For me, diet is a four letter word, I doubt you’ll find it very often on this website. I don’t spend a lot of time discussing gluten free around here either. That’s because I take it as a given that the food I eat will be Gluten Free, that’s just part of my life at this point, though it wasn’t always this way.
Lately, a number of people have asked me to share the story of my celiac diagnosis and personal transition to a gluten free eating plan and lifestyle. So here it is.
I was diagnosed with celiac disease in 1998 during my pregnancy (not uncommon since pregnancy is considered an immune event and celiac is an auto-immune disorder) with my older son. I was 30 years old and sick as a dog –I could barely get out of bed –no exaggeration. Things were very, very bad. My father suggested that I get tested for celiac disease. My mother had been sick for most of her adult life with various odd symptoms and had been recently diagnosed. I was tested and low and behold, yes, I had celiac disease.
Unlike the usual process, where it can take people as many as 9 years and numerous doctors to get a diagnosis and find out what’s going on, my diagnosis came only a few months after the onset of acute symptoms. In that way, I was very lucky. However, when I look back, I had been having classic symptoms of celiac disease and malabsorption for most of my life.
What were these symptoms? I was chronically anemic and whenever I was under stress would get angular chelitis, which is when the corners of your mouth crack and get a little rash. This is also a symptom of nutritional deficiency. So, maybe my diagnosis wasn’t so quick after all. I had to get to the point of being severely ill and bedridden to finally get the diagnosis. Still, I think I was lucky to get it so quickly once that did happen.
As many of you know, celiac disease is a genetic disorder –it runs in families and it has hit my family quite hard. Not only do my mother and I have celiac, my sister and older son have it as well. Incidentally, my mother-in-law also has celiac. So, as you can imagine, the work that I do in creating gluten free recipes is very personal for me.
Free exclusive eBook, plus recipes and health tips, delivered to your inbox.
Anyway, when I received my diagnosis I was tremendously relieved. I finally knew what was going on with my body. I had already had a 3 year training in Ayurveda which included yoga asana, herbs and food, so I was fairly comfortable in the kitchen. That doesn’t mean I could actually make tasty food –my husband disliked my Ayurvedic fare with a passion! He was not a big fan of kichidi, or kichari, as some refer to it.
Of course after the diagnosis I went completely gluten free. As I mentioned, the diagnosis wasn’t a big deal for me. I cooked very simple gluten free foods –vegetables, quite a lot of grains and some proteins. A few months later, I spent a lot of my time making baby food too, once my son finished nursing around a year old.
When that same son turned 3, I started to notice some digestive and behavioral issues in him. I fed him a gluten free diet during the week; however, during the weekends, he went to birthday parties, and the food served at those parties was pizza and cake (gluten galore). Let’s just say that Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were full of tantrums and mal-digestion.
I asked my son’s fabulous pediatrician (Mark Nesselson, he’s still in practice in NYC), to test my son for celiac and the test came back positive.
This diagnosis had quite an impact on me.
I wanted my son to grow up with all of the delicious treats that I had had in my childhood. So, I made it my mission to turn all of my favorite recipes into gluten free classics. For myself, all I really cared about was getting healthy. For my son, this was a social issue and one that I did not want to color his childhood and experience of food. Of course it did, though hopefully not in a bad way.
This site and my book, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook, are the result of my passion for providing my son with delicious gluten free food. It’s been quite a journey and one that has really had a positive impact on my family.
It took a long time though, to heal my gut and my son’s as well. Like some of you out there, the standard gluten free diet didn’t really do much for my son or myself. Probably a lot of you are here for that exact reason. Regular, plain old gluten free doesn’t always work. There can be other food allergies (such as dairy) and issues of chronic malabsorption.
My search for better health lead me to research, lots of research, and my son and I ended up on the introductory phase of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. We stayed on that (the intro phase) for about a year.
If you don’t know what that is, let’s just say that we didn’t eat sweets for quite some time, and when I say sweets, I’m talking about fruit, dessert, etc. This was a huge challenge, though it really worked for us. My son is now merely gluten free, which for him is fairly easy compared to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet introductory phase.
I personally am fairly Paleo, I find that works really well for my body since I cannot digest any grains whatsoever. I’ve been grain free for more than 9 years now.
Is there a one size fits all solution when it comes to diet and healing? I don’t think so. I believe we are all different, in fact, completely different bio-chemical individuals. Given that, what works for you? Do you have a specific eating plan that you follow? Do you eat things that you know will make you feel yucky? I do.
