The other day, I received this lovely note from one of my favorite readers, CoconutGal:I wanted to send you an email to let you know how thankful I am for your generosity in sharing your wholesome, creative, and super delicious recipes.I would like to tell you a little bit about my story;
I have been diagnosed with Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis, an autoimmune disorder where my white blood cells recognize food as a virus and attack my body when I eat, causing extreme pain, malabsorption, frail body, etc.
This diagnosis is still relatively new to me. I am 22 years old and went most of my life complaining of bellyaches and knew that greasy foods made me sick. I went to doctors and was simply told I was a picky eater or I had IBS. So I continued on with the belly aches but had no major problems until about 2 ½ years ago.
Two months before my wedding I became extremely ill. Food wasn’t staying inside of me. No one could figure out what was wrong. After 1 month and a 10-pound weight loss I was in the ER. After several tests, including an upper endoscopy and a colonoscopy they diagnosed me with Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis.
Since that day, my eating has drastically changed, I have been to countless doctors and no one knew what to do. Only 300 Americans have been diagnosed with EG and all the doctors I have seen have never met anyone before myself with the illness. It’s very rare and very scary.I went days and months trying all sorts of elimination diets, not knowing what to do. I felt very helpless and alone. One day I could eat something and feel fine but the next day my body would attack me for eating the same food and I would be held up in bed for a week in excruciating intestinal pain.Life went on like this until this past August. I finally found an amazing naturopath who has helped me so much!Through some great tests, (normal doctors tested me for food allergies and I came back all clear, supposedly allergic to nothing!) we found my body attacks itself when I eat: gluten, dairy, cane sugar, eggs, soy, yeast, sesame, and peanuts. I have been free of all those foods since October and am finally starting to gain some strength and feel a little like my old self again.
I first stumbled upon your great website in the summer when I was on a feeding tube formula (full of icky things like soy and BHT) but needed it to stay alive. I loved looking at your site but sort of took a hiatus from anything food as it was just too hard to think about it since I could only drink my nutrition. Anyway, when I was able to slowly wean myself off the formula and go back to cook purred foods, I remembered your blog as it was about the same time I found out the real foods that made me sick and your diet is quite similar to mine.I already ate low gluten and had been dairy free for half a year and was mainly living on protein and veggies before I cut out the for-sure offenders.Your site has been one of my inspirations that I don’t have to suffer eating this way. It’s fun and unbelievably healthy! I would’ve never known I could have a cookie or apple pie! I just thought if I cant eat flour, butter, sugar- than there obviously aren’t any treats I can eat!I had not had a cookie in 2 ½ years. I’ve made raw food desserts with lots of nuts and dates but never knew I could have an ACTUAL cookie until I found your recipes. Thank you so much.
I just wanted to share this with you because I am sure you spend a lot of time creating these recipes and responding to people on your website and all this work you do is out of the goodness of your heart. Your site is a great place to find community as well which has been something I have craved for so long because eating this “restricted” is just so rare.I’ve included a couple of photos from my “first cookie since I’ve been ill experiment.” My husband helped me make your dairy free version of chocolate chip cookies on Valentine’s Day! We don’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day, but this was our special treat. They turned out wonderfully. I couldn’t wait for them to cool and ate 3 piping hot cookies! Oh my gosh! So yummy!! We used raw cocoa nibs as I cannot find cane sugar free chocolate chips. I think my dough turned out a lot greasier than yours looks in the photo. You don’t pack down the almond flour when you measure it do you? I was thinking maybe I should have done that because it seemed rather moist. I used Honeyville. The cookies were gone in 3 days and my “normal eating” husband enjoyed them just as much as me! I brought them to my parents house and it made them so happy that I should share a treat with them.I know to most people, a cookie is just a cookie, but this provides me with so many more opportunities to feel included in social events and I get to actually enjoy my food, rather than eating out of necessity. Thanks Elana for all your yummy recipes!Blessings, CoconutGal
Thank you so much CoconutGal for your heartwarming message. It is so sweet and inspiring! And yes, I do pack the almond flour in the measuring cup when I cook –good detective work on your part that will be of help to others too.
Gluten Free and Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2½ cups blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup grapeseed oil or palm shortening
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup agave nectar or honey
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl
- Stir together wet ingredients in a small bowl
- Mix wet ingredients into dry
- Form ½-inch 1-inch balls and press onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet
- Bake at 350°F for 7-10 minutes
- Cool and serve
In case you haven’t seen it already, here is my video tutorial on how to make chocolate chip cookies. Stay tuned for more video tutorials.
Meghan (Making Love In The Kitchen says
This sweet little healthy eating, healthy healing world is so wonderfully supportive and connected in so many ways. I have been working with Coconutgal to help her get to the bottom of her health challenge, to encourage to keep on the path that she is on. I must say that she is absolutely as sweet in person (or over the phone as the case may be) as she came across in her letter to you. I have no doubt that she will heal this and be an amazing inspiration. She too is one of my fave readers and deserves the spotlight you have given her.
