About Me
Welcome to Harvest & Healing Nutrition!
My name is Liz and I am a Doctor of Physical Therapy and a Certified Autoimmune Holistic Nutrition Specialist. I am a wife, mother of two and a passionate foodie who has taken on a lifestyle of clean eating and healthier environment for my family’s health.
Our journey of healing started in early 2020, when my then 6-year-old-son was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. We were fortunate to have a great medical team and received a diagnosis only a few weeks after his symptoms of fever, low energy and abdominal pain started. Looking back now, I can see that he was slowly showing signs of illness for months leading up to his diagnosis. I saw how thin and pale he looked in family photos and there was a noticeable change in his personality. My typically happy, smiling boy was slowly fading away and instead, he displayed more frustration and would lash out for no reason.
The few weeks after his diagnosis were a whirlwind of emotions. Anger, Confusion, Fear. I felt that I had no control over what his future held and would lay awake at night and imagine every possible worst case scenario. A conversation with my son’s former teacher began to change my outlook. She put me in touch with another mother who was able to use diet to achieve and maintain remission for her young son with Crohn’s. After a few lengthy phone calls and trying to soak up as much knowledge from her (and the internet!) as I could, I started my family on our journey to healing through the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, also known as SCD.
The SCD diet focuses on eliminating complex carbohydrates because they are more difficult to digest and may provide an opportunity for bad bacteria to multiply, leading to inflammation and damage to the intestinal tract. These complex carbohydrates include all foods with grains, gluten, starches including starchy vegetables, lactose, and sugar. Processed foods and any food with additives and preservatives, which are found in most commercially prepackaged foods, are not allowed. Thus, the SCD heavily emphasizes home prepared foods so ingredients can be controlled. It focuses on consuming simple carbohydrates, low starch vegetables, and other whole, plant based foods that are easily digested.
It was quite the learning curve to figure out how to cook and bake using such limited ingredients. I became a dedicated home chef and made it my mission to recreate our families favorite foods and come up with fun new recipes that even the kids would enjoy. Although medications are the recommended mainstream treatment for IBD, our wonderful gastroenterologist gave me the opportunity to try nutritional therapy first. As my son’s blood work normalized, his energy levels improved and his symptoms disappeared. We have thankfully been allowed to continue on this food journey without the introduction of medication. As he continues to do well, we have been exploring ways to safely expand the variety of foods he can consume to ensure he is getting optimal nutrition for continued growth. My son has been in remission and thriving now for several years and is back to his normal, full-energy smiling, happy self!
Throughout this difficult health journey, I found a new passion for using nutrition for healing and wanted to be able to help others. I became a Certified Nutritional Physical Therapist as well as a Certified Autoimmune Holistic Nutrition Specialist with a focus on IBD. I started an instagram page and blog to help inspire, support and connect with others who may wish to improve their health through nourishing food. I wanted to share recipes which showcased that even a diet devoid of a certain food category can still be delicious and exciting to create.
Harvest & Healing Nutrition has grown out of a passion for educating and helping others reach their full healing potential by incorporating healthy nutrition and lifestyle habits as staples of our well-being. My philosophy is that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to treating IBD or other gut-related disorders.When living with a chronic illness, your nutritional needs will ebb and flow based on your bodies state of health at that particular time. My goal is to help my patients navigate the world of food so that they can take their health in their own hands and know they are nourishing their bodies as best they can for optimal well-being.
I find it empowering to know that we can make such a positive difference in our health simply by what we fuel our bodies with.
Together, we have the power to NOURISH, HEAL and THRIVE.