My name is Carmen and I am a foodie. There is nothing I enjoy more than researching different recipes and cooking meals to share with family and friends. I was born and raised in Vancouver, Canada, moved across the pond to London, England for 12 years and in 2020 when I was 9 months pregnant, moved back Vancouver to be closer to family. I am now a mom of two crazy little girls and am married to a South African who never hesitates to share is strong critiques of my kitchen creations.
At the age of 26 I was diagnosed with two types of autoimmune disease, one of which, ulcerative colitis, is a disease that attacks the intestines. At my peak I was taking 32 pills a day and desperately searching for another option to save me from the awful side effects brought on by the strong medication; foggy head, swollen ‘moon face’, non-existent immune system, insomnia and hair loss to name just a few. Against my doctors’ advice I began researching non medicinal treatments and came across the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, a diet which has shown to lower inflammation in the body, allowing it to naturally heal. The diet is very restrictive and requires you to eliminate any trace of gluten, grain, refined sugar, lactose, starch, soy and processed food. I assumed I was destined to a life of boring food, but a month in I couldn’t believe how many delicious meals and recipes I had come up with, and after 6 months I felt fantastic and stuck with the diet strictly for another 2 years. After 2 years of being in drug free remission I gradually began to introduce “illegal” foods into my diet, starting with simple things like coconut aminos and sweet potatoes. Within a year I was eating everything and still in remission, and 10 years later and I continue to be symptom free and eat just about everything.
Every Last Bite was created during the phase in my life when I was strictly following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet and wanted to show others that eating healthy doesn’t have to be boring, no matter how restrictive your diet. For years I shared strictly grain, gluten, lactose, refined sugar and legume free recipes (and every wrote a cookbook!) but my recipes have gradually transitioned to include these foods to more closely reflect what I was actually eating.
Here on Every Last Bite you can find 500+ Specific Carbohydrate Diet recipes, plus 100s of recipes that contain gluten, grain and dairy but can be easily modified to suit a more restrictive diet.
I would love to hear from you! You can email me at carmen@everylastbite.com
