De-contaminating Your Kitchen ?'s

[Guest Lisa]

I am waiting for the results of my endoscopy biopsy to determine whether or not I have celiac disease. 3 months ago I had a colonoscopy/endoscopy that diagnosed me with Crohns disease. My doctor noticed I had flattening of the villia and wanted me to have a blood test to confirm celiac disease, well, it came back negative (much to his surprise) He followed up with me last week to check on my progress. Maybe my crohn meds will make it better. No good. Same thing. He is doing the biopsies(many as he said) Anyways, he said I should prepare for the possibilty of me being on a gluten free diet. I trust his diagnosis, and my question is how in the world do I decontaminate my kitchen from all the flour particles. Up until last week, I was very much into baking with "regular" flour. I look into my pantry and all I see is gluten laced products. I don't know where to start. I guess this is the part that scares me. I don't want to give up all the foods I love only to have my efforts thwarted by contamination. Is this a valid worry of mine? All the help you can lend is greatly appreciated!!

[Guest aramgard]

First of all, don't panic. It is difficult at first, but in time you begin to adjust to the possibility that you can do this. After my husband decided it was to difficult to have two kitchen's, we decided to go totally gluten free. So the first thing I did, was go through every cupboard and put all items in gluten into boxes. Then we carted them to a place that cooks for people who cannot cook for themselves, who have AIDS. While I was doing this I made a trip to the bookstore and purchased a couple of gluten free cookbooks and found several websites that were really good included this one to obtain recipes on converting to other flours. Also don't forget the trip to the local health food store or produce store. Keep it very simple until you get the hang of it and then one baby step at a time, start adding other foods--one at a time. Now I also order sometimes over the web, flours I have trouble finding here. This problem really makes you organize. But recently I have had a lot of success with my baked goods, cookies, bread, cakes, etc. This Christmas I did just fine. So don't give up, organize yourself and educate yourself--you'll do just fine. Shirley

[JsBaby-G]

Lisa

I can been confronted with this problem since I've been diagnosed. I just make sure that all my gluten free stuff is set apart from the stuff that contains gluten. Putting it in a air tight sealed container will help. Make sure you wipe down all surfaces before you put your food on it. It's good idea to keep your own margarine to eliminate bread crumbs etc. Don't worry it becomes second nature.

Good Luck!

[Guest Lisa]

Thanks for the information. I hope this will get easier. I just want to get well and start to feel "normal". Reading all of the posts and different topics seems to help out, too.

Thanks Much!

Lisa

[bigapplekathleen]

Hi there -

I second Shirley's comments about the kitchen. It does get easier as you get used to all of it !

My husband has continued to eat gluten while I live on the gluten-free diet. We have been successful with this for a couple of reasons:

the counters are cleaned before and after every meal or snack with a gluten-free all-purpose organic cleaner that i buy at whole foods market.

we cook (actually, I cook) a few LARGE gluten-free meals each week and we can continue to eat the leftovers throughout the week. For example: tonight, I made a kosher organic vegetarian-diet chicken (roasted in the oven w/only one teaspoon of olive oil), cooked organic carrots, boiled lentils, brown and wild rice (in the rice cooker). We have enough left-overs for a couple of days.

we got rid of all tupperware and other plastic storage containers and only use glass or porcelain to store foods, flours, etc. It's better for us, anyway, since re-heating foods in the microwave inside plastic containers can be bad for you.

we quit using the cast-iron pans and non-stick teflon pans. The cast iron retains the gluten forever. (this made me very sad, because I LOVE my cast iron pans - they were perfectly seasoned. ) I bought a new Cuisinart heavy guage stainless steel cookware set which I love. It can easily go in the dishwasher, which was not the case with our previous anodized aluminum and cast iron cookware.

we hired housecleaners who come once a week for a couple hours. They clean all surfaces - and I mean EVERYTHING - with gluten-free cleaners. This also helped with my stress levels

