Welcome to My Life in a Pyramid!
About Me
My name is Heba (the ‘e’ is pronounced as the ‘i’ in “ribbon”), which if you’re curious, means ‘gift or talent given by God’ in the Arabic language. Right off the bat, I want you to know: I am obsessed with high-quality real food, healthy living, holistic health, sustainable agriculture, natural treatments for various ailments, and the local food movement. I’ve had an insatiable curiosity to learn as much as I can about these topics over the past couple of years. My Life in a Pyramid was born out of this passion in January 2009, and ever since, my interest in these topics has both matured and increased.
One of my biggest passions is in life is self-expression through writing, and food is a close second (and sometimes, it’s tied for first – especially when I’m hungry!). So, as an effort to combine two of my greatest passions, this site was born in January 2009. Initially, the blog was focused on sharing mostly traditional Egyptian recipes and other ones I was inspired to make based on other blogs I have been reading and continue to read. After I had been working on My Life in a Pyramid for about a year and half, my friend Brenda Abdelall and I together launched midEATS in August 2011, I decided to take My Life in a Pyramid in a different direction by focusing more on the other aspects of healthy living besides sharing mostly traditional recipes. MidEATS, as the name implies, is a site specifically focused on sharing traditional Middle Eastern food and recipes as well as cultural Middle Eastern traditions. Browse midEATS for information and interesting traditional recipes and cultural tidbits, and check out My Life in a Pyramid for healthy living tips and observations as well as the occasional healthy snack or food recipe that is not specifically Middle Eastern.
After reading Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation, Michael Pollan‘s Omnivore’s Dilemma, and Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed for a Cultural Studies class in graduate school, my interest was immediately piqued, and ever since, I’ve been actively reading and researching these topics in my free time on the internet and in print material. After graduating with a Master’s in English (and a concentration in Cultural Studies) from the reputable writing program at George Mason University in 2009, I have written for a variety of organizations and startups from the medical industry to the fashion industry and everything in between. While I drafted articles about fashion, beauty and lifestyle for the budding internet startup Xaxii, I was always drawn to fair trade fashion, ethical practices in the workplace and natural beauty fixes. And while researching pediatric speech disorders for a speech therapy company in Chicago, I was drawn to behavior therapy and alternative treatments that didn’t prioritize seeking prescription drugs. In other words, I am always thinking of ways to fix problems that relate to health and well-being in the most natural, least intrusive ways possible; and more importantly, natural ways to prevent them in the first place.
As much as I’m an idealist, I’m also a realist and I realize that these healthy living solutions do not always encounter the path of least resistance. In fact, many powerful industries continue to benefit from the health-destructive status quo (the fast food culture and over-prescribing drugs being the two examples that first come to mind). So changing people’s perspectives about healthy living becomes extra challenging in the face of colorful marketing campaigns for junk foods and money-driven pharmaceutical solutions touted as being highly “scientific” without being sufficiently tested for efficacy and safety, and often-times for conditions that can be adequately addressed without needing any medication whatsoever. Nevertheless, I have accepted the challenge and invite you to do so as well. Together, we can make a real change!
About My Life in a Pyramid
The name of the site, My Life in a Pyramid, is actually inspired by some anecdotal experiences from my childhood. I am an Egyptian-American, and when I first moved to the U.S., I got some funny questions from kids at school: one was “Did you ride a camel to school?” and the other was “Did you live in a pyramid?” Really!? Did these kids not know that pyramids were built as giant tombs for Egyptian kings … about 5,000 years ago, and that they weren’t living quarters for anyone!? And the traffic in Egypt – from cars of course – is unfortunately one of the worst in the world (so come to think of it, maybe it would have made sense to ride a camel- it might have actually gotten me to my destination faster!) Anyway, after taking those questions quite personally at first, I actually started to find them pretty humorous, and I have been joking about living in a pyramid ever since.
The word ‘pyramid’ in the blog name was also meant as a subtle reference to the newer food pyramid which was changed by the USDA in 2005 to include exercise. At first this association with the government-recommended food pyramid did not bother me, as I was still learning about the healthiest ways to eat, and was – to some extent – still blinded by some of the marketing and ‘conventional’ misinformation propagated by media and the medical and food establishments.
Over the past two years, both the government and I have shed our association with that pyramid, which was proven to be futile in its attempt to convince Americans to eat ‘healthier.’ In August 2011, the Obama administration reworked the pyramid into a circle – the food plate – which is perhaps a more appropriate symbol; however, it is still largely misguided in terms of the information present: a large amount of grains in the American diet has been linked to obesity and heart disease, and yet still takes up more than a quarter of the plate. The dairy in the cup to the right of the plate is suggested to be fat-free or 1% fat even though numerous reputable studies have shown that full-fat raw dairy is more nutritious and less damaging than fat-free or low-fat dairy. Additionally, no mention of the source or quality of food is on the plate, and water makes no appearance there either.
