First, I want to thank you all for being part of this community. It’s been such a wonderfully nourishing experience for me have this website and be able to share recipes and tips for good living with all of you.
However, there is another side to running a website. Like everyone in this age of information overload, I’m looking at working better and smarter. Doing more with less. As you may have noticed, I haven’t been posting quite as often. I’ve also gone on a social media diet, checking into Twitter and Facebook a couple of times a week instead of several times a day.
Further, after much consideration, I’ve decided to close down the Forums. Although the forums have served a good purpose, all in all, I’ve found that they are one more place for me to monitor in terms of the work I put into this website. I believe that the community can continue to connect in the comments section of each post and that it will still be productive for you to leave your remarks there.
So yes, change is in the air.
And I’m interested in you. I want you to tell me what type of information you find useful on this site. What are you doing with your life right now and what in particular are you looking for here?
So please, leave a comment and share your thoughts. I’m very interested, even though I do not often respond to comments, I do personally read each and every comment that you leave on every post.
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Thanks for 6 great years and looking forward to many more!
Jill K says
Hello. I’m new to your site and love what you share with everybody. Just ordered Paleo Cooking. At Fresh Market this week I discovered a product called Organic Coconut Jam, by coconutworld.com. It’s awesome – a cross between agave and molasses. Now I’ll BOLO for recipes where I can sub with it. Hope you try it and share some recipes with us!
kerry says
What is happening in my life, and how I found you:
I have an 11 year old son with autism. His ‘issues’ have been handled by meds for years – attention, aggression, control issues. A few years the company my husband worked for shut down, and after 25 years there, he found himself jobless with an at-home mom and a disabled and handicapped child. Jump forward 2 years and he’s with a new company and new health insurance – but they they are at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to autism. No speech, no social skills, no OT, no anger management therapy. They offered ‘standard autism meds’ that didn’t suit our needs. Son became verbally and physically agressive over a period of a few months. Insurance said it was puberty, nothing they could do. School said he was disruptive and parked him in the library for the rest of the year. I was at my wits end. Searching searching searching for answers, I read about the opiate effect some kids have with gluten and cassein. Hmm, my kid was putting away 3-4 gallons fo milk a week, ate alot of bread, and little else really (issues with texture,flavor etc). I pulled him off dairy and within a few days the ‘fog’ lifted. Next came gluten. But how the heck to I cook without these 2? I friend recommended your site to me (after a few epic failures that left dinner in the trash can and us at Carl’s jr eating french fries for dinner.) Once we got the gluten and dairy out of his diet, he brightened, the agression went away, we’ve lowered the drigs, and he became a happy kid. He is also eating now. eating veg, meat, the breads I make, we are a happier family now. I used Bob’s red mill almond flour until I got the stuff you recommended (came in mail last week) and your cook book came on Monday. My daughter, who is 13 and has a cookcake blog and is beside herself wondering how she will function on this diet (we all made the change) is looking forward to receiving your cupcake cookbook, happy that part of her life isn’t over. WE made your orange chipotle chicken (you said the kids liked it, so we tried it!) It was the first time I ever bought a whole chicken, i didn’t know how to wash it and didn’t like the stuff I found inside it..another story. I fopund it a little hot, but that’s just me. We love your bisquits (they are drop bisquits w bob’s red mill, they are formable with the correct flour, i learned yesterday), i’ll be making your kale and cranberry salad today (in hopes of taking son off calcium supplements and getting the vits from food….). I love the agave syrup. It’s the first time i’ve purchased it, a slight pine-ness to it, yummy. ANyway, we are going htrough big change here, and you are right in the kmiddle of it, thank you. Kerry
MAIRBUNNY says
PS:
I ALSO WANT TO THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR WISDOM AND HELP. DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO KEEP HEALTHY. WE ARE ALL SENDING YOU GOOD VIBES.
MAIRBUNNY says
DEAR ELANA,
I LOVE THIS WEBSITE BECAUSE IT IS A WAY TO FEEL CONNECTED TO OTHERS WHO HAVE CELIACS AND I HAVE LEARNED SO MUCH. I THOUGHT I WOULD SHARE SOME OF THE STUFF I DO. I AM AN AVID GARDENER. I GROW TOMATOES,SUMMER AND WINTER SQUASH, CUCUMBERS, CARROTS, ECT. MY HUSBAND HAS MADE ALL RAISED BEDS FOR ME. NOW, WHEN I AM TALKING ABOUT A RAISED BED I MEAN THEY ARE AT LEAST 24 IN HIGH AND 3 FT WIDE. IT IS WIONDERFUL BECAUSE I HAVE FIBROMYALGIA AND ARTHRITIS EVERYWHERE SO I CAN JUST SIT ON THE SIDE OF MY GARDEN BEDS SO I DONT HAVE TO BEND OVER.
