You may be asking yourself, if you have a recently diagnosed food allergy or sensitivity, “What now?” Believe me, I asked this too. Along with a few expletives, rude gestures to the Universe and more than a few tears. But the first thing you need to do is not panic! (And carry a towel, for you Douglas Addams lovers out there.) There is so much to eat in the ENTIRE world, even if you seem to have trouble with eating half of it, like I do.

My husband and I currently live in Okinawa, Japan, about as far from anything as you can get, except maybe Guam. We aren’t mainland, so we don’t have as much access to certain products, but we still live in the land of soy sauce and noodles. Talk about ALL the Gluten!

Luckily, *I didn’t panic and immediately did as much research as I could into what it meant to be Paleo for life and not just because I wanted a lifestyle change. That’s one of the worst misconceptions for people with food allergies, amarite? “Oh, you’re just doing it because it’s a fad. Here, have this ____ because it only has a little bit of ___(whatever will twist your gut into a million shapes)___. It can’t hurt.”
“Um, Yes it CAN, you mean freak!” I want to holler at the not-so-well-meaning advisors.

There are work-arounds to all of this and I hope to help you figure some of this out.

*I lied. I totally panicked a little, only because I didn’t know how to eat anymore, and one person I did know with allergies wasn’t helpful at all. Disclaimer: though I don’t yet have a degree in nutrition, I do know what works for me after many trials and errors and lots of research. However, please also seek the help of a dietician or other expert. The more, the merrier. Two heads are better than one, and all those other fun sayings.

As a former reporter, I’m use to sorting thru a bajillion facts and resources to find the right answers. Some of my best friends are librarians and data geeks! I can Google the hell out of anything and still find more information.

Not all the recipes I’ll feature here will be for you. You might have a sesame, peanut, or egg allergy, which I don’t. But hey, we’ll find a great substitute! I now have friends with issues to even uncommon allergies, like pork, but I always accommodate. Along the way, please ask me how to sub for whatever your needs are and I’ll share the knowledge I have, or steal it from another source. (Proper citation given, obviously) I have a pretty robust Pinterest with boards about Paleo, substitutions, adult bevs, cravings, and sweets, many of which I’ve changed up to fit my particular needs and to which I add every day. If I haven’t done a recipe before to sub for a particular allergy, I will learn right along with you and do a recipe over and over until I get it right. This is our health and happiness, we’re talking about here! Food is LIFE! And wine. That’s a close second.

Now excuse me while I snarf down some of the GF bread I made tonight. I’ll share my recipe for this deliciousness very soon!