Meghan
Rhonda says
WOW! coconutGal you are a pioneer for everyone with food issues. Your upbeat personality is an inspiration to all of us! And you are so beutiful inside and out thanks for sharing! Elana you have touched so many lives thank you! I make so many of your recipes every week for my family and we all love them, thank you for all your hard work and blessing so many.
Marissa says
That was so inspiring to read! I too suffer from GI problems. I assume that I have IBS but I have never gone through any testing to know exactly what is wrong. I also have not been able to directly link it to anything that I have cut from my diet. I suffer from serious gas pains and another not so lovely symptoms I won’t grace your board with. Since going grain free I have less instances of the latter symptom, but I STILL get stabbing gas pains. Usually I can link this to legumes and cruciferous veggies, but I am unwilling to give up such healthful foods. I do not have the same issue with all grains as rice never bothers me, but I choose not to eat it as it isn’t nutrient dense. I cut dairy out this last week to see if that was the gassy culprit, but alas…no. I am looking for a way to enjoy the healthy veggies and legumes and not have the pains, so if anyone has some tips I would be extremely grateful!
I should also mention that I lost 150 lbs by cutting out the grains and the sugar. Once I did that it was amazingly easy, and the weight really just melted off.
Debbie says
Elana, I made your Honey Cake with a few substitutions and wanted to share them with you and your readers. I used lemon juice instead of coffee and added frozen blueberries instead of raisins. I do love lemon, blueberry cake and this made a wonderful version.
When I logged on, I saw CoconutGal’s story. Her story is very similar to my daughter’s. Though my daughter does not have the same illness, she was very sick for a very long time and it also took an amazing naturopath to finally diagnose her problems. She had an opposite problem though, she could not stop gaining weight, and since she has stopped eating the foods her body does not like, she has lost 95 pounds and looks and feels fabulous. She too went for the food testing that CoconutGal went for and there is more that she cannot eat, than she can eat. It is very difficult to not be able to eat anything you enjoy. Food is such a large part of our lives – not just something we need to keep us alive – it is a very social activity. I was determined to find a way to give my daughter back some food that she could eat for enjoyment and that is how I found your website, which I share every chance I get. Your recipes have been a Godsend to us.
Both you and your website make a positive difference in peoples lives and every day I thank you for being the kind and caring person that you are.
CoconutGal, thank you for sharing your story with us.
LT says
Hi Debbie,
Can you share the name/contact information of your naturopath? Thank you so much! Cat_LT@hotmail.com.
colormepink says
Oh I remember the triumph of eating a cookie again after going grain-free, I did the happy cookie dance! I love that there is a whole community of people with health issues that have found ways to still enjoy a sweet treat and share it with others. Thank you Elana for sharing your blog and Coconutgal’s story! The smile on her face says it all!
Gina K. says
I want to thank Elana for this wonderful site. My mom and I have tried some of your recipies and they were wonderful! CoconutGal, I wanted to thank you too for your story. I am glad you feel beter. I have gone through eating issues of my own. I never got to the point what you did as far a hospitals but I was lucky enough to find a good naturopath that helped me out before I got to that point. I have also lost 10 lbs over a few years and I am now down to 89lbs. I am only 29 years old. We are very much going throught the same food drawbacks and I wanted to thank everyone for making me not feel alone.
Christine says
CoconutGal’s story is really happy – I’m glad that you’re able to make usable recipes for people with food difficulties.
Those cookies look so great – I’ll have to try making them soon!
Beth says
Thank you for posting CoconutGals letter and photos. It is a moving story, and highlights the importance of healthy eating.
Coincidentally, I made a batch of your Chocolate Chip Cookies last night. I’m taking them with me to Toronto this weekend while we work on clearing out my Father-in-Law’s house. The oven is broken, so I’m bringing the gluten-free baking with me :)
Thanks again for all your hard work. It means so much to all of us, and our families (even if they don’t know they are eating a gluten-free dessert).
Jo says
I loved coconutgal’s message – I wish everyone in the world knew how much your diet affects your health. So many people never figure it out, and just suffer all their lives. It may be hard to change your diet, but it’s so worth it. I only have wheat and dairy intolerances, and avoid refined sugars… but I can really tell when I’m getting slack! Not worth it.
I love that we don’t have to feel deprived! When I do cooking demonstrations (I’m a Thermomix consultant) I show people how to cook from whole grains, dairy, wheat and sugar free, and they’re always amazed at how delicious and fresh it is, and how great they feel after a six course meal! Not all heavy, bloated and sleepy, but awake, alive and energetic! Food should always make you feel better, not worse. Hooray for healthy eating – keep pumping out these great recipes!
Lauren B says
Touching story–thanks so much for sharing, and of course for cooking up all of these wonderful treats using low carb natural flours, Elana! I am forever grateful to you for inspiring me to start my own blog. Incidentally I just made up a batch of cacao nib “primal” cookies the other day. Will have to get ’em up and link back to you!