ONE THING I GOT INTO DOING THIS YEAR IS DEHYDRATING FRUIT AND VEGGIES. I LOVE MAKING ZUCCINI AND CUCUMBER CHIPS AND ALSO BANANA,PEAR,APPLE CHIPS.THEY ARE SO GOOD AND VERY EASY TO DO. I LIKE THEM BECAUSE IF I GET HUNGRY BETWEEN MEALS I CAN HAVE SOME VEGGIE CHIPS AND THEY ARE VERY LO CAL BUT ALSO VERY FILLING. AND MY HUSBAND LOVES THEM WHICH IS ALWAYS A PLUS. I STORE THEM IN THE FREEZER BECAUSE IT MAKES THEM REALLY CRUNCHY. YUM!!
ON ANOTHER NOTE ONE THING THAT AMAZES ME IS WHEN I AM IN THE GROCERY STORE AT THE GLUTEN FREE SECTION AND THERE IS ANOTHER PEARSON THERE SHOPPING IF THEY ARE LOOKING AT SOMETHING I HAVENT TRIED I WILL ASK THEM ABOUT IT AND ALL OF A SUDDEN ITS LIKE WE HAVE THIS CONNECTION AND ARE LIKE OLD FRIENDS. THIS IS ONE OF THE POSITIVE THINGS THAT CELIACS HAS DONE FOR ME. BECAUSE YOU CONNECT WITH SOMEONE WHO REALLY UNDERSTANDS AND IT SOMETIMES JUST FEELS LIKE FAMILY. WE ARE ALWAYS READY TO SHARE OUR KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING. HAVING CELIACS IS A LIFE CHANGING EXPERIANCE BUT,YOU CAN STILL LIVE A WONDERFUL LIFE! I HAVE CELIAS, FIBRO, IC, IBS, CALSIFIED TENDONITIS, ARTHRITIS,DEGENTRIVE DISC DISEASE,AND ASTHMA AND I HAVE BEEN ON DISABILITY FOR THE LAST 8 YEARS. I STILL THINK THE GLASS IS HALF FULL AND THERE IS ALWAYS SOMEONE WHO IS WORSE OFF THEN ME. ALL THIS HAS CHANGED MY LIFE BECAUSE I THINK IT HAS MADE ME EVAN A BETTER MORE UNDERSTANDING PERSON THAT I WAS. I HAVE BEEN MARRIED TO A WONDERFUL MAN FOR THE LAST 33 YEARS AND LIFE IS GOOD.
ELANA, WHEN ARE YOU COMING OUT WITH A NEW COOKBOOK?
DO YOU DO ANY DEHYDRATING? MAYBE THAT WOULD BE GOOD FOR A NEW BOOK TO. I WOULD LOVE TO FIND A GOOD RECEIPE BOOK FOR THAT.
BEST WISHES TO ALL!
MAIRBUNNY
suzanne Marlow says
Hi
I have only recently discovered Elana’s Pantry and her great recipes.
Does anyone have an update on using Golden Flax meal in baking.
I am really enjoying it in my grain free bread but have been informed by my health shop not to expose it to heat.
Thanks for any replies.
Suzanne.
Melbourne, Australia.
Greenacres says
Elana, do what you have to do. If you’re too overwhelmed to keep up with the forums (completely understandable after reading the MS post), it’s okay to let that go. Your health comes first.
I was wondering if you knew about the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. It’s gluten and grain free and does help people with MS and many other health issues.
God bless.
Taneesha says
I just wanted to let you know, that while I do not have any medical reasons (ie: celiacs, allergies) for eating without certain ingredients, I have found that I feel so much better on a low/no carb grain free diet. I was not raised thinking this way about nutrition and I was clueless how to make meals that were healthy for my family and tasted good at the same time. I happened upon your blog and was so excited. We have enjoyed so many of your recipes. So, please keep posting your delicious, easy to replicate healthy meals!