Slowly, I started to see what was wrong with conventional wisdom related to dietary and exercise guidelines, and I started formulating my own convictions about healthy living, based on solid research and common sense. In November 2011, I decided to revive My Life in a Pyramid, so I carefully designed the logo as an inverted pyramid that is also the shape of a bunch of green grapes. Let me give you a hint: the design is particularly meaningful for my vision for this site! The inverted pyramid made up of circles makes this statement: I am no longer a believer in the current system – whether the old food pyramid or the newer food plate – with its status-quo-embracing, truth-evading, science-deviating model. I believe in a greener, more sustainable system, focused on sharing the importance of real God-designed food (as opposed to man-made, lab-designed food products), and the viability of natural remedies to fix various health problems. Green grapes, one of my favorite fruits growing up (which also happen to be a great source of antioxidants and vitamins) accurately represent this vision.
I am looking forward to sharing my posts with you! Hopefully you find the information useful and the topics engaging. If you have any questions, suggestions for posts, or just want to say hello, email me at mylifeinapyramid at yahoo dot com!
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I’m impressed
) can’t wait to explore the rest of your posts, hooba booba
Thanks Nat!
I can’t wait to add more recipes and other content too! If you ever have suggestions for recipes that you’d like to see (like the salade russe – which is coming up, by the way), please let me know!
I’m bookmarking this page and can’t wait to be edumacated hahhahaha you have a fan in me!!
Haha, thanks Andrew!
You have to let me know your favorite posts!
So great to “meet” you, Heba! I am so glad you found my blog, too. I cant believe that you were living in Northern Virginia too – such a small world! I have a feeling we would have been good friends based on everything we have in common
I hope we get to meet someday. Also, I love your website, and I will definitely try some of your recipes! I have met so many wonderful foodies through my blog, as well as through facebook (will try to track you there too…)
happy cooking!
B
Thanks!
I still have family in No VA and we visit often, so it would be nice if we can meet one time when we come into town!
-Heba
Great to meet you! I love your blog and your story. Will definitely be adding you to my blogroll!
Thanks, Shawna, for the sweet words about my blog
I’ll be doing the same (adding you to my blogroll!)
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Nice blog. You make me hungry!
Haha, I’m glad you like it! Let me know if you have requests for any recipes!
Love it! You are an excellent writer, Heba. I am severely culinarily challenged myself but will have to share your recipe tips with my husband. They look amazing, and he does 99% of our cooking.
Got a kick out of remembering English 4AP senior year of high school with Sherif. Good times. 
Talk soon. Off to bed finally – after I repost your blog to my facebook page. 
You are too sweet – thanks for the compliment!
That’s awesome that your husband does a lot of cooking! Sherif likes to eat more than he likes to cook, I think… :-p He’s tried to cook a few times, and he always does a good job with mixing just the right proportions of ingredients, but he’s not used to being in the kitchen, so I often get the “where’s the peeler?!”-type of questions when he’s in the kitchen. haha. Please let me know if you ever try any of the recipes – I’d love to hear how you like them! 
Hey Heba!
So glad I found your blog–I’m also originally from Egypt. My parents moved to the U.S. when I was very young, but I still enjoy visiting Alex and Cairo with my parents every summer.
Can’t wait to keep reading!
Hi Sara!
I am so glad to meet you on here!
Yay for Egypt and Egyptians! 
I moved to the U.S. when I was about 11, and have only been back once in 2005. I’m definitely due for another visit soon – especially to Sharm! I miss it.
If you’re on facebook, subscribe to my page so you can see new posts on your newsfeed: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/My-Life-in-a-Pyramid/110151239021620?ref=ts
Thanks for stopping by and looking forward to hearing more from you!
-heba
I could so relate to your experiences of those silly questions! I experienced the same thing but the other way around…I am American and moved to Egypt when I was 16 (and I’m still here!). Before I left the States, all my friends asked me exactly the same questions. I’m excited to find your blog. My husband (Scottish-Egyptian) and I love food and cooking, although he does more of that than me.
We are also very interested in nutrition so I look forward to your recipes. And your photos – beautiful!
Bernadette
Hi there, Bernadette! I’m so glad you stopped by! Thanks for your comment.
What a cool background you have! I stopped by your blog the other day, and it looks amazing. I love all your pictures and the way you tell the stories of all the interesting personalities you meet. Do you ever visit the U.S.? I would love to chat sometime about your experience! 
Thanks, Heba! I do get back to the States about once a year to visit my family. And you? Do you visit Egypt? I would definitely love to chat with you, too!
I haven’t been to Egypt since 2005… it’s been too long. I hear a lot changed since then. I really miss my grandparents who still live in Cairo… hopefully will try to visit sometime soon, maybe next summer! Do you live in Cairo?
Hi heba
your blog is good i cant wait to see your posts and your recipes is good,too.
do you knew that the molokhia recipe is what made me to discover your blog .
