In 1998 I was diagnosed with celiac disease. The gluten-free diet did little to relieve my pain and symptoms. Quickly, I realized my ticket to health would not be the typical high-carb, gluten-free diet comprised of corn, rice, and potatoes. So I went grain-free, following a strict Paleo Diet and found almost immediate relief. Within a month I began to feel better. Soon after that, I began writing grain-free recipes to help others with autoimmune disorders like celiac.
This Amazing Community
I launched this website to share my easy recipes and healing tips with you. One of my favorite things has been answering your questions here on the website. You’re an amazing group of people and I love hearing from you! Elana’s Pantry is an incredible community that is very dedicated to healing. And when Times Have Been Tough you’ve blessed me with your unconditional support.
Top Reader Questions
I love chatting with you here! Most days I spend a good amount of time answering everything you ask. It is time well spent. I love helping people by sharing everything I’ve learned since that celiac diagnosis in 1998, and I also learn a lot from you!
Substitutions
The question I get asked most frequently is about substituting ingredients. I can’t be as helpful as I’d like with those queries because the only way to answer and know definitively is to test each possibility. I wish I could clone myself in order to do so!
Nutrition Information
The next question I field is for caloric information for my recipes. I provide the nutrition information for recipes in my third book, Paleo Cooking from Elana’s Pantry. You don’t have to buy the book to take a peek at the macros for every single recipe because I provide it for free right here! I will also have it for my first two books very soon!
Health Puzzles
Finally, I often receive comments inquiring how to solve health puzzles and while I love all your comments, these are my favorite! I’ve recently answered questions about Reducing EMF Exposure, Treating Epilepsy Naturally, and the Ketogenic Diet, to name a few!
Your Questions
Now I’d love to hear more from you! What health questions do you have? Is there something you’d like to learn more about? I’m so happy I get to connect with you every day, and also love breaking down complicated concepts into easily digestible information. How can I help you? Leave a comment and let me know!
Chanda says
Hi Elena, you have been a big food and nutrition resource/guiding light, and I’ve loved following your journey and evoluation. I have your books and many of your recipes are staples in our home! I’m somewhere between paleo and keto. The latest thing that I’ve been reading a lot about is fasting. I practice intermittent fasting, and am currently looking at the Fasting Mimicking Diet… I’d love to know your thoughts on fasting! Happy weekend! xo
Elana says
Chanda, I’m doing a fast as I type this. I try to fast one day every week or two. It gives me so much energy and I still work out when I fast, but all of my exercise is gentle whether fasting or not. It also helps to give my digestion a rest. Our ancestors did not have the type of access to food that we now have. Sometimes I think I gain weight by looking at food ;-)
E B F says
I have a “we can’t do it alone” philosophy in health, but in some countries more than others. access to resources is getting tougher and more expensive. Dp you have any resources that give good common sense advice and support peope at no or little cost?
Elana says
EBF, thanks for your great comment! I think the most cost effective step we can take when it comes to our health is to join a CSA program. You will get local, organic food at a greatly reduced cost. Also, this website is a wonderful health resource that I provide at no cost and the community here is incredible :-)
Karen says
Elana, I have loved your website for years, since I crashed before being properly treated for Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism. I have appreciated the few posts you have done about EMF exposure and would love to learn more. It’s an uphill battle with my husband and 3 boys, but I’m not giving up. One of my teenaged sons has a TBI from a tackle football injury and I feel that it is especially important.
I’d love to know what type of adapters I could buy so the boys could be wired in with their phones and ipods and ipad?? I’ve just been turning off the Wifi at night, but two of my boys and my husband have their cell phones on and I try to remind them to put them on airplane mode at night.
