About Annie
Hello, I’m Annie. I’m so happy you’re here!
This space is where my love for food meets health, joy, and the healing of a personal journey back to life.
After years of facing serious health challenges that left me feeling lost and disconnected, I found my way by turning my passion for cooking into a journey of healing. Through this journey, I embraced a healthier lifestyle, lost over 20 kilos, and discovered that real, nourishing food can restore not only your body, but your soul too.
I’m not a trained chef. I’m a passionate home cook with a background in design and a deep love for creative, wholesome living.
I enjoy experimenting with real ingredients, reimagining traditional favourites, and crafting recipes that are healthy, low-carb, gluten-free, sugar-free, and full of flavour and comfort.
Along the way, my kitchen became my sanctuary. It is where I create meals with love and care that feel both healing and indulgent.
Every recipe you’ll find here is a reflection of that journey, a celebration of real, joyful eating, bursting with vibrant flavours, wholesome ingredients, and completely free from processed sugar. These recipes are made to delight your taste buds, nourish your body, and remind you that healthy eating can be joyful, indulgent, and deeply satisfying.
Whether you’re looking to lose weight or simply indulge in guilt-free pleasure, or following keto, paleo lifestyle, embracing a gluten-free diet, you’ll find something here to satisfy your cravings without compromise. Every recipe is completely refined sugar-free or sugar-free, allowing you to enjoy wholesome, delicious meals made with love to nourish both your body and soul.
Healthy food isn’t about restriction, it’s about enjoying every bite with more joy, more flavour, and more excitement.
This website is more than a recipe collection. It’s the story of how I found my way back to life through the healing power of food. I hope it inspires you to create something beautiful, both in your kitchen and in your life.
Let me take you on this journey. It’s a story shaped by unexpected challenges and quiet rediscoveries, and I’m here to share not only recipes, but also the deeper joy of eating well, living gently, and finding comfort in food that truly nourishes.
When Life Turned Upside Down
A few years ago, everything changed.
I had always been full of energy, proud of what I had built through hard work, creativity, and determination. I was healthy, happy, and living a life that felt aligned with who I was. It was a life filled with colour, movement, and purpose. But then, my world shifted in ways I never imagined.
Stress, chronic health issues, and overwhelming pressure knocked me down so hard that I no longer recognised myself.
I became very sick, the kind of sick that shakes everything inside you. Within six months, I was put on multiple medications and gained over 30 kilos. For someone who had always been active and loved movement, the change felt devastating. But it wasn’t just the weight. There was a deeper heaviness that settled into my body, my mind, and my spirit. Each day felt harder than the last.
I felt trapped in a body I no longer knew, burdened by depression, anxiety, and PTSD. The vibrant woman I had once been seemed to fade. Most days, even getting out of bed felt impossible. I lost my spark, and hope became a distant memory.
I slowly began to withdraw. I stopped seeing people, avoided my family, and disconnected from everything I once loved. My career as a professional designer, which had given me so much joy and purpose, quietly slipped away. Even cooking, something that had always brought me comfort, became too difficult. The smallest tasks felt like mountains.
The pain, both emotional and physical, felt endless. I spent countless days and nights in silence, battling anxiety, depression, panic attacks, exhaustion, and relentless pain. I often wondered if it would ever stop, if I would ever feel like myself again. There were moments I truly believed I never would. There were days when it felt like life had simply paused, as if the world was still moving but I was standing in the middle of it, frozen. It was like being locked inside a quiet, colourless room where time had no meaning, with no light and no hope. And somewhere along the way, I lost mine.
Finding the Will to Fight
After three long years of battling my health, something inside me shifted. Then came the moment that changed everything. My doctor’s words cut through the darkness:
“We can’t do more. Just try to keep yourself alive.”
Those words hit me like a storm. In that instant, I realised no one was coming to save me.
When someone is broken and lost, what they need most is love. They need someone who will gently and patiently remind them of who they truly are. I was lucky to have that person beside me.
My husband never gave up on me. He stood beside me with quiet strength, compassion, and care when I had nothing left to give. He reminded me of who I had always been. He told me I was strong, creative, capable, and full of energy. He helped me remember the version of myself I had lost, the one who had built so much through hard work. He made me see that my worth was still there, waiting to be claimed.