My biggest challenge these days is dairy. As you can see from my Month O’ Cupcakes, I like dairy, a lot! I know that cow dairy probably isn’t the best for me, as when I have some cheese or whipped cream, the next morning when I wake up, my right elbow hurts a bit. That’s an allergic/addiction that I’m dealing with right now. Nobody’s perfect! I also find it challenging to stay on my ideal eating plan when I’m baking tons of desserts for this website or my books. During those times (which seems like all the time) I knowingly take in more sweets than is best for my body.
So there you have it. My perfect fare is protein and greens with a little bit of fruit –make that low glycemic fruit such as berries. When I eat that way, I feel like a million bucks. Although I have great discipline, I’m also like everyone else. If it’s there, I’ll eat it –to a point, I still draw the line at many, many foods such as gluten, grains, etc.
What do you like to eat? How did you find out you had celiac or were gluten intolerant?
I’m certainly going to go into more detail in future posts and provide specific information about how I like to eat and other tools that I have used to help heal myself. And some of that information might work for you, and some, you might just want to toss out the window! Take what works and leave the rest behind. For me, all of life is simply the process of self-discovery and continual refining and adjustment.
Tasha Rudzki says
Hey Elana,
Though no one in my family is Celiac, we’ve noticed that we too just feel better on a gluten free/limited grain kind of diet.
I’ve really been enjoying your recipes. I never used to like baking, but with your simple and delicious recipes, I now really enjoy baking.
I was just wondering why you have no red meat recipes, do you avoid beef too?
Tasha
Lynn Krukowski says
Well, I have been following your site for over a year now and I just discovered this post…sigh. Have been gluten free over 25 years (could tolerate some dairy /which I was allergic to first in my early 20’s/ after a few months of gf eating. I still find it hard to avoid some not gf things -had used corn noodles for a few years then reacted, rye bread then reacted AND I have found in the past year any grain sets me off (rice, oatmeal). Your almond flour recipes were a live saver. However, I found a few new gf companies and tried them as they were easier to use than bake it myself and now I am too sick and tired and cranky to get my act in gear and get back to almond flour cooking….sigh.
Why I decided to add a post was: we have had to travel a lot this year (husband and I) and I usually have bacon, eggs, hash browns when we get time for breakfast AND have been totally sick for rest of day. I really had to think about this and why was it happening when even if I skipped the hash browns why were the eggs (on the road) making me sick. So, I asked how they were cooking them – ALL the restaurants told me they are now using a soya/cottonseed oil. Told me to ask special to have eggs cooked in butter as I am also allergic to soya – life is a mystery and to have to be so on top of what we are eating can be a tough process. I thank all the people who have added their stories and thank you Elana for all you time, care and attention for making us healthy. It is appreciated. Take care of yourself too.
Claudia Franco says
I was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism (Hashimotos)in June of this year. I have been on a gluten free trial since last year since doctors couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t losing weight. I was diagnosed with IBS years go as well. It wasn’t until I went grassfed, gluten free that my symptoms ceased. I would bloat up with all the gluten and sugar I was putting in my body. I confess that I am a recovering gluten free cheater and am not being put to the test since my insulin levels aren’t so great.
Finding sites like yours have helped me feel good about the gluten free lifestyle because there are alternatives that taste yummy. While I don’t have kids yet, my husband and I want to have one eventually, once I feel healthier.
Thanks for sharing your story.
faabl says
I have discovered about 3 years ago that I was intolerant both to wheat and dairy products. I made a lot of blood tests a year ago, because it seemed that there was something else… it occured that I was intolerant to many foods, such as soya, chocolate or rice (plus many more). Although on a day to day basis I globally manage to eat what’s ok for me, I sometimes have these cravings for chocolate or sweets (cakes etc), which often leave me just exhausted, irritable, and angry against me because I’ve not been able to “resist”. Am I just weak? Do I simply not eat exactly what I should? Is there something I can do about it, and if so, what? I don’t want to be like so many people “on a diet”, who sometimes look so frustrated because they spend so much time and energy “resisting” and refusing food. I don’t consider myself as “sick”: being intolerant to certain foods and dealing with this is just a way of life… but I can’t always manage as best I can. I’m sure there is something in the way I prepare food that I could change, but, till now, haven’t found it. Has anyone gone through this sort of phase/problem/experience that could share his/her findings with me?
