Grain Free 101 Giveaway – $90 Value!

Grain Free changed my life. Can it change yours?

Seven years ago, I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, an autoimmune disease. I spent two weeks in the hospital, only able to walk from the stiff hospital bed to the bathroom.

Five years ago, I had tried almost every medication available for the disease. The medications brought on a slew of horrible side-effects but nothing worked.

Three years ago, I spent an entire month barely able to leave my bed and too weak to climb the stairs between my bedroom and kitchen.

Three years ago, doctors told me that I would soon need to have my large intestine removed because medications weren’t working.

Two years ago, I discovered Breaking the Vicious Cycle, a book that explains how to use a grain-free diet to heal ulcerative colitis.

Ever since, I’ve enthusiastically followed a grain free diet and watched my body heal from the inside out… without the need for any medications or the removal of my intestines! Because nutrition changed my life, I started Empowered Sustenance to share my discoveries with others. One primary goals with my blogging is to empower others to use a grain free diet to reach their optimal health.

I recommend a grain free diet, particularly the Autoimmune Paleo Protocol, to anyone with an autoimmune disease. But I also recommend grain free to anyone who struggles with more minor  (but still significant) issues like:

• inflammation
• food allergies
• skin disorders like acne and eczema
• weight issues and inability to lose weight
• hormonal imbalances
• mood disorders

As a matter of fact, I believe a grain free diet is the healthiest option in general. As long as you avoid the almond flour and excessive nuts/seeds, of course (you should know me by now!) 🙂

Getting started with Grain Free

There are many variations on a grain free diet, including the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, The GAPS Diet, The Primal Diet, and The Paleo Diet. These diets are all very similar, with different focuses. For example, the GAPS Diet is an entire healing protocol with lifestyle changes. As another example, the Primal Diet emphasizes the health properties of raw dairy but the Paleo Diet often excludes dairy in all forms. The Paleo Diet like all the others has unique points, but the term is frequently used to refer to a grain free diet in general.

Getting started with a grain free diet seems utterly overwhelming. Believe me, I’ve been there! Even if you’ve seen the tasty recipes I create without grains, it probably still appears daunting to prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner without any form of grain.

For a giveaway, I’ve collected three of my favorite resources for getting started with a grain free diet. These books cover everything from stocking a Paleo kitchen, adjusting a grain-free diet for your health needs, selecting supplements, and creating delicious grain free meals.

Even if you are already following a grain free diet, these books will still provide new information and delicious recipes. So, whether you are brand new or an old-hand at grain free, enter the giveaway!

Your Personal Paleo Code

Chris Kresser shares his wealth of knowledge about the Paleo Diet on his site, ChrisKresser.com. I believe his site and his new book, Your Personal Paleo Code, are some of the top resources for healthy living. I’ll prove it: just sign up for his newsletter. You’ll get access to 7 free ebooks that will change the way you look at health disorders. Because it’s not enough for him to give away one free book like the rest of us bloggers. *Cough* overachiever *cough*

Chris has so much passion and knowledge for nutrition that his website and seven free books can’t contain it all. He recently launched his book Your Personal Paleo Code. If you pick just one book to tell you what to eat, pick this book.

In Your Personal Paleo Code, you’ll learn:

• Why you should follow a Paleo diet (at least 80% of the time, that is)
• How to start Paleo and re-introduce foods like raw dairy and buckwheat
• How to pick supplements for your health concerns
• How to tweak your diet and lifestyle for health concerns including high blood pressure, weight loss, digestive disorders, skin problems and more.

With the book, you get access to exclusive and comprehensive materials on Chris’s website including:

• Bonus chapters for addressing issues like adrenal fatigue and thyroid disorders
• Supplement chart for sourcing the best supplements
• Two bonus weeks of Paleo meal plans and recipes

Nom Nom Paleo

Nom Nom Paleo, from Michelle and Henry at NomNomPaleo.com, is the rare type of cookbook that will become splattered, stained, and dog-eared. It’s also the type of cookbook that you will flip through like a picture book. And that’s my favorite type of cookbook!

Try as I might, I simply can’t muster enthusiasm for cookbooks without adequate pictures. I like to recipe shop with my eyes, thumbing through a cookbook and settling on the picture, not the recipe title. So, obviously, I fell in love with Nom Nom Paleo because it contains step-by-step pictures for every recipe.

The classy, fresh, and Asian-inspired recipes strictly emphasize flavor with a creative Paleo twist. Just a few of my favorite recipes in the book include Madacamia Nut Ricotta, Paleo Mayonnaise, Slow Cooker Korean Short Ribs.

This book fits perfectly into the Grain Free 101 theme of this giveaway, with a whole section devoted to Paleo-friendly foods, essential cooking tools for the Paleo kitchen, and insights into Michelle and Henry’s own Paleo home.

The Paleo Slow Cooker

Slow cookers. Because we have lives.

While I love experimenting with multiple-step recipes and unusual new ingredients, sometimes the only tool that keeps me on track with my grain free diet is my CrockPot. Because, many days, I only have time to throw beef, veggies and spices into a Crockpot. Beef and veggies gets old, though, so I change things up and still save time with The Paleo Slow Cooker.

The Paleo Slow Cooker, by Arsy Vartanian of Rubies and Radishes, is my go-to resource when I have limited time to cook. The recipes aren’t fancy or complex, and that’s why I love the book! It delivers simple and flavorful meals with minimal effort. And, of course, the recipes are beautifully photographed.

With ethnic recipes from around the globe (everything from Chicken Verde to Lamb Tagine), you can use your slow cooker each day and never get into a rut.

Enter the giveaway

Enter this giveaway for a chance to win a hardback copies of  all three books: Your Personal Paleo Code, Nom Nom Paleo, AND The Paleo Slow Cooker.

The giveaway is open from  1/09 – 1/23  and is open to residents of U.S. (I’m so sorry, international readers!)

How to enter

1. Click here to sign up for my newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time but to be eligible to win, you must be subscribed when the giveaway closes. (I never share your email address with anyone!)

2. Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter the giveaway.
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