His love gave me light, and that light gave me the strength to take the first small steps toward healing.
Before I got sick, I had always believed that nothing was impossible if I truly wanted it and poured my mind and energy into it. I had pushed myself so hard to achieve everything in life, and now I knew that no one could pull me out of this but me.
It wasn’t easy. In fact, it was one of the hardest things I have ever faced. The road was messy, exhausting, and filled with pain. Every day and night felt like a battle. My body ached, my spirit felt so heavy, and my mind was constantly fighting the pull of depression and anxiety. Some days it felt like I was trapped at the bottom of a black, endless well with no way out.
But in the middle of that darkness, something began to shift. Even on the days I could barely see a glimmer of hope, I kept pushing. I couldn’t let myself give up.
Rediscovering Joy Through Food
Slowly, I found my way back to the kitchen. But this time, it felt different. I wasn’t just cooking to prepare meals. I was cooking to heal.
I began creating healthy, low-carb recipes using whole, natural ingredients. At first, my focus was to lose weight and regain control of my health. But over time, I realised it was about much more. Each dish became part of my healing. Every recipe was a quiet act of care for myself.
It wasn’t easy. Returning to something that once felt effortless now felt overwhelming. I had always been the one who cooked multiple dishes and desserts with joy and energy for my family and friends. Now, even making one simple meal was a struggle. I worked through pain and exhaustion. Some days ended in tears. There were moments I couldn’t finish what I had started. But I kept going, slowly and gently, one step at a time.
Losing weight was an uphill climb. The medications made it even harder, and most diets didn’t work for me. For nearly three months, I saw no change. It was discouraging. But eventually, my body began to respond. I committed to a healthy, flavourful keto lifestyle and transformed familiar, comforting dishes into colourful, nourishing meals. It took more than a year to lose nearly 10 kilos.
As I started to heal, I slowly reconnected with some of my closest friends and family. My aunt encouraged me to share what I had learned. She reminded me that my story and recipes could help others who might be feeling lost too.
It took time. But gradually, I began to feel joy again.
Cooking became a kind of therapy. It wasn’t just about the food. Every recipe helped me rebuild something inside myself. I started to feel more like me again. Not exactly who I had been before, but someone softer, stronger, and more grounded.
After more than two years of steady discipline, I eased into a more balanced way of eating. I still focus on whole, nourishing ingredients and continue to avoid processed sugar. The way I cook now is simple, joyful, and deeply healing.
Why I’m Sharing My Journey With You
Healthy Food by Annie is more than just a collection of recipes. It is part of my healing journey. This space has helped me find purpose again.
After everything I have been through, sharing my love for cooking feels like the most natural next step. I still have so much to say about the struggles I faced. But it is not always easy to put it into words. Right now, my focus is on healing, resting, and rebuilding.
One day soon, when I feel ready, I will share the full story. It is a story that changed my life and deeply affected the lives of those I love. Maybe it will help other women protect themselves or become more aware of things that are not often spoken about. I believe when the time is right, I will find the strength to tell it.
For now, I am choosing joy. I am choosing to find pleasure in the little things. And I am choosing to share the comfort and healing I find through food.
This website is not just a hobby. It is something I hold onto. Creating and recording recipes has become a way to cope with the difficult days. Some days are harder than others. Pain and exhaustion often make it difficult to focus. Sometimes it takes me days to complete one simple recipe. There are moments when it feels impossible. But I promised myself that I would never give up.
Sharing these recipes brings me purpose. It reminds me of why I started. Through my food and through my journey, I hope to show that even in the darkest times, there is still a way forward. There is still something beautiful to hold onto.
I thought it was the end, but it was a beginning in disguise
Thank you for being here and for being part of this journey with me. Your presence, your kindness, and your support truly mean everything to me. If my story or my food has resonated with you in any way, I would love to hear from you. Your feedback, your messages, and your shared experiences truly mean the world.
Join me in the kitchen as I share recipes that heal, comfort, and nourish.