We keep separate toasters and now will even use separate george forman grills, since he insists on cooking foods that contain gluten on the grill.

we cook a lot of healthy gluten-free foods together: rice pasta (my favorite: NOTTA PASTA), brown rice, wild rice, lentils, beans, veggies, etc.

we don't keep ANY bread in the house unless it's gluten-free. The crumbs from bread always seem to be everywhere when anyone has bread, so we just avoid this by buying only gluten-free breads. however, over the holidays, my in-laws were here. they were eating 2 loaves of french bread every day. Somehow, I managed to avoid any serious contamination from that because we continued to wipe down all surfaces before and after meals. We also washed all dishes in the dishwasher, which is better than washing by hand.

I hope some of these suggestions are helpful for you. I wish you well with the gluten-free diet !

Kathleen

[Guest eileen]

It is difficult at first but you will get used to cooking and storing gluten-free. I am single so I know it is much easier than if I still had a house full of kids and all their friends.

When the kids do come they are very aware of my needs. I guess it is because they are seeing me get better. I really apreciate them for doing this for me.

My childeren for christmas had me order food over the internet and they paid for it as a present and I know it was the best present I recieved. My daughter also got me 2 cook books. The only thing that is hard for me is that I am cooking for one and as usual I cook too much.

Hang in there things will get easier as you get educated to what you can eat and what you can't eat. It is worth it when you start feeling better.

eileen

[Guest Lisa]

So do you mean not only do I have cook and buy gluten free foods but also cleaners and dishware!!!! You gotta be kidding me, I can't believe this. I have 3 small children and I'm always sweeping up under them because of all the crumbs. I don't know how I will be able to do this.

Where in the world do you buy all of this??

What do you look for in non food products?? I use windex cleaners (basically anything by SC Johnson) my sister works there so I get a discount.

I have many pampered chef pans I guess I won't be able to use anymore. And what about plastic/wooden utensils? Why can't you use teflon coated pans?? I have a dishwasher thank goodness!

How did you know what to do?? How do get thru this??

I have so many questions, thanks for your help in this.

Lisa

[julia mom]

I'd like to know why non-stick teflon should not be used if properly cleaned? Maybe unseen scratches? I do not use anything porus when preparing my daughters gluten-free food(especially wooden and plastic). She also has her own jelly, peanutbutter and butter. It will become second nature. My Daughter is gluten-free only four months and we are practically experts(my daughter is the only celiac). Nancy

[Guest aramgard]

Well for one thing, Teflon after it has been used for a while gets scratched and retains small pieces of food and sometimes comes off in your food in small pieces. Now for the other thing, if you have pet birds or even a small child and Teflon pans become overheated, they can cause a pet to actually die. I read this years ago in some research. But it has been on the news again lately, that Teflon pans are not a good thing and that they are now finding the chemical components of Teflon in mother's milk. So that's why I no longer use Teflon. Shirley

[kvogt]

Frankly, I think there is a lot of hysteria surrounding pots and pans, etc. I'm as sensitive as the next person and I have had zero trouble with residual gluten in any storage container or cooking vessel. I am certain everything can be thoroughly scrubbed, including cast iron and wooden spoons, and made safe. We wash anything that contained gluten last and are careful to rinse well. I think the bigger exposure to contamination is while cooking non-gluten-free meals by way of handling gluten containing foods, airborne flour and crumbs.

[KAthyB]

I'm new to all this as my 17 year old daughter was diagnosed on 12/23. I just keep a clean kitchen, use the full dishwasher cycle and did get a separate toaster. She has her own butter, peanut butter and jelly since these get easily contaminated but when cooking I'm just careful with the utensils and cooking surfaces. I can't imagine microscopic flour particles are going to zero in on her food and contaminate it but maybe I'm wrong. I thought I was being vigilant about the gluten. She is already starting to feel better.

