About Me & My Approach to Clean Eating
Hi, I’m Coco, a passionate home-cooking and wellness advocate dedicated to creating nutrient-dense, clean, whole food based and allergen-conscious meals. My journey into home catering and meal prep services was deeply personal—born out of my own battle with Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (C.I.R.S.), a complex autoimmune condition triggered by environmental toxins, particularly mold and biotoxins.
Living with C.I.R.S. means I have to be extremely mindful of the foods I eat, the ingredients I use, and the environments I work in. Over time, I have developed an in-depth understanding of how food can be both healing and harmful, and I’ve made it my mission to craft meals that are free of common inflammatory triggers, using only the purest, highest-quality ingredients.
Because of my condition, I take extra precautions to ensure that the kitchens I work in are safe, free from mold exposure, harsh chemicals, and synthetic fragrances. This is not just about my health—it’s about ensuring that my clients receive meals made with the utmost care, in an environment that upholds the highest standards of cleanliness and purity.
Through my specialized meal prep and catering services, I offer customized, clean, and nourishing food experiencesfor those who share a passion for holistic health, clean eating, and allergen-free meals. Whether you're looking for organic, gluten-free, dairy-free, Whole30, Paleo, Keto, or autoimmune-friendly meals, I am here to create a dining experience that supports wellness without compromise.
I truly appreciate your understanding and support in helping me maintain a safe working environment so I can continue to provide my best service to you. If you have any questions about my approach or dietary accommodations, I’d love to connect and discuss how I can best serve your needs!
Want to know more about C.I.R.S?
For comprehensive information, Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker's website, Surviving Mold, offers resources on diagnosis and treatment. A systematic review titled "Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS): A Systematic Review" provides an in-depth analysis of the condition.
A Timeline of Change
I am not the only one suffering a strange constellation of quality of life shattering health symptoms that seems to be sourcing from a misfiring of our own immune systems.
If I was the only one, this story would not be worth telling. Because even now, miles and years down the road and looking back over the unprecedented plot twists, the entire story still doesn’t make sense.
Thats why it’s worth telling.
The only way we figure this out, is together. So for anyone else suffering and suffocating in silence …. this is for you.
Covid 19
In 2020 along with a huge chunk of the rest of planet, I tested positive for Covid-19 and got VERY very sick, and then… I never got better.
I stopped being able to eat, or sometimes even drink, whatever I swallowed would immeditatly be vomited back up.
After 3 months of the Covid Long-Haulers experience (something we did NOT have a name for at the time) my body was so weak.
But my brain was on fire. And since the incomprehensible amount of pain was not letting me sleep, I got so so so curious.
What was happening to me? Why can’t my body be bothered to function
Chemical sensitivities
I started realizing smells and fumes I regularly navigated around during my day to day {car exhaust, restaurant fryer vents, your over zealously perfumed individual on the elevator, the scented candle in the lobby, the industrial cleaning agents constantly applied to gym bathrooms} once - - - -I noticed eating produc
Housing Crisis
Metabolic Crisis
C.I.R.S - Mold Toxicity
In 2020 I was diagnosed with C.I.R.S, which is the medical label for a chronically inflamed & dysfunctional nervous system due to a constant exposure to an offensive immunological insult, usually coming from a moldy building or envoirment. My doctors suggested the intestinal & digestive failure I’ve been experiencing may be a result of this process, and advised me to test my apartment for mold, which I did. The results came back very positive. So I found a new place to stay and began a long and grueling process of detoxification called “The Shoemaker Protocol”, ditching all of my handmade furniture, books, and most of my belongs which turned out to be too difficult to mold-remediate.
I have always been outdoor obsessed with the outdoors -
Growing up homeschooled allowed me to essentially spend more time outdoors than in, and as a young adult when I started working wage jobs indoors I developed an non-negotionable habit of taking hikes multiple times a week. Movement is a must for me too. There has always appeared to be a direct link between my movement and the functioning of my brain - There were unfortunately certain stages of intestinal failure that came with such fatigue I wasn't able to get my self outdoors and moving, but even then I’d pull blankets and pillows out onto the deck and curl up in fetal position inside of a ray of sunshine.
Before long, I began to recognize my extreme intolerance for air pollution and the quality of my breathing air was resulting in symptoms JUST from being indoors. This became more and more apparent as I measured histamine-related symptoms such as rashes