Newly Diagnosed Celiac...

[Cornhusker]

So, in another post, I mentioned that I'm in the process of being diagnosed with celiac. Apparently a positive bioposy that the doctor plans to discuss next week. As a bit of a test, I hit the gluten rather heavily yesterday. Bagel, lasagna, wheat tortilla enchiladas, etc. While I've been feeling pretty crappy for a couple months, last night was something special. Heavy fatigue and a spacey feeling. This morning wasn't quite D, but what was inside wanted out fast.

Anyway, I've started a gluten-free diet today. This has been somewhat challenging because the kitchen is current stocked with pre-gluten-free items. But I managed and feel better than last night. As I was going through all the items in the kitchen that contain gluten, I wondered how others deal with family members and cross contamination.

My wife, though horribly uninformed at this stage, has been supportive. My three girls (6, 4, and 2) have no idea (obviously). Though after the bunch of them went grocery shopping at the local health store, I've been inundated with gluten questions from the older ones. It somewhat of a game to them at this point. Holds up bread, "Can you eat this, Daddy?" "Nope." Holds up graham cracker. "What about this?" "Not that either."

Sorry for the rambling, but the basic question is this:

What do your families do regarding meals, food, etc.? I've noticed that some of you guys have children that have it too, so obviously it's a family lifestyle thing. For those of you who are the only person with it in the family, has the whole family gone gluten-free? If not, do you have to take special care to avoid cross contamination? Segregated pantries and refrigerators? How do you cope?

While nobody on this board is a big fan of gluten (again, obviously), I don't necessarily want to restrict the diet of my family if I don't have to.

Thoughts? Ideas?

Thanks.

[queenofhearts]

First of all, welcome to the board! It is a phenomenal resource.

To answer your question (sort of, anyway), there is a wide variety of household styles represented here, from 100% gluten-free, to one celiac living with several die-hard gluten-eaters. Obviously it is much harder to avoid the cross-contamination in the latter case. It depends somewhat on folks' sensitivity whether they can manage with so many risks. Problem is, as a newbie, one often doesn't have distinct glutening symptoms until fully healed. That makes it tough to gauge your sensitivity, so it's probably best to play it safe.

It's really complicated to live with gluteners (there are 3 in my household) & the more you can encourage them to go gluten-free too, the safer you will be. But that's often more expensive, & hard if you have real bread-lovers in your midst! (Though when I bake the gluten-free bread fresh, they'll eat it happily.) I've been on the diet for about 5 weeks & I'm still not sure if I have reached a safe level in my house, to tell the truth.

One absolute seems to be separate toasters, & it's best not to share cutting boards, wooden spoons, cast iron pans & so on. (Anything to which gluten might cling.) And it's safest, especially with children, to have separate, labeled containers of peanut butter, mayo, & anything else that might risk "double dipping." Don't prepare your food right on the counter or table, & look out for messy sponges, hand towels & other stealthy gluten hiders.

Do you have Nini's Newbie Kit yet? It has lots of suggestions as I recall.

Again, welcome! Eat well & be well!

Leah

[Lisa]

The answer to you question is quite simple.....If you choose for your entire family to be totaly gluten free, they won't even know it....less the pizza's and fast foods.

The first challenge is, do you want a diognisis, or will you be content with the gluten-free diet and seeing the results.

If you choose the diog, then you need to maintain the gluten diet, otherwise your test will not be accurate. This is essential if you want a diox.

Second, if you want to feel better and try the gluten-free diet, please understand that it more complex than loosing the bread and pasta. For instance, you need to check you toothpaste, shampoo, bath soap, meds, no cosmetics for you (female,yes).....i.e, anything that you ingest.

Many of us have different sensitivites to gluten, some are severe and some not so. I believe, it depends on how soon it was diog. and the amount of damage to your intestines.

If you feel that you have Celiac Disease, it is very important that you take it seriously as it can lead to some life threatening illnesss. Celiac in itself is not life threatening, but the by procucts of it not being addressed, can cause terrible problems in the future.

I you would like to add most impute into your post, as to you symptoms and why you think that you have celiac, supply you with more information.

For instance, Nini, who posts here has a "newbi-kit" with losts of websites and diet information that would be helpful to you.

You have come to a good place, where people who share the same affiction, just share and share. This site has truely been a wonderous thing for me as the doctors that I saw had nothing to add and I was basically on my own after being diog with a biopsy.

These folks here helped me learn everything to know about being Celiac......atfter almost a year, I am still learning.

Don't freak out about your family:

Oscar Myer Bacon

""Hot Dogs

Heinz Katchup

La Choy Soy Sauce

Hellamns Mayo

Kraft Food will always list

Paul Newman Dressing will always list

B&m baked beans

McCormacks spices will always list.

Maybe this can get you started, and I am sure that nini will post with your starter kit.