I’m also worried about the Smart meter that is one floor under my son’s bedroom. I really don’t know where to start, but I think my next step is to get all of the computers wired into our internest connection and get rid of the wireless keyboards and mice. Then…..try to address the device use? It’s confusing and an uphill battle. And I’m a bit exhausted as I’ve had a relapse from the stress from trying to find treatments and traveling out of state and the country for my son’s constant head pain and other TBI symptoms. But us mamas don’t give up.. do we? Thanks for the inspiration all these years. Hugs from Karen in Wisconsin
Elana says
Karen, I am right there with you on reducing EMF exposure when dealing with TBI. I have read several studies that indicate BBB issues increase with TBI and that EMF can exacerbate this further. I have a fantastic post on how to plug your computers into the wall, which is what we do in our home. We no longer have any WiFi, and the hard-wired connection is faster and more secure. We also eliminated all the wireless keyboards and mice, and wireless speakers too!
https://elanaspantry.com/avoiding-emfs-at-the-computer/
I did not think anyone else would want to know how to plug their phones/ipads into the wall besides me! If more people leave a comment here I will definitely do a post on that! In terms of the smart meter, I am far more concerned about having WiFi on all day than about our smart meter, but I do have it shielded with some screen I bought at the hardware store.
I hope you’ll keep me posted on how you and your family are doing! And huge hugs back to you and yours :-)
Elana
Meagan says
I would LOVE to know how to wire phones! I didn’t know this could potentially be a thing but have been wishing for it!
Elana says
Meagan, thanks for expressing interest in this! If I get a few more comments like yours I will post something on it. I hope I get to geek out on this topic, it’s one of my favorites :-)
Anjali says
I’m just now catching up with more of your answers … I’d love to know about this too!
Elana says
Thanks Anjali!
Pamela says
Hi! What to avoid or help having mthfr gene variance.
Elana says
Pamela, that is an awesome suggestion and something I have been working on at length. For starters, it’s super important to eliminate all toxic materials from your personal care products and home. Here are some resources to get started:
https://elanaspantry.com/safer-skincare/
https://elanaspantry.com/natural-makeup/
https://elanaspantry.com/kitchen-spray/
I’ll keep working on this as it’s so important!
Elana
Linda921 says
Dear Elana,
My hubby and I are involved in selling our house in SC and moving to NC. I have convinced him to make the lifestyle change by going to Paleo when we are resettled. Both of us are retired. He has issues with pain in his feet and just plain feeling “old”. I have three siblings with celiac issues. My oldest sister is diagnosed as well as my brother. My other sister has problems with many foods. As a medical technologist, I was able to have testing done to see if I had it too. I am on the razor’s edge. Not quite positive but awfully close. Both hubby and I are in our 70th year of life. I would like to know what I should be stocking my pantry in my new house with and what you believe is a starting amount of each thing.
Elana says
Linda, congrats on your move! You can look inside my pantry at all of my favorite ingredients here:
https://elanaspantry.com/shop/grocery/
I wouldn’t buy more than one of anything since it is just the two of you. We have around 10 boys here after school each day so I totally stock up with crazy amounts of things :-)
Cathy says
Any Instant Pot recipes would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for being such a wellness inspiration!
Elana says
Cathy, thanks for your comment! Here is my Instant Pot user guide:
https://elanaspantry.com/how-to-use-instant-pot/
And here is my Instant Pot Bone Broth recipe:
https://elanaspantry.com/how-to-make-bone-broth-in-the-instant-pot/
I will be adding more IP recipes so stay tuned and thanks for your great suggestion!
Elana
Suzanne says
Having a MS in Holistic Nutrition, I like reading recipes and healing tips from people who walk the walk and talk the talk like I do.
Elana says
That’s awesome!
Kathy says
Hi Elana-
Thank you for all you do! I have all your books and love your recipes and insights. Would you be interested in writing about or developing recipes for those with IBS following the FODMAP diet? We can’t have much almond flour or coconut flour, but don’t want to up our carb intake by using “white” processed GF flours.
Thank you.
