Episode 6: Tiffany Brande, Whole Fork

About Tiffany:

I’m a former Chemist (with a degree in Biology) in my mid 30’s. I live in Northern Utah with my husband, Justin and our three spunky kids. I think it’s pretty obvious that I love food, (yeah, I created an entire blog, Whole Fork, dedicated to it). I spent most of my career running around the globe teaching people how to use portable Mass Spectrometry to analyze all sorts of chemicals. It was fun, and the travel was amazing (hello Cairo, Moscow, Warsaw and more), but my true passion is food and more importantly health. And maybe even more important than that, what motivates us to eat what we eat.

I spent most of my life not really worrying about what I ate. I was a really active kid and played any sport I could fit in my schedule. Food had very little effect on my body. I ate when I was hungry, and that basically summed it up. That is until I hit college.

I won’t lie, I was still pretty fit in college, but my diet was terrible. A lot of fast food, anything I could eat on the go, and many late night burrito runs with my roommates. Like most college freshman I gained a little weight which made me feel self-conscious. Since my early 20’s my weight and health have fluctuated due to stress, school, marriage, pregnancy etc. Finally, I decided I was going to shed any of those extra pounds once and for all, and feel comfortable taking my kids to the swimming pool. I spent that first summer counting calories, eating fat-free Frankin’ foods, processed stuff that came in boxes, bars, and shakes that came in powder form. And, I spent hours riding my bike. I tracked macros, points, calories in, calories burned, weighed and measured all my food, and I was a slave to the scale. It was exhausting. I was hungry, cranky, tired and I had a lot of headaches. Worst of all, my body wasn’t really changing.

While surfing the interwebs and Instagram I kept coming across clean eating. It made sense to me to eat foods that come from nature…fresh vegetables, fruit, meat, nuts, seeds, whole grains and healthy oils. At first I thought it sounded crazy restrictive and I couldn’t imagine losing weight while welcoming healthy fats. I was a child of the 80’s raised on skim milk, margarine and fat free cottage cheese. Eating an entire avocado was a completely foreign idea that seemed scary.

But, people kept posting their results, and I couldn’t ignore them.

So I did my homework, read several books and scientific articles and I couldn’t argue the research. The science is solid, and it’s exactly what I learned in all my human biology classes while studying in college.

So I decided to jump in, face first, by going 30 days without any processed foods. Seriously none. Not even a bite, or a lick.

The results were nothing short of life changing. No, really, life changing.

My results: I lost 6 lbs, headaches gone, stiff joints gone, asthma and seasonal allergies gone. My skin completely cleared up, skin tone evened out, redness gone, and I started to have a healthy glow. My energy shot through the roof. I no longer had the 3pm drag and I stopped taking naps on the weekends. I fell asleep faster and slept throughout the night. My tastes had changed, and sugar no longer had a hold on me. And all my digestive issues (bloating, cramping, constipation) all completely went away.

Since our initial dive into clean eating we still try to find that balance between eating mostly all whole food meals, while allowing for a few treats every now and then. I feel like I’m in better shape and have a younger body than when I was in high school.

My love of food has made it fun to create tasty and exciting dishes, so my family doesn’t feel deprived while still eating wholesome meals. Feel free to email me if you have any questions at[email protected].

About Whole Fork:

Whether you call it grain-free, gluten-free, Paleo, whole foods, clean eating (I’m sure I’ve left several other names out)…all the recipes here are created from vegetables, meats, poultry, fruits, nuts and healthy fats. It’s JUST REAL FOOD. We eat (mostly) whole, real foods at home, and this is where I share all those recipes.

I started Whole Fork as a way to keep me on track while diving face first into the health world. I spent countless hours on the internet trying to find recipes, inspiration, fitness tips, information on how to start my new healthy lifestyle and be part of a healthy community. Which is exactly what you’ll find here.

The first part of that health equation is FOOD. My entire life I have loved food. Creating new and exciting, healthy dishes helps me stay on track with nutrition. I have found that what we put in our bodies affects our health and weight more than anything else. Simply put, you can’t out medicate or out exercise what you eat…you simply can’t outrun your fork! (Hence the name Whole Fork.)

No one wants a bland or boring diet. Head on over to my recipes page and start searching for something that makes your mouth water. I figure, if health food can taste amazing I won’t go searching for the junk.

The other part of that healthy equation is fitness. I believe in making fitness fun, which lends a hand to me having too many hobbies. Kayaking, golfing, motorcycling, hiking, backpacking, camping, and cycling to name a few.