This – a photo of me aged 20 – is the most personal picture I’ve shared since starting my Ancestral Kitchen profile here a year ago. . And it feels delicate. But at the same time, I am so moved to share – as it helps illustrate *why* I do what I do in my kitchen everyday and just what it has helped heal in my life. . In the second episode of @ancestralkitchenpodcast, I say to my co-host Andrea: . “You can look at someone and think, oh, they’re thin, or they’re beautiful, or they’ve got good skin – I had terrible skin, and I spent my entire adolescence overweight and being bullied….and it’s through going into that, and addressing the problems that I had, and facing them, that I’ve managed to move to where I am.” . Not only has facing my food issues brought me to *such* a joyful, healthy, unusual and tasty place with my food creations, but in that process (which is still ongoing!), I have healed and am healing so much more than just my body. . I hope that by sharing my kitchen joy plus a little of my story (including this picture), I’ll impart the depth, joy and healing available through food. I’ve changed mine and it’s changing me. . You can download the three currently-released Ancestral Kitchen podcasts, including the ‘Meet Alison’ episode, via the link in my profile or by searching for it in your podcast player. . If you have comments or would like to share anything of your food story, do let me know. Even though I may seem all official and that, with a podcast, I’m just me, in my kitchen, getting on with the things that need doing :-)