This isn’t just sauce… it’s my story 🌶️✨
Turning My Life Around
becoming vegan
❤️ The Turning Point ❤️
The first step I took… was letting go of everything I thought I needed.
I stopped eating meat. I cut out processed foods. But it wasn’t something that happened overnight—it was a journey… a slow, painful transition. I leaned away from meat little by little… becoming pescatarian, then vegetarian… until I finally found myself fully committed to a vegan lifestyle.
And it wasn’t easy. Not even close.
At that time, my body was already weak… fragile… fighting just to get through each day. I was constantly being told, “You need meat to get your strength back.”
But every time I tried to listen… my body rejected it.
It didn’t nourish me… it hurt me.
There were moments where eating meat would make me so violently ill, it felt like I had been poisoned. My body would shut down, and I’d end up being rushed to the emergency room—scared, confused, and wondering why something I was told would “help me” was actually breaking me down even more.
Imagine being told the very thing that’s supposed to heal you… is the thing making you worse.
That was my reality.
But deep inside, I knew my body was speaking to me. I just had to start listening.
So I kept going… even when it was hard, even when it didn’t make sense to others, even when I felt alone in the process. I chose to trust myself. I chose to trust what I felt.
And that choice… changed everything.
Because sometimes healing doesn’t come from following the crowd… it comes from having the courage to walk your own path. ❤️✨
Moon Face and swelling
❤️ When My Body Was Giving Up… I Didn’t ❤️
The swelling started when my kidneys began to fail me… and from that moment, everything changed.
My face became so swollen that even smiling hurt. Walking? That was pain. Every step felt like pressure building inside my body—like my skin was stretched to its limit, ready to burst at any moment. I didn’t feel like myself anymore… I felt trapped.
Moving felt unnatural… like I was walking underwater, as if I was stuck in a pool or ocean all day, fighting against something invisible just to take a single step. Even the simplest things became impossible.
I couldn’t run. I couldn’t jog.
I couldn’t even carry a gallon of milk… that’s how weak I had become.
Most days, I stayed home—only leaving for doctor visits. Life felt smaller, slower… and heavier with every passing moment.
But through all of that pain… I still smiled.
Not because it didn’t hurt… but because I refused to let it take my spirit. Deep down, I told myself, “Life isn’t over yet.” I held onto what I had left, trying to find light in the middle of darkness… even after being told I might only have five years to live.
Imagine hearing that… and still choosing to fight.
And today?
I stand here as proof that they were wrong.
Not only am I still here… I am stronger, healthier, and more alive than I’ve ever been. I’ve taken control of my health, and my numbers reflect that—creatinine at 1.6 and GFR at 60—a place I once thought I would never reach again.
This journey broke me… but it also rebuilt me.
Because when my body was giving up… I made the decision not to. ❤️✨
My Progress
❤️ The Healing Never Stops ❤️
I’m still on this journey.
This isn’t something that changes overnight… it’s not a quick fix or a pill you take and suddenly everything is okay. Healing the kidneys takes years of care, discipline, and patience—and even then, it’s a path you have to walk every single day.
It’s been 11 years… and I’m still fighting.
There are moments where I feel it—sharp, stabbing pains around my kidneys that remind me this battle isn’t over. There are days my body feels weak… days where something as simple as the wrong food can make me sick all over again.
Because the truth is… this condition doesn’t just disappear.
I had to rebuild my entire life. I changed my diet. I committed to meditation, movement, and exercise. I had to learn how to listen to my body in a way I never had before—how to respect it, nourish it, and protect it.
That’s what keeps me balanced today… what keeps me standing.
But even now, I live with uncertainty.
My kidneys can regress at any moment—sometimes without warning. Something as small as hidden meat ingredients can trigger a reaction… and when it does, the swelling comes back. My body reminds me quickly that I can’t slip.
It happened to me twice this year.
And then there’s stress… something people often overlook. Since my diagnosis, stress has become one of my biggest triggers. It doesn’t just affect my mind—it hits my body hard… causing swelling, nausea, even vomiting.
