Why did I create PErfectly PKU?

I created Perfectly PKU because I want to be more involved in the PKU community, and be more accountable for my own PKU journey. Growing up, I have always loved cooking and being in the kitchen, especially around the holidays. I have found that as an adult, I do a lot of cooking, but only really share my food creations around the holidays with my family. Being the only one in my family with PKU, everyone else eats meat and dairy. I sometimes feel people in my family don’t want to try low-protein foods, or even just vegetarian foods, because they think, “Oh, that’s Meagan’s special food. I don’t want to take it from her.” This is all just my opinion on things, and may be very different from what my family members are actually thinking or feeling. But, it would be nice if they showed more interest in what I can and can’t eat in a day. Don’t get me wrong, my family is very supportive of my PKU and have helped me out so much as I have grown up with PKU.

I really do like to cook, and want to share my ideas. So since my family doesn’t partake in my meals as much, I thought a great way to share them is to create a blog for the PKU community. I know that many new mothers find out their child has PKU and may feel a huge range of emotions about it, because they have never heard of it before. My mother was one of them. It’s a lot to take in at once. I want this site to be a place where people in the PKU world can find PKU friendly recipes and connect with other PKUers. This is a new adventure for me, so I hope you will be patient with me as I figure out the ins and outs of running a blog and managing all the content.

I also want to share PKU content that includes my own personal PKU story, any relevant PKU news, traveling with PKU, and anything other PKU related stories that I can share with you. I am open to feedback as I get this blog up and running. I currently accept messages through my contact form, and will hopefully be enabling comments on my recipes soon.

When thinking about what to call this site, I came up with several different ideas. One thought was to just use my name, but I thought that it wouldn’t easily be recognized as a PKU resource. So then I started thinking of ideas that included “PKU” in the title. One idea I had that I almost went with was “PKU is Personal.” I liked this idea because I feel like every individual has a different experience with PKU, and their story is personal to them. However, I also felt like it gave off a negative connotation. I eventually came to Perfectly PKU. I like this name because even though PKU is a disorder, it doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with any person that has PKU. We can live lives just as fulfilled as anyone else, and each PKUer is perfect the way they are. I personally feel that my PKU has played a huge part in how I’ve grown up and who I’ve become as an adult. Growing up with PKU, you learn a lot of skills, like being able to say “no” to things, being accountable, and taking responsibility. While these are skills that I’ve learned in regards to my PKU diet, they are also skills that can be transferred to all areas of life.

I hope you enjoy the content I post on this site. I also hope that you share Perfectly PKU with any other PKUers that you may know, so that all PKUers can benefit from what I have to share with you.

Meagan ❤️