Hope this was helpful, and PLEASE ask away.

Lisa

[mouse]

I am the one with Celiac and I cook all dinners totally gluten free. This was easiest as I never had the energy to prepare two meals. My husband has his own toaster and I have mine. He uses the area in front of his toaster to make his sandwiches. He has his own dish towel and I have a separate one that I use to wipe the hand dishes. Our containers in the frig have stickies on them so that there is no double dipping in the ones I use. My pantry has been cleared of all items that had gluten (those that I use for cooking). I have no regular flours in our home or pastas. The tinkyada (sp) pasta is great and he eats it. Flour dust stays in the air around 24 hours and so I only bake with the gluten-free mixes or flours. I made absolutely terrific choc. chip cookies that my husband just loves. You will have to sit down with you wife and decide what is doable for your family. Others will post with other ideas. Welcome to the forum and this is a great resource for learning what you need to know. I learned more here then I did the first year after my diagnosis and I spent at least 300 hours trying to learn. Everyone has mentioned Nini and she does have a newby kit. Her computer crashed and is in the process of being fixed. If you go to nini, I beleive that she has a link to her website where you can download her kit. This is really all doable and believe it or not tasty.

[penguin]

It's just me and my husband, but my policy is that I won't prepare something I can't eat. I also won't allow any non-prepackaged gluten in my house, and nothing that has to be repared/eaten on a dish that can't be put in the dishwasher. That means no wheat flour, bisquick, etc. because it gets everywhere. He also can't prepare frozen pizzas directly on the oven rack. I don't really let bread in the house either. What it boils down to is that he has his cereal and saltines and that's it. If he wants kraft dinner or something, he has a pot to do that seperate from the house ones. He can eat whatever he wants outside the house, and can't kiss me after eating gluten.

I found that most of what I make is gluten-free anyway, so that was a plus. The other things were easy enough to convert. Since your girls are so young, they should convert fairly easily, just don't tell them you're doing it

[Ursa Major]

Hi Cornhusker, and welcome to this board. It seems to me that the first priority will have to be to inform your wife! If she is the cook/shopper for the family, she absolutely will have to be educated on celiac disease and how to eat gluten-free, or you will be doomed! I am only sort of joking here, as you won't be safe until she knows what will hurt you, and what won't.

The first challenge is, do you want a diognisis, or will you be content with the gluten-free diet and seeing the results.

If you choose the diog, then you need to maintain the gluten diet, otherwise your test will not be accurate. This is essential if you want a diox.

Lisa, I believe he said that the doctor wants to discuss his positive biopsy. Meaning, he should be gluten free immediately, as the biopsy has been done.

Cornhusker, even though Nini is having technical difficulties at this time, you can still get her Newbie survival kit. Here is the link to her website: Open Original Shared Link Scroll down to the bottom, and you'll find the links to either the zip file which contains the whole kit (but some people had problems with downloading one of them), or follow the second link where you can download the files one at a time.

Print the ones you want your wife to read!

Oh, and by the way, celiac disease is genetic, and so it is quite possible that some of your girls are gluten intolerant, too. You should get them all tested at some point (soon if any of them seem to have symptoms). Unfortunately, the tests are unreliable in children under five, meaning, that often trying them on the diet is the best test.

[tarnalberry]

At my house, it's just my husband and I. And the half dozen or so people who come when we host dinner. I don't cook with gluten, and unless it's beer, I don't serve gluten. (Or dairy, for that matter. I follow ChelsE's "If I can't have it, I don't cook it," rule.) My husband has Twizzlers, oatmeal, Triscuits, Cherrios, and granola bars. He has a cutting board (large one, like 18x24) that denotes the counter space where he can keep bread or pastries - and he *always* eats it over a plate, and has his own butter (the only thing he'd put on bread, except for EVOO & balsamic). (I also don't kiss him immediately after he's been eating gluteny things.) And, of course, he can have anything and everything he wants when we go out. All shared meals are Gluten-free Casein-free.

Aside from finding a Gluten-free Casein-free pancake mix he'd eat (he's quite picky) he really doesn't mind. Nor do my guests at dinner parties. (Usually, they're asking me for recipes.)

It's not worth the risk of having a kitchen that is regularly used for a poison.

[hez]

I am the only one so far with celiac (the kids have tested negative but that can change). I am also the one that cooks. After a year I feel like we have worked it out to a science.

DH feeds ds and dd breakfast, usually gluten cereal. Lunch is either from school (ds choice) or dh or myself make lunch for dd. Again this usually involves gluten. We are extremely careful. Gluten is only on one counter. I always wash my hands after touching the gluten. We have separate butter and peanut butter to avoid cc. We share mayonaise and mustard but it is the squirt kind, no knife in and no wipping on bread. When dh makes sandwhich he gets his meat and cheese out on paper towel BEFORE touching his bread so as not to cc.