[JsBaby-G]

I agree with KathyB and kvogt, there is no reason that we should think that gluten is the most indistructable particle on the earth. I've never had my own set of dishes of pots or pans and I've been fine. I do agree with KathyB on the separate toaster and butter etc due to the fact that visible crumbs can be easily transferred.

In fact I read that cast iron pans are good because they let off some iron into the food that's cooked in it and for me I need all the iron I can get!!

[simplicity66]

Lisa...dont panic!!....yes the whole thing is very over-whelming...i was in your shoes like everyone else here....cross-contaimination naturaly is the biggie......i dedicated a cupboard in our kitchen for all my gluten-free products...i purchased all new betty crocker "tupperware" to store things in....as well.....for work i purchased a bright coloured containers and put my name on them....to aviod any mistake.....i also went to IKEA and purchased a new frying pan which my b/f knows not to use it.... the rubber bake-ware which is blue was a very nice discovery as well.....i also purchased cookbooks by Donna Washburn and Heather Butt one is 125 Best Gluten-Free Recipes the other is the Best Gluten-Free Family Cookbook on March 1st these authours released another one Complete Gluten-Free Cookbook which is lactouse-free...i am expecting that one to arrive very soon.....and yes we also have 2 toasters,2 bread machines and i have all "my" utensils and cookware strainer and mixing bowls seperate from the other non-gluten-free.....the good news for you is.....you have come across and very helpful and informative web site.....being a "new born" with Celica (one month) many thoughts and questions that i have had were answered here....the people here have Celica or many other or a combination of diseases....were all on the same page and yes we all do get very frustrated and discouraged..make everyday a discovery day not a challenge get informed despression is high but u keep a positive out look your days will get easier.

Have a Great Day!!!!!!!

[gfp]

Well, the first step is definately DON'T PANICK!

After this its a progressive step... or lots of little steps... but as many have said things become second nature ...

The biggest step by far is the descision to go 100% gluten-free... including all risks.

Many of us here made niaeve first steps at gluten-free. I certainly did.

Equally many of us saw initial improvement and reached a plateau. Again I did.

I still eat out and its always a risk... anywhere with gluten in the kitchen is an ever present risk... and as someone once wisely said here, it might be down to luck BUT we make our own luck!

Sometimes I get caught out... its a fact of life if you don't allow the illness to take over your life completely. However when I do I have my own gluten-free haven which is completely and utterly 100%...

This works for me.... I can go home and not eat anytihng with any risk at all for 2 weeks, and be confident I am not missing something or convincing myself something isn't causing me damage.

Additionally and I think this is just as important is the phychological advantage this gives me.

We all get upset tummies gluten issues aside... and a single glutening can have effects for up to 6 weeks and for neurological effects much longer but even sticking with random GI effects you can drive yourself crazy trying to work out how the heck it happened.

So back to the biggest step...

If you do make your kitchen 100% gluten-free you can always be confident .. its much easier to isolate etc. if you eat outside you have a safe haven.

Dishwashers are OK... but they are not faultless. Teflon pans are usually OK but not faultless. Wooden spoons etc. are pretty much guaranteed...to CC. Stainless steel can be scrubbed with metal scouring pads (which are then thrown away) ...

I'll just illustrate the dishwasher problem.

Commerically gluten is seperated from the starch and other proteins in wheat by hot water. The more efficient process uses a hot alkaline solution (it even has a name I forget) .. and this is what you use in your dishwasher. Most dishwasher tablets are KOH a very strong alkalai ... the reason being that it reduces fats...

However gluten by itself is basically a glue... and a very good one... so putting it in a dishwasher is concentrating the gluten and also making it into a very sticky substance...

Its not so dissimilar form casein in this respect (elmers wood glue) .. you can try sticking some food dye in elmers on a wooden spoon and stick it in your dishwasher...

In the end its all about risk.... other than living on our own garden zero risk just isn't possible so we have to define what is acceptable risk and what isn't. I have a friend who gets seizures .. her definition of risk is not the same as mine... each one is potentially life threatening to her, imagine having a seizure while driving!

