My Experience with The Everylywell Food Sensitivity Test

First I want to start of by saying that this is not a paid post. I actually reached out to Everylywell on my own because I've always wanted to take one of these food sensitivity tests. I also thought that this would be something a lot of my friends and followers would be interested in as well. Certain foods have caused all kinds of skin issues and bloating for me, so I wanted to get to the bottom of it. Although I'm not getting paid for the post, they do have a referral program so if you do plan to purchase the test I would really appreciate it if you use my link so I can track who has benefitted from me sharing. You can purchase the kit with that link HERE

In this first blog post I will just share my experience with the test itself and what my results were. I will help explain exactly how the test works and how to break down and understand the results. I will follow this up with a future post that shows how cutting some of these trigger foods out has impacted me.

Why take this test?

The Everylywell food sensitivity kit tests your reactivity to 96 of the most common food sensitivities.

-The first step is to purchase your kit, which Everylywell will send to you in the mail. You can purchase their test with a 10% discount HERE

-When the kit comes in the mail it will contain all the tools you need to complete the at-home test. You basically prick your finger with their small tool and squeeze your finger to fill the small blood test circles. Here is what mine looked like. ( P.S. It doesn't hurt, I promise.)

-They include a shipping label for you also so you can pack up the kit and mail it back to them.

Once they receive your kit, your results will be mailed to you within 5 business days.

THE RESULTS:

They rate your results based on how reactive you are to each item tested. There are four categories High, Moderate, Mild and Low.

My only Highly reactive food is the yeast in beer, which is unfortunate because I drink a beer almost every single day with dinner. This might explain why I often wake up with bloating in the morning and why my skin has been a mess.

The next level down is the yeast in bread, which I also consume almost on a daily basis. My metabolism is insanely fast so I turn to bread to give me fuel, which I guess has not been really benefiting me the way I thought.

I did however read in my results that if both brewers yeast and bakers yeast show up as positive, then it could indicate a yeast imbalance in the gut. I will try to get to the bottom of that issue before giving up beer and bread for life.

Next is the Mild reactivity, which is where all of the dairy products show up. I knew I had a slight intolerance to dairy all along, so this just confirms that for me.

The remaining 78 foods fell into the low category for me, so I won't really elaborate on those. After taking this test I will definitely be cutting way back on the beer and dairy to see how it will benefit me. Once I've had some time to let these changes work on my body I will follow up with another post to let you guys know how I feel!

Thanks for taking the time to read this! I hope that this will benefit you in some way too! If you'd like to purchase, once again here is the link for 10% off Everylywell

Turkey & Sweet Potato Skillet Recipe

I apologize guys, I didn't get any good photos of this dish, so I will replace the photo next time I make it! I had so many people request the recipe so I still wanted to get it up on here as soon as possible!

What you'll need:

-1 lbs extra-lean ground turkey

-2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

-1 tsp garlic clove, minced (I love garlic, so I do almost double this)

-½ cup onions, diced

-1 can black beans

-3 Small or 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (about 3 cups)

- 1 Cup Trader Joe's Almond Mozzarella style shreds(cheese alternative)

-1/4 cup Cilantro

-1/2 cup Water

-1 tsp Chili powder

-1/4 tsp Pepper

-1/2 tsp Salt

-1 1/2 tbsp Cumin, ground

Directions:

In a large cast iron skillet, heat the olive oil on med-high heat. Add your meat and garlic to the pan and continue to break up meat and stir until brown.

Then stir in your cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper.

Add the onion and cook 3-4 more minutes.

Add in the sweet potato and water. Mix it up good and then put the lid on and cook for 6-8 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes have softened.

Now stir in your preheated can of black beans. Add in extra salt and pepper if needed. Next add your cup of "mozzarella" and put the lid back on for a minute or two to let the cheese melt.

Lastly add your cilantro on top and serve!

Why I Love to Workout

Of course the obvious answer would be to maintain my physical health, and yes of course that is one reason. Who doesn't want to look good?! I recently started working out with a personal trainer and I feel better than I have ever felt in so many ways. I'm naturally thin, which everyone rolls their eyes when you complain about that, but I don't want to just be skinny. I want to have curves and feel like a woman too, and working out is the only way I am able to achieve that. I recently started boxing as well and let me tell you.. I am HOOKED! Who knew that cardio could be so fun? I've always stayed far away from cardio for two main reasons, the first reason being that I always thought that cardio was miserable because I thought it had to be an activity like running. And the second is because I always wanted to gain weight, not lose it, so I thought that I should avoid it all together. I quickly found out that some cardio is necessary to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle. While on my journey to creating a body that I love, I found that I love working out for so many reasons besides just the physical benefits.

OTHER REASONS I LOVE TO BE ACTIVE

SLEEP: I've never had a problem sleeping necessarily, but I did notice that as soon as I added physical activity to my lifestyle that I have the best sleep I've ever had. I always sleep like a baby on the days that I train and everyone knows how important sleep is for your health, your skin, your sanity, etc.

BEER: Your girl LOVES to drink beer. I am not really one to go out and get drunk very often but I do love to enjoy a beer almost every night with my dinner or if I'm working on some creative projects. I don't drink them to get buzzed typically I just really enjoy craft beers and the taste. No one wants a beer belly, and I figure after I've gone to the gym and worked my butt off I deserve a beer.

ENERGY: Although I sleep like a baby at night after I workout, I typically feel super energized immediately following my workout. I love working out late morning after I've had breakfast because then I have all kinds of extra energy to go about my day. I also love to just get my workout done so that I have the rest of the day to get everything done!

HAPPINESS: Exercise is hands down my favorite stress relief. If I am ever stressed out or have something that is making me upset or angry, I always have the gym to make me feel better. Sometimes exercising is the last thing you feel like doing when you're upset, but I always leave the gym feeling way better than when I arrived.

ROUTINE: Being on a regular routine helps me not only physically, but mentally as well! When I started going to the gym regularly as part of my weekly routine it helped me feel more productive and organized in my life. It's good to have some structure, especially for me because I am not the best at managing my time.