Superfood Pasta By Rachel Katz & Tal Bar

In retrospect, I was a fragile kid. Chronically sick with sinus infections and bronchitis, I was a regular at the doctor's office. I was given dose after dose of antibiotics. As an adult I developed migraines and eczema, which brought new medications. It was a vicious cycle that wreaked havoc on my stomach.
 
Despite all that, as a lifelong conscious vegetarian, I was proud of my “healthy” lifestyle – my salads and morning kale juices – completely clueless to the toll of the drugs on my gut health, the additives in my food and the pesticides in my green-juices. I thought my illnesses were just poor genetics or perhaps bad luck. 
 
But then, in 2017 I was diagnosed with Hashimoto, an autoimmune disease. My hair was falling out, I always felt cold, constantly tired, and had major brain fog. I didn't feel like myself, I was depressed, anxious, and on top of it gained an “unexplained” 25 pounds. The doctors’ offered antidepressants, and suggested to eat less, and exercise more...adding food anxiety to the list of stressors. I was told there is no cure.   
 
That was one “no” I just couldn't accept. 
 
Desperate but determined, I immersed myself in the Functional Medicine approach of understanding the root cause of illness.  
 
I started to connect the dots. 

I realized that all along my body was trying to speak up… saying no to all the chemicals, pesticides, the gluten, the dairy. 
 
Nutrition became an essential piece in my healing journey. I traveled to Ayurveda Centers around the world and experienced the healing power of real-clean-food and the wisdom of herbs and adaptogens. By making consistent small changes, I felt the big impact it made on my health. The eczema and migraines were gone; I lost the weight; I felt energetic and enthusiastic. I finally felt like myself again. 
 
I became a certified Integrative Nutrition Coach with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN), where I learned about over one hundred dietary theories and holistic-preventive lifestyle practices. It was then that I had to act on my desire to inspire others through functional food, one bite at a time.