I was want to knew what the diffrent between the two recipes the egyptian and the palestinian , becouse I’m palestinian and I have an egyptian grandmother.
thanks for you and i wish if i could be your friend.
Hi Maamoun thank you for the message
Glad you came by the blog. I’m actually not sure what the difference is between the Egyptian and the Palestinian molokhia. I believe the Palestinians add some flour and use fresh cilantro leaves instead of the dried version of it (coriander) that Egyptians use – but I’m not a 100% sure about this. Would you be able to find out how your mom makes it differently from your grandmother?
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I really like your idea for the Raw Apple Pie. Could you suggest a substitute for the dates to suit a diabetic diet.
Regards
Joan
Thanks Joan! You can definitely eat some dates even with diabetes. They are a whole food, so they’re much better as a sweetener than other extracted (and sometimes heavily processed) sweeteners. If you wish to use something like dried apricots or figs — which are probably less sweet than dates — they can work well instead of the dates! Also you wouldn’t be eating this pie everyday, so it shouldn’t be a problem to have a slice or two with dates included when the mood strikes. Hope this is helpful!
Heba – I’ve just stumbled accross your blog, midEats, and The Serious Eater blog in rapid succession and am so glad I did! I love your perspective on healthy living and fair trade/ethical and holistic practices. Can’t wait to read more from you. Ps. I also grew up in Bahrain so we have that in common
Nada (One Arab Vegan) recently posted..Ful Mudammas Breakfast Burrito
Nada, thanks so much for your comment! How COOL that we have such similar backgrounds
Would love to chat to you more about your experiences in Bahrain, and would love to feature you on midEATS! Email me at heba saleh at gmail dot com (no spaces), and we can feature a Middle Eastern-themed vegan meal/dish and link to your blog! Can’t wait to hear from you!
hello Heba
Nice to meet you ~ First time here! You have a fantastic blog and love how you are always going into the details and explaining the ingredients used and the importance for it to be ‘real’ and not ‘processed’
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Hi Daisy! Thanks for stopping by and for your sweet comment! What can I say … I’m really really into good food, haha. Can’t wait to check out your blog too!
I enjoyed your article about raw milk! Dr. Weston Price’s writings on the subject of natural diets and raw milk are some of my favorite and I have begun researching raw milk for my family. I write a blog about organic gardening and living in the country (after moving to rural Virginia from the New York City area) and I’d like to invite you to follow me back, if you’d wish to. The blog is called Seven Oaks and it is here: http://sevenoaks-jeanne.blogspot.com/ I look forward to more posts!
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Thanks so much Jeanne! Let me know if you need more info about raw milk around the Northern VA area (I don’t know where you are in VA). I’d love to check out your blog! I am really excited to try organic gardening, and need all the encouragement and guidance I can get
Looking forward to reading your tips!
Heba, so glad to find you! I’m Lebanese-American, moving from Beirut to the DC Metro area as a child (just across the river from you). I’m getting into the “real food” movement myself, and even considering the GAPS diet to heal some gut / skin issues. I’ve loved your pinboards on pinterest, and am looking forward to trying your recipes.
Ahlan Randa! Thanks for your kind comment – it’s so lovely to run into you online. And what a small world – we should meet up if you’re in the DC area! The ‘real food’ movement is where it’s at
I hope you find my posts useful in your journey. I do pin everything that I find useful/inspirational, so if you’re following me there, you’ll get a lot in your feed. You can also follow me on Facebook – I share lots on my FB pages for mylifeinapyramid and mideats. There are so many great blogs and resources out there … it takes some time to find your way, but once you know the basics, it just gets easier from there. I have heard wonderful things about the GAPS diet for those trying to heal their gut, though I haven’t personally tried it myself. A blogger I follow closely, Emily of Butter Believer, is currently on the GAPS diet and is blogging about it. Let me know if you need other tips or resources – I’d be happy to help! Salam, Heba
Shukran Heba! I’ll have to let you know if I’m in the NoVA area and have some free time some day! My family still lives in MD, and I now live with my husband closer to Richmond, VA, but we do find ourselves in NoVA every now & then (trips to Ikea and such
. So funny that you mentioned Emily… I just found “Butter Believer” a little while ago and read Emily’s posts on getting ready for & starting the GAPS diet. Those have been so helpful in my preparations (which are still ongoing). N’shalla, we’ll be ready to start it soon.
Loved the post about your grandparents on MidEats!
Yes, please do let me know when and if you’re planning to be in No VA – would love to meet you! Best of luck on your GAPS journey. Another blogger doing the GAPS thing is Starlene from http://gapsdietjourney.com/. Hope these are helpful to you. I can always help you research stuff too if you’d like… I enjoy looking into that sort of thing anyway
And so glad you liked the post about my grandparents -they’re so dear to me, and it was a pleasure interviewing them and learning about how it was for them growing up. I’m a sucker for good stories from long ago. Have a lovely weekend, Randa! Salam, Heba
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