Hello! My name is Amy Reid.
I am a certified fitness instructor and nutrition certified, both through ACE. Our house is always busy, never quiet and we are usually on-the-go. I wouldn’t have it any other way, my family fills my heart. As a family we love to travel, go camping, play at the beach, go for family bike rides and enjoy music together. For me personally, working out and going for runs help to clear my mind and fill me up on a different level. Another creative outlet for me is through my cooking and baking, it is something that I have always had a passion for.
I became gluten free in 2009 after I had our third child. I started having symptoms such as acid reflux and digestion issues, which I tried over the counter and prescription medications for and nothing helped! It was a lot of trial and error, feeling sick and a lot of tears! At the time, with our newborn and two other small children, I felt overwhelmed and feelings of depression and anxiety started to set in. I immediately started seeing a therapist to help me work through all of this, started taking Yoga (so that I could be in quiet for a moment and just breathe) and I completely changed my diet. I went on a raw diet, only eating meats, fruits and veggies for about three weeks. Taking out all carbs and anything else that had Gluten in it, helping my body to rid itself of all the gluten that it had stored. (Later learning that it can take 6-8 weeks to rid your body of all the gluten that your body has stored!) During those cleansing weeks, I read a ton! Anything that I could get my hands on about what it meant to be gluten free, what I could eat, what I shouldn’t eat, cooking tips and baking gluten free. Then, little by little I started to re-introduce carbs that I missed but only if they were certified GF. I started shopping at specialty grocery stores like Sprouts and Whole Foods, I experimented with recipes and my kitchen quickly transformed into a gluten free cooking space. Ever since, if I am cooking, my whole family eats gluten free along with me. I do not have Celiac Disease, I have been tested (via blood test) twice, both times were negative. The second set of tests that I had in 2016 did show elevated levels for gluten intolerance. (But I knew that based on what happens to me when I do by chance “get glutened”, which for me, means that I am sick in the bathroom for at least 8 hours.)