This is what I live with.
Not perfection… not complete healing… but a constant commitment to stay aligned, stay disciplined, and keep pushing forward no matter what.
And through it all—I’m still here.
Still standing. Still growing. Still choosing life every single day.
Because healing isn’t about being cured… it’s about having the strength to keep going. ❤️✨
getting back to normal
❤️ When Even Food Lost Its Meaning ❤️
Trying to get back to normal… wasn’t easy. Truth is—it felt impossible at times.
For eight long months, I lost my sense of taste.
Not just a little… completely.
Everything I ate felt the same—like cotton… tissue… a dirty mop. No matter what it was—fruit, vegetables, even something as soft as Jell-O—it all had the same lifeless texture, the same empty, unpleasant taste. There was no joy in eating anymore… no comfort… no relief.
It was as if my body had turned against the very thing meant to nourish me.
Worse than that… I felt like I could taste every chemical in my food and water. Every bite felt contaminated… unnatural… wrong. Food became something I feared instead of something I loved.
There were moments I would sit in front of a plate… and just cry.
Crying because I was hungry… but couldn’t enjoy a single bite. Crying because something so simple—something we all take for granted—had been taken away from me.
Even water became a struggle.
My body would reject almost everything I drank, leaving me feeling sick… heavy… unclean. The only thing that gave me any sense of relief… was Fiji Water. It was the only water that made me feel refreshed… pure… like my body could finally breathe again.
That’s how sensitive… how broken… my system had become.
But even in that darkness, I kept going. I had to.
Because I knew… somewhere deep inside… this wasn’t the end of my story.
Sometimes the hardest part of healing… is learning how to feel human again. ❤️✨
❤️ The Moment Everything Changed ❤️
People don’t realize how serious it is… to lose your sense of taste.
To some, it may seem small—but to me, it felt like the end of the world.
I truly believed I would never taste again. That something so simple… so human… was gone forever.
Then one day, everything shifted.
I was at my mother’s house… and she offered me her organic hot sauce. I didn’t expect anything—I had already accepted that food had no flavor for me anymore.
But the moment it touched my tongue… something happened.
It was like a lightning strike.
For the first time in months… I could taste something. Not the heat—but the flavor. My body started sweating, reacting to the spice… but my mouth? It wasn’t burning. It was alive. It was feeling again.
In that moment… I had hope.
I tried chasing that feeling. I bought different hot sauces, thinking maybe I could find that same spark again… but nothing worked. None of them tasted like hers. None of them reached me the way that one did.
So I went back to the source.
I asked my mother for her ingredients… and I made it my own. I removed what didn’t resonate with me and added what felt right—cilantro, culantro, thyme, rosemary—infusing it with my own touch, my own intention.
And what came out of that?
Something incredible.
To my surprise… it was the best hot sauce I had ever tasted.
And it didn’t stop there.
With the leftovers, I decided to grind everything down… and just like that, I had created another perfect sauce. Two creations… born from a moment of pain… turned into something powerful.
With these sauces, I could finally eat again. I could enjoy food again. I could sit down and actually feel something.
Food became desirable… life became colorful again.
That moment didn’t just bring back my taste…
it brought me back to life. ❤️🔥
❤️ 🔥 I turned PAIN into PURPOSE… This is my PROGRESS 🔥❤️
Izzy, you are a true inspiration to others that deal with health or diet issues. You have a reason to get up everyday and do what you need to do to better yourself. Your hot sauce is the BEST I’ve ever put in my mouth and up to trying yours I hated hot sauce. Continue doing what you do and being the best you can be
Thank you for your king words Randy!! ❤️🙏❤️
I appreciate you took the time to read alittle about me!!! thank you and many blessings to you and your family!!!
I was looking over your website. And I cant do any spicy things with heat. Because it gives me acid reflux real bad. I wish you had some items that are just spices and no heat to them at all.
But I do wish for you to have continued success for the product you currently have.
i will have those soon!!! same flavor but no heat 🙂