What do YOU consider "gluten free"

[MOOO]

Ok, I'm 6-7 months into this gluten free diet thing and I am still struggling understand what exactly I should and shouldn't eat.  This recovery process has been painfully slow for me so I have been trying to be as careful as I possibly can to speed the recovery process. 

Yesterday we were over at my mother-in-laws for dinner for my husbands birthday and she made me my own separate gluten-free enchiladas while everyone else ate food that was catered by Cafe Rio.  My mother-in-law assured me that every ingredient in the enchiladas were gluten-free.  I was so appreciative that she thought of me, and made me my own separate meal, but I was still nervous to eat these enchiladas.  I think I was mostly nervous because I did not know if her enchilada dish, spatula, and whatever else she used to prepare the dish was contaminated.  Sooo I explained to her that I was so grateful she made them for me but I have just been too sick and I couldn't risk eating any food outside of my own home where it is a gluten-free environment.  My whole family looked at me like I was completely crazy.  Am I being crazy? Am I being too picky and too careful? Do you guys eat food cooked for you by other people who do not have a gluten free kitchen/gluten-free area in kitchen?

Also, Do you eat food from the grocery store that says "gluten-free" or only "certified gluten-free"? What is the difference? (I live in the US).

Thank you!

[Maggie C]

Hi. Everyone is different. I’m not celiac. But very gluten sensitive. You’re not overreacting. I get scared when i eat at someone else’s home. I have to watch how they cook and ask how they made things. I usually bring my own food if I can. As gluten free food I have to look at the ingredients. I’m very sensitive to “may contain” or shared equipment of wheat products. 

Its a big learning curve in the beginning. I’m now allergic to corn- break out in hives and welts. So I’m not eating any processed foods and looking at every label. 

 

[RMJ]

I will eat at my brothers’ houses but we discuss recipes first and I look at the labels of the ingredients.

Food just labeled gluten free does not have to be tested for gluten content.  Food that is certified gluten free has been evaluated and tested by an independent agency, although I don’t think they test every lot.

[tessa25]

You made the correct decision. I only eat food that's cooked in my house because I am having trouble getting my numbers down as well. When invited to somebody else's house I usually ask them what they're serving and then I make an equivalent for myself at home and bring it. That way I'm eating the same thing as everybody else. My friends love having me over because it doesn't cost them anything to feed me. :-)

I purchased a Nima sensor to test the food that I eat when I try new things. Maybe one of those would help you. It's easy to ensure you don't eat gluten if all of your food is made from scratch. But it's not easy to make everything from scratch necessarily. LOL

[Ennis-TX]

3 hours ago, MOOO said:

Ok, I'm 6-7 months into this gluten free diet thing and I am still struggling understand what exactly I should and shouldn't eat.  This recovery process has been painfully slow for me so I have been trying to be as careful as I possibly can to speed the recovery process. 

Yesterday we were over at my mother-in-laws for dinner for my husbands birthday and she made me my own separate gluten-free enchiladas while everyone else ate food that was catered by Cafe Rio.  My mother-in-law assured me that every ingredient in the enchiladas were gluten-free.  I was so appreciative that she thought of me, and made me my own separate meal, but I was still nervous to eat these enchiladas.  I think I was mostly nervous because I did not know if her enchilada dish, spatula, and whatever else she used to prepare the dish was contaminated.  Sooo I explained to her that I was so grateful she made them for me but I have just been too sick and I couldn't risk eating any food outside of my own home where it is a gluten-free environment.  My whole family looked at me like I was completely crazy.  Am I being crazy? Am I being too picky and too careful? Do you guys eat food cooked for you by other people who do not have a gluten free kitchen/gluten-free area in kitchen?

Also, Do you eat food from the grocery store that says "gluten-free" or only "certified gluten-free"? What is the difference? (I live in the US).

Thank you!

I take it you read the Newbie 101 section?
I would not trust my own mother to cook something in her house and me eat it...not even boiled eggs...should would probably do it in pasta pot anyway.

What we do for family dinners is I ask what they want to fix, I get the gluten free certified ingredients, and we COOK them in MY house with my dedicated cookware together. We just started this after several years of fall out. It worked great this Easter cooking again with my mother, came in made sure she washed her hands good and we both put on gloves (I do chef work and cook for others so I have cases of them) and fixed the Easter lunch together. Had a touching moment talking about how she felt cooking with grandma and that I feel the same way cooking holiday meals with her. Nice bit of bonding and hoping to make it a habit now.

IF eating out or to somewhere I am invited I fix and bring my own meals, only 2 menu items I will eat at a local restraunt here but I know how they cook it (they put the veggies on foil sheets and run it in a conveyor oven roasting them, then to plate so no contact with CC issues same with unseasoned roasted fish). And we have a pup up north of here that is owned by a celiac family I just started checking out, that is safe....I only trust other celiacs honestly.

[cyclinglady]

I would never even let my own mother cook for me!  Why?  She does not deal with the gluten-free diet on a daily basis, not to mention my other food intolerances that have not diminished despite healing.    I do visit my folks and I  supervise all the cooking.  Mom is great though about getting gluten-free goodies for us, stocking up on fruits and veggies, etc. before we arrive.    I also keep a bin of cooking items stashed in the spare bedroom.  I have acquaintances who are gluten free, but they have no idea about cross contamination at all.  So, I never take their food.  I am polite, but I stick to the food that I brought.  

 

[MOOO]

Thank you all for your reply and for the reassurance that I am not being too picky.  

I have another question in regards to CC and gluten free foods, it's a bit hard to explain so bare with me. 

When you go to the grocery store there are some foods you can safely assume are gluten free, right? like baby carrots, bottles water, 100% orange juice.  However, I am struggling to figure out if things like cheese, pure spices, raw nuts, and dried fruit should be considered unsafe unless it specifically says "gluten-free" even if the item is only 1 ingredient.  Do these sorts of things run the risk of being CC'd or do they rarely say gluten-free because it is assumed? Haha I'm struggling here.

[Ennis-TX]

5 hours ago, MOOO said:

Thank you all for your reply and for the reassurance that I am not being too picky.  

I have another question in regards to CC and gluten free foods, it's a bit hard to explain so bare with me. 

When you go to the grocery store there are some foods you can safely assume are gluten free, right? like baby carrots, bottles water, 100% orange juice.  However, I am struggling to figure out if things like cheese, pure spices, raw nuts, and dried fruit should be considered unsafe unless it specifically says "gluten-free" even if the item is only 1 ingredient.  Do these sorts of things run the risk of being CC'd or do they rarely say gluten-free because it is assumed? Haha I'm struggling here.

In store nuts I found have warnings about processed in or on equipment with wheat...they are hit and miss....I just buy safe ones from places like mygerbs.com nuts.com etc. -__- gotten sick on things like this before where I just assumed it would be safe. Produce is generally gluten free.....I have gotten sick from the open batch ones in a store but that store had a open air bakery with the dough table and flour less then 3 feet from the open veggies so that was a obvious. I go for sealed packaged ones now and wash them well when I get them home. Juice...I do not do for sugar reasons. Spices, depends on brand. I and many others use spicely Organics as they are certified gluten free, some use mcormicks but I do not really trust them, others swear by them. Cheese....I have latose intolerance which is very common with this disease as the damaged intestines do not often produce enough enzymes to break it down properly. I also have a whey allergy so I eat vegan cheeses and almost allf them are gluten-free certified....anyway generally it is gluten free, unless artisan or deli where it can be CCed by processing/cutting, or flavored with say beer, malt....blue cheese does sometimes have wheat in it.