Thanx in advance for your answers.
Ann says
My son who is almost 3 and has suffered since he was born with severe constipation. The doctor’s have put him on so many medicines that I was scared to death his liver would shut down. Then, I friend suggested he may have a gluten allergy, with this in mind I called the doctors. I wanted them to do a blood test but they keep on telling me he needs a rectum edema to determine the diease. He can’t eat 5 hours prior and 2 hours after he is only a little boy. He drinks 3 bottles of milk a night latose as well and wakes up hungry. How can I put him through this test knowing he is going to be screaming and cranky for 8 hours.
So, I decided to put him myself on a gluten free diet he is now going to the bathroom with softer stools. Perhaps the answer to my prayers have been answered. I decided to put myself on the gluten free diet for my son but some of the products out their make me sick and give me severe headaches. Can anyone tell me why this is happening to me?
I loved this site, I must get the book so I can start making my son some yummy foods.
Thanxs and God Bless
Sharon Prahl says
Many of the gluten free products are high in foods that have glutamate in them. not added as in MSG, but created by the processing.
There are antidotes… tial and error can confirm if that is what is is and not specific food sensitivities.
msgmyths.com is a good site with lists of ingredients that may be high in glutamates.
Leigh Farmer says
Hi Elana,
I just found your website and your story interests me. Two weeks ago our 2 year old daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease. She is the first in our family to have this. I at first was very overwhelmed, however I am finding a lot of gluten free food that is available and that she and our other children love. One of my biggest concerns like you, is that I want her to enjoy the tastes of yummy food as she grows. I have a love for cooking. I am a big fan of the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks. I know our family is going to learn a lot about this change of cooking for the better. I realize there is a lot of information that I don’t know yet. I guess I’m asking you for your opinion on which of your cookbooks I should start off with. Or if you have any suggestions/ advice for me with cooking, it would be appreciated greatly.
Thank you,
Leigh
elana says
Leigh,
Good luck with your daughter, she’s so lucky to have you. I would recommend The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook as a great book to start with.
Elana
Angie says
I am personally not gluten-free, but a dear friend of mine has celiac disease. Whenever there is food involved in our get togethers I like to make sure that it’s gluten-free AND delicious! Can’t wait to try out some of these recipes, and I’ve already sent her to this blog as well. :-)
Alex Wells says
I just wanted to say thanks, from the bottom of my heart. I have endometriosis, which often comes with serious GI tract issues. About ten years ago, a naturopath suggested I start a gluten-free diet. It helped quite a bit, but over the past two years, I’ve noticed that other grains, as well as sugar and dairy, have begun making my symptoms worse.
Finding your blog and your cookbooks was a life-saver! Now I can indulge in some treats here and there without regretting it and without starting on a big sugar binge. I still have trouble sticking with my diet all the time, but the difference is so huge that I’m more motivated than ever. I hope other women with endo out there find out about your blog – I’ve already posted it on my endo Facebook group to let others know about it. Many of these women are on diets even more restricted than mine!
Sandy says
Hi Elana – your website has been a life saver for me. I haven’t had dairy in over 25 years, but still had what the doctors called IBS, and what my Mom calls a trick stomach. I started going to a naturopath about 1 1/2 years ago, and she gently suggested that I remove both gluten and soy from my diet as well. I was devastated, and some days still don’t know how to cope. It’s a really difficult, and sometimes very boring, way to eat. My belly is somewhat better, although I still have my bad days. Your website has at least allowed me to work some “normal” things back into my diet. Thanks for all the work you put into it!
Marcy says
Hi, Elana –
I just wanted to thank you for the work you are doing, and to let you know how meaningful it is. I’m sure you have touched the lives of more people than you could possibly imagine.
Our family has been gluten free for 3 years. I have sworn off most of the gluten free cookbooks and websites because my youngest also has a dairy allergy and IMHO I felt that most just tried to offset the taste of the replacement flours with large heapings of sugar and butter. One popular cookbook was gifted to me and I don’t think we could use more than 2 of the recipes in the entire book. Discouraging.
It has been such a blessing to run across your blog! I recently hit a cooking rut and you have given me the gift of renewed energy and enthusiasm for feeding my boys. My perfect lunch is a almond butter sandwich with BBQ almond Nutthins, so you can only imagine how thrilled I am to try each and every one of your recipes!
Thank you Elana. You are much appreciated and your work is a gift for so many of us. With gratitude – MP