2018 was a crazy year for us to say the least. Up through the summer it seemed like we had multiple taco events every weekend. We were having lots of fun (as evidenced on our Instagram), but we both have demanding day jobs during the week. We were literally burning the candle at every end. I took a trip to France with my mom for the first 2 weeks of June, leaving Frank behind to manage it all on his own. He had 3 big events while I was away. Less than 24 hours after I returned we had another gig and kept on that pace for 2 more weeks. Until something happened.
On the morning of July 4, I woke up with complete double vision. I'd experienced stress-related stuff like this before, but nothing this debilitating. After multiple trips to the ophthalmologist and doctors over the following two months — all while continuing to support Frank and the business — we finally had an answer. I have MS.
Early on we'd been told this was most likely what was causing my problems and it made sense, so I just started learning everything I could about it and how to move forward. In addition to my vision problems I'd also become extremely fatigued, had loss of balance, and major brain fog during this time — a completely disorienting experience. The doctors hadn't given me any guidance or medicine to treat what I was experiencing. The best advice I got was that I needed to be my own advocate moving forward.
We learned that MS is one of many inflammatory autoimmune diseases afflicting people at exponential rates. I took the first step and significantly reduced dairy and gluten in my diet and began incorporating more anti-inflammatory foods such as green leafy vegetables, berries, nuts, and fish. During that time, my vision slowly started to improve, and the brain fog and fatigue went away.
I kept digging for more information and learned a lot. Everything went back to food and I had never before been on this bandwagon. This was an ah-ha moment for me, as I had been in France the month prior for two weeks, eating and drinking everything I now learned I should eliminate. I created the perfect storm conditions inside my body.
Fast forward to the present and I have now completely changed my diet (no small feat for me). I'm dairy, gluten, and legume free, I avoid refined sugar, and keep saturated fats low. Frank has made changes to his own diet as well, though not as severely as I have. And we're both feeling better than ever! It's still a battle every single day, and I still have challenges because of the MS. But it's a battle we can fight together and it will allow us to help others.
So why have we decided to share this and what does it have to do with F'n K Tacos? Well, we love our tacos. And although our homemade corn tortillas are technically gluten-free and we do our best to bring healthier options, we know we could do more. It was always important to us to offer a meatless taco and now we're looking into ways we can expand our menu with options that cater to people like me with restrictive dietary needs, all while maintaining the delicious flavors you've come to love.
Since I've made these changes I've spoken to so many people with different ailments from diabetes to cancer and the recommended diets aren't very different. In the past we carefully served people with Celiac disease and made accommodations to meet low-sodium and dairy-free requests. But we know we can do more. We want to do more, but not in the typical Vegan/Vegetarian style.
So we've taken a short time-out for a little bit as we continue to learn more. We're rethinking elements of our menu and testing some new options, including a fresh grilled fish taco special! When we get back into full swing we're going to be testing some exciting new healthy and delicious tacos. (But don't worry, we'll still plan to have all of your basic favorites.) Thanks for all the positive vibes as we venture into this new chapter!
Cheers to 2019!