About Me - Dishing Up Balance

Hi! I’m Krystal, the natural fit foodie. Native of Trinidad and Tobago now living in sunny Spain. I’d like to tell you a little more about me. I’ll keep a long story short and just say I have had a few mishaps with my health. Eczema, oedema, acid reflux, herniated stomach and joint pain, nothing life threatening thank God but I finally decided enough is enough and embarked on a self healing journey. At first I simply switched to a real food diet. That means I eliminated all processed food, refined sweeteners and grains whilst adding more vegetables, fruits, fish and healthy fats like avocado and olives. I saw great improvement in my energy levels and mood but still had issues with eczema and joint pain. I decided to complete an elimination diet. It was then I realised I have sensitivities to gluten, cow’s dairy, tomatoes and eggs. In a very short time I managed to heal my major gripes by simply adjusting my diet. My health depends on what I eat. If I slip up my joint pains return or my eczema flares up. To that extent I have made healthy eating and exercise a lifestyle and continue to see positive changes in my body and overall health. Having seen the changes first hand from a healthy lifestyle I have become very passionate about encouraging others on their journey.

If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail.

My number one piece of advice to anyone embarking on this journey is to plan your meals. I was never a meal planner, I cooked according to my mood. But as the saying goes, if you fail to prepare, prepare to fail. It is imperative that you plan your meals, if not you may find that you quickly run out of ideas or time and the next thing you know, you’re stressed and ordering take out for dinner. There is nothing worse than falling off the bandwagon and having to start all over. I highly recommend the ebook, Real Food Planning Challenge. This book is the ultimate guide to planning out meals. Along with Step-by-step guidance for creating a real food planning kit you will find gorgeous custom-designed printables, recipe cards, seasonal shopping guides and so much more. Click the image below to learn more about the Real Food Planning Challenge.

My love of food drives me to experiment in the kitchen. My meals must be healthy and delicious because in the end food is wonderful and meant to be enjoyed. Given my background you can expect to find recipes influenced by Caribbean, European and World cuisine. I love making just about everything from scratch, it must be the control freak in me. Homemade jams, nut butters, cosmetics you name it and I’ll give it a go. I am constantly looking for ways to better nourish myself and family. Journey along with me as I share tasty healthy recipes to help ease you into a healthier lifestyle.

If you’re new to all this start with this post.

A few more tidbits about me…

I am mom to a very spunky little princess. She’s like 5 kids rolled into one and gives me a real run for my money.

My husband is Hungarian, we met many years ago in the middle of the ocean when we worked on cruise ships, we lived in Budapest for 7 years.

Random…

Before moving to Spain and taking on blogging full-time I worked as a Casino Cashiers Manager for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, an English teacher, an Inside Sales Associate and a Bid Manager for IBM.

I love the sound of the rain and the ocean

I love leg day

I love plantains

I am CRAZY about the TV series Scandal and things can get REALLY ugly if anyone disturbs me while I’m watching an episode.

Let’s keep in touch I would love to hear from you ♥