But that's the whole point... driving is inherently risky... crossing the road is inherently risky. Some people live near really dangerous black-spots with blind corners etc. .. of these some people will avoid that blackspot... others will accept its a risk and be extra careful but it can't always be enough because of the other person... if a bus comes round on the wrong side of the road out of control all the care int he world won't save you.

MY advice would be go 100% gluten-free... but I would love to bottle my experiences and give them to you... but I can't..neither would I have believed ME back when my gluten-free journey was just beiginning, indeed I would have laughed at ME pretty hard!

I can't bottle my experiences, just like being a parent you can't protect your children from every last thing... some things it seems we have to find out for ourselves.

All I can ask is you consider this and bear it in mind.... you are probably a lot less cynical than I am... I was at the front of the queue when it was handed out I think

[confused]

Well, the first step is definately DON'T PANICK!

After this its a progressive step... or lots of little steps... but as many have said things become second nature ...

The biggest step by far is the descision to go 100% gluten-free... including all risks.

Many of us here made niaeve first steps at gluten-free. I certainly did.

Equally many of us saw initial improvement and reached a plateau. Again I did.

I still eat out and its always a risk... anywhere with gluten in the kitchen is an ever present risk... and as someone once wisely said here, it might be down to luck BUT we make our own luck!

Sometimes I get caught out... its a fact of life if you don't allow the illness to take over your life completely. However when I do I have my own gluten-free haven which is completely and utterly 100%...

This works for me.... I can go home and not eat anytihng with any risk at all for 2 weeks, and be confident I am not missing something or convincing myself something isn't causing me damage.

Additionally and I think this is just as important is the phychological advantage this gives me.

We all get upset tummies gluten issues aside... and a single glutening can have effects for up to 6 weeks and for neurological effects much longer but even sticking with random GI effects you can drive yourself crazy trying to work out how the heck it happened.

So back to the biggest step...

If you do make your kitchen 100% gluten-free you can always be confident .. its much easier to isolate etc. if you eat outside you have a safe haven.

Dishwashers are OK... but they are not faultless. Teflon pans are usually OK but not faultless. Wooden spoons etc. are pretty much guaranteed...to CC. Stainless steel can be scrubbed with metal scouring pads (which are then thrown away) ...

I'll just illustrate the dishwasher problem.

Commerically gluten is seperated from the starch and other proteins in wheat by hot water. The more efficient process uses a hot alkaline solution (it even has a name I forget) .. and this is what you use in your dishwasher. Most dishwasher tablets are KOH a very strong alkalai ... the reason being that it reduces fats...

However gluten by itself is basically a glue... and a very good one... so putting it in a dishwasher is concentrating the gluten and also making it into a very sticky substance...

Its not so dissimilar form casein in this respect (elmers wood glue) .. you can try sticking some food dye in elmers on a wooden spoon and stick it in your dishwasher...

In the end its all about risk.... other than living on our own garden zero risk just isn't possible so we have to define what is acceptable risk and what isn't. I have a friend who gets seizures .. her definition of risk is not the same as mine... each one is potentially life threatening to her, imagine having a seizure while driving!

But that's the whole point... driving is inherently risky... crossing the road is inherently risky. Some people live near really dangerous black-spots with blind corners etc. .. of these some people will avoid that blackspot... others will accept its a risk and be extra careful but it can't always be enough because of the other person... if a bus comes round on the wrong side of the road out of control all the care int he world won't save you.

MY advice would be go 100% gluten-free... but I would love to bottle my experiences and give them to you... but I can't..neither would I have believed ME back when my gluten-free journey was just beiginning, indeed I would have laughed at ME pretty hard!

I can't bottle my experiences, just like being a parent you can't protect your children from every last thing... some things it seems we have to find out for ourselves.

