paleo diet but also be safe for me too.

The diet I discovered and the diet I’m on now is called the 80/20 non-diet which has been extremely helpful to getting me feeling better each day. Essentially you eat natural paleo type foods 80% of your meals and any other non-paleo foods you crave for the other 20% of your meals.

This way I am getting all the necessary nutrients I need and I’ll admit it’s a little bit easier for me since I’m only 16 years old anyways. I still do love coming up with paleo recipes for my blog glutenaway.com and am happy to be sharing one of them with you, below.

Paleo Two-Ingredient Sweet Potato Bites: (http://glutenaway.blogspot.com/2013/07/2-ingredient-gluten-free-sweet-potato.html)

This recipe is one that I came up with for my blog which features gluten-free recipes.

I also share some paleo gluten-free recipes on my blog as well, and this one just happened to be paleo! It’s one of my favorite ones since it is so incredibly easy to make and extremely convenient too if you are on the run.

They can be a great snack on the go which I know is really hard to have when you are paleo. It also only needs two ingredients which is one of my favorite parts about it and it really is impossible to mess up.

I hope you enjoy this recipe from my blog and I hope you explore the many more recipes on my blog I have created and shared as well.

Paleo Two-Ingredient Sweet Potato Bites Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of mashed sweet potatoes

• 8 egg whites

• Cinnamon (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. To mash sweet potatoes, place it in the oven or microwave until a fork can be inserted. Let cool, take off the skin, mash gently.

3. Combine all ingredients in a blender until combined well.

4. Poor into greased muffin pan and put in the oven for 20-25 mins

5. Take out, let cool, then serve!

Recipe at: http://glutenaway.blogspot.com/2013/07/2-ingredient-gluten-free-sweet-potato.html

I wanted to thank Trina for letting me share a little about myself and my diet with you! I hope you enjoy the recipe I shared and enjoyed everything I shared as well. Thanks again Trina!

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