Elana says
Kathy, thanks for your comment! That is a wonderful suggestion :-)
Natercia says
My question is in regards to nuts but specifically almonds. I’ve read many times that nuts such as almonds and many others are hard to digest like wheat so it’s best to soak them before using in a recipe such as almond milk. However since I buy blanched almond flour I assume it is not soaked before hand therefore I wonder if almond flour would be hard to digest as well? I ask bc I plan to do a palio diet and I worry about having diffaculty with digestion. As well I plan to make Palin recipes and this diet for my child so I worry
For example I drink a prepared hazelnut milk daily it has only 3 organic ingredients ; water, rice, hazelnuts, cold pressed sunflower oil however it hurts my stomach if I drink a full 8oz glass. I assume this is bc the hazelnuts are not pre-soaked.
Thanks nat
Elana says
Natercia, thanks for your question! I haven’t had any challenges digesting blanched almond flour, and I think that’s because a lot of the anti-nutrients are in the skin of the almond, and I believe the almonds are generally either steamed or soaked in water (to remove the skins), which is a double win. I cannot digest rice, it is a high-carbohydrate grain that makes me very sick and is not Paleo. I wonder if that could be an issue in the milk :-)
Holly says
I am so happy to have found your website/blog!!! We just discovered that my 8 y/o son is allergic and/or sensitive to gluten, rice, potatoes & tapioca. I quickly found out that every gluten free cookie, cake or bread that you could buy at a store has rice flour and tapioca flour! So, I am very happy to have come across your website! I just showed my son your pizza muffins and several of your desserts and he was so excited! Maybe this is all a blessing in disguise because in the past 2 weeks since we found out he has eaten the MOST HEALTHY foods ever! As far as questions I might have…… We also think our son may have ADD. We have not had him tested yet but his struggles with reading, writing and focusing are real. He also struggles with slow digestion and elimination. We found out that his ph level is very alkaline. I know that there is a gut /brain connection and am wondering if all of this is connected. I do not want to put him on medication but I really don’t know how to tackle this.
Elana says
Holly, thanks for reaching out, I totally understand what you are going through with your son, having been through something similar with my own. There definitely is a gut-brain connection that can affect learning and neurological function. First, have you had your son tested for celiac disease? Here’s a link to the proper celiac blood test for you:
https://elanaspantry.com/resources-and-information-on-celiac-disease/
When that test is positive it is crucial to completely eliminate gluten as this could damage the gut microbiome and trigger immune activity as well as potential long term autoimmune disorders.
Second, I found with my boys that limiting every type of screen time helped with their brain development when they were under age 8. I believe our brains do not experience the world and adapt in the same way when engaging in two dimensional activities as when we are off screens in the “real” three dimensional world. Things like gardening, cooking, weekly therapeutic horseback riding classes, knitting, and household chores were crucial in helping my boys learn to “cross the mid-line” (a key function required of the brain when it comes to reading). We had tremendous success with them with our children. I hope you’ll keep me posted on your son’s progress, he is incredibly lucky to have you :-)
Karen says
I just wanted to put out there that you may want to take your son into a vision therapy clinic, to make sure that his eyes are processing the world correctly. A hit on the head can alter your vision (and your optometrist won’t notice) as your eyes are attached to your brain. My son is currently in vision therapy after suffering from a TBI for 1-1/2 years and only because I found out through the internet that we should have done it immediately after the injury. We saw numerous healthcare providers and noone told us this. We think the last of his constant pain may be coming from his eyes . Through vision therapy testing, we learned that his eyes are only functioning at 50% of their level for his age in several different areas because of the injury.
Anyway, little boys bump their heads and recover, but even children who don’t bump their heads should be checked if they have issues with reading, learning, attention, etc. I really encourage you to find someone in your area and get him tested. Lots of prayers for you and your son!
Elana says
Karen, thanks for your awesome comment! In addition to all of the activities I mentioned above, my boys also went to vision therapy, and I did too for some MS and TBI issues :-)