All I can ask is you consider this and bear it in mind.... you are probably a lot less cynical than I am... I was at the front of the queue when it was handed out I think

I am so glad i saw this thread this morning. Last night i was talking with hubby and debating if we should all go gluten free, or if i should just have my own shelf and keep things seperate. I still dont have an official diagnoses, but i do know how i feel not eating gluten, and how my step-son feels not eating much gluten(we are working on that). But i sit here and think if i do come out postiive for celiac, wont that make my kids have a very good chance of celiac or at least gluten-intolerance. So it would be in my best interest to go gluten free in the whole house.

I know when i have been heating things up for me i have uses paper products to reheat them, then i just throw them away. After being glutened the other day from touching the same utensils of hubby, i am kinda scared to keep gluten in the house.

I guess i will just have to think about this a little more, before i decide what i am doing. I just hate to make 5 other people go gluten free cause 2 of us have problems.

paula

[ArtGirl]

Lots of good replies here, and "food" for thought for those of you who are new to this whole thing.

It's just my husband and myself, and he has been careful. However, I spent a lot of time washing down cupboard door handles and the refrigerator handles, and had to constantly wash my hands. After a while, for my peace of mind (after watching me have an anxiety attack over his wheat spaghetti noodles and regular bread) he volunteered to go gluten-free at home.

If I had small children at home, with all the crumbs associated with their eating habits and my havin to constantly clean up after them, I would DEFINITELY make my house GLUTEN-FREE. The risk may be small, depending on how diligent I would be, but it would always be there.

As far as inconveniencing anyone else in the family and possibly causing resentment from older children, here's my take. I think of it as character development. In our society it is seldom that we sacrifice for another person. As a whole we are quite self-oriented. Anytime we can teach our children how to put the other person's well being above our own desires, it is a good thing. The person who can give something up for the good of another has risen above the norm.

[Slackermommy]

I have 2 small children..and a husband, and I am the only one gluten free. This is how I organized my kitchen, and it is working for us.

We have one small cupboard that contains the stuff with gluten, the bread, the cereal, and a couple of other items. The counter above is the gluten counter, that is where the gluten toaster is and where all gluten sandwiches are made. All gluten products are made on this counter. We chose to isolate gluten instead of isolating the gluten free.

The rest of the kitchen is gluten free. I bake gluten free, all suppers and any big meals I prepare are gluten free. Only lunches are separate, the kids still have their PB and J on real bread.

They have their own colander for draining their mac n cheese, their own wooden utensils, a couple of pans that are used only for grilled cheese and heating pizza in the oven.

We share plates and one pot, the rest we keep separate. All plates with gluten are quickly rinsed in the sink before being washed in the dishwasher.

I hope this helps!

[missy'smom]

You should consider replacing your baking soda, powder, cinnamon and other baking spices but not necessarily all herbs and spices. I had the habit of using the same measuring spoon for multiple ingredents when baking and so they were cross-contaminated.

[gfp]

I am so glad i saw this thread this morning. Last night i was talking with hubby and debating if we should all go gluten free, or if i should just have my own shelf and keep things seperate. I still dont have an official diagnoses, but i do know how i feel not eating gluten, and how my step-son feels not eating much gluten(we are working on that). But i sit here and think if i do come out postiive for celiac, wont that make my kids have a very good chance of celiac or at least gluten-intolerance. So it would be in my best interest to go gluten free in the whole house.

I know when i have been heating things up for me i have uses paper products to reheat them, then i just throw them away. After being glutened the other day from touching the same utensils of hubby, i am kinda scared to keep gluten in the house.

I guess i will just have to think about this a little more, before i decide what i am doing. I just hate to make 5 other people go gluten free cause 2 of us have problems.

paula

I'm really glad it helped....

As for the kids.... yes they have an increased risk BUT as far as inconvenience they also get a new mom... one who is less ill, has more energy and for many of us much more even tempered.

Let me put it from a different perspective... the time you spend with your kids (and hubby) only happen once.

Four score years is shorter than it feels when we are 5-6 ... so your kids are not misisng out they are gaining....

Lets say you suffer from mood swings like a lot of us do... what would it be worth financially to get rid of that with no medication and side effects? How much is it worth to have a wife/mom who has the energy to do everything she wants to do with her kids, hubby...

The brilliant thing is YOU CAN TRY FOR FREE.... take my offer its got a 100% money back guarantee if your not entirely satisfied and the only cost is not exposing yourself to gluten....

If I knew what I do now... and could magically take this knowledge back I would gain back 2-3 years of my life... but like I say some things have to be experienced.

If you can get a 100% gluten-free kitchen and try it for 3 months all you waste is buying some cheap extra pans for 3 months.. (and you can clean the good stainless ones.. etc.) .. honestly you have little to lose except finding out what I did the hard way....

After 3 months you can try eating out and see how it affects you ... you can try having a gluten-free area or the inverse... etc. and see what happens. My experience is we all mess up from time to time because cooking is a semi-autonomous action...

[confused]

I'm really glad it helped....

As for the kids.... yes they have an increased risk BUT as far as inconvenience they also get a new mom... one who is less ill, has more energy and for many of us much more even tempered.

Let me put it from a different perspective... the time you spend with your kids (and hubby) only happen once.

Four score years is shorter than it feels when we are 5-6 ... so your kids are not misisng out they are gaining....

Lets say you suffer from mood swings like a lot of us do... what would it be worth financially to get rid of that with no medication and side effects? How much is it worth to have a wife/mom who has the energy to do everything she wants to do with her kids, hubby...

The brilliant thing is YOU CAN TRY FOR FREE.... take my offer its got a 100% money back guarantee if your not entirely satisfied and the only cost is not exposing yourself to gluten....

If I knew what I do now... and could magically take this knowledge back I would gain back 2-3 years of my life... but like I say some things have to be experienced.

If you can get a 100% gluten-free kitchen and try it for 3 months all you waste is buying some cheap extra pans for 3 months.. (and you can clean the good stainless ones.. etc.) .. honestly you have little to lose except finding out what I did the hard way....

After 3 months you can try eating out and see how it affects you ... you can try having a gluten-free area or the inverse... etc. and see what happens. My experience is we all mess up from time to time because cooking is a semi-autonomous action...

You sold me. I have noticed just this last week, i have felt so much better and have been doing so much more with the kids, and my house is getting back to being spotless, during the last year i would have like weeks on end were my house was such an mess, and it would take me at least an week to get it semi-clean, i couldnt do more then half a room without quiting, and i am an clean freak. My hubby would come home from work and be like what have u done all day, and i would be like i swept the living room. he never cared it was messy cause he knew i was not feeling well, so he would come home and clean, but his clean is far from my clean. But even all ready today i cleaned the bathroom from top to bottom and cleaned the living room spotless, this is the most i have done in ages. And he is so happy that im slowly feeling better.

Even when he was just home from break, the kids wanted an sandwhich, so he made them one, and my eye started to twitch, so im thinking i must be one that is very sensitive to wheat. So when he gets home from work, we are cleaning the kitchen and getting rid of everything. He was like no more bread, and i told him nope, we are done with that kind but we will be making and buying gluten free bread. I told him when him and the kids want something with gluten that he can take them out to eat lol.

I so agree with having little kids that touch everything, that is why i need to get rid of it completely. My kids are only 2,3, 5,6 and then the 13 stepson that is going gluten free. I think life will just be easier this way. I will have more time to play with them, then wiping everything down every 5 minutes. ANd like u said they will love mom wants to do more with them. If i keep feeling great, i might even help with one of their soccer teams or tball teams. ANd that will mean more to them then a house full of gluten lol

paula

[ArtGirl]

ANd like u said they will love mom wants to do more with them. If i keep feeling great, i might even help with one of their soccer teams or tball teams. ANd that will mean more to them then a house full of gluten lol

Well put! (wipes tear from eye)