I make a gluten-free dinner for all of us to share. This does not work for everyone but has worked great for us.

Welcome to the board!

Hez

[Cornhusker]

The answer to you question is quite simple.....If you choose for your entire family to be totaly gluten free, they won't even know it....less the pizza's and fast foods.

The first challenge is, do you want a diognisis, or will you be content with the gluten-free diet and seeing the results.

If you choose the diog, then you need to maintain the gluten diet, otherwise your test will not be accurate. This is essential if you want a diox.

Second, if you want to feel better and try the gluten-free diet, please understand that it more complex than loosing the bread and pasta. For instance, you need to check you toothpaste, shampoo, bath soap, meds, no cosmetics for you (female,yes).....i.e, anything that you ingest.

Many of us have different sensitivites to gluten, some are severe and some not so. I believe, it depends on how soon it was diog. and the amount of damage to your intestines.

If you feel that you have Celiac Disease, it is very important that you take it seriously as it can lead to some life threatening illnesss. Celiac in itself is not life threatening, but the by procucts of it not being addressed, can cause terrible problems in the future.

I you would like to add most impute into your post, as to you symptoms and why you think that you have celiac, supply you with more information.

For instance, Nini, who posts here has a "newbi-kit" with losts of websites and diet information that would be helpful to you.

You have come to a good place, where people who share the same affiction, just share and share. This site has truely been a wonderous thing for me as the doctors that I saw had nothing to add and I was basically on my own after being diog with a biopsy.

These folks here helped me learn everything to know about being Celiac......atfter almost a year, I am still learning.

Don't freak out about your family:

Oscar Myer Bacon

""Hot Dogs

Heinz Katchup

La Choy Soy Sauce

Hellamns Mayo

Kraft Food will always list

Paul Newman Dressing will always list

B&m baked beans

McCormacks spices will always list.

Maybe this can get you started, and I am sure that nini will post with your starter kit.

Hope this was helpful, and PLEASE ask away.

Lisa

From what a nurse told me on Friday, my biopsy is positive. I'll speak to the doctor next week, which I suppose will make it 'official'. But from my understanding, a positive biopsy can be considered the last word. If that's the case, and I don't need a blood test, I'd prefer to just get on with the diet. But realistically, we're only talking 48 hours of avoiding gluten before my appointment Monday morning rolls around. Even if they want to take some blood, I can't imagine 2 days off would make a difference. But what do I know?

That's good information on the bathroom supplies. I've been wondering about the toothpaste but hadn't really considered soap and shampoo. Does anyone know if the Clan Thompson drug list covers those types of items? I'll also have to remember to stay out of my wife's make-up.

Thank-you for your advice. There seems to be no shortage of good people around here.

[Cornhusker]

Oh, and by the way, celiac disease is genetic, and so it is quite possible that some of your girls are gluten intolerant, too. You should get them all tested at some point (soon if any of them seem to have symptoms). Unfortunately, the tests are unreliable in children under five, meaning, that often trying them on the diet is the best test.

I've read about the genetic nature of it and certainly hope I didn't pass anything on beside my stunning good looks... Seriously, you raise a good point. It will certainly be something we'll keep an eye on, but thankfully everyone is healthy and thriving.

It's not worth the risk of having a kitchen that is regularly used for a poison.

This is an excellent way to think of it. Right now, my wife does the shopping/cooking. I like to cook, but usually just special occasions and not the day-to-day heavy lifting. I have a feeling that might be changing. Kind of looking forward to it.

[tarnalberry]

I thought I'd add...

My husband does get to make regular pancakes (Bisquik, anyway... he likes it... eh) and oatmeal cookies, but he does it alone in the kitchen, after the kitchen's been cleaned, works in a small space (to confine the dust), and cleans up afterwards. (And he does this a total of... maybe four times a year. :-) ) He's the *only* person I trust in the kitchen with gluten stuff. Even my in-laws, and I love them and they are very supportive/aware/careful, worry me when they are over and we try to be more accomodating on breakfasts, because it's just not a habit of theirs.

[mamatide]

Sorry for the rambling, but the basic question is this:

What do your families do regarding meals, food, etc.? I've noticed that some of you guys have children that have it too, so obviously it's a family lifestyle thing. For those of you who are the only person with it in the family, has the whole family gone gluten-free? If not, do you have to take special care to avoid cross contamination? Segregated pantries and refrigerators? How do you cope?

While nobody on this board is a big fan of gluten (again, obviously), I don't necessarily want to restrict the diet of my family if I don't have to.

Thoughts? Ideas?

Thanks.

Well, as of today, we have only one Celiac in our family and that is our 5yo daughter. We've been about 90% gluten-free since she went gluten-free which essentially means the rest of the family gets hamburger and hot dog buns but she doesn't. The rest of our choices are naturally gluten free (barbecue season is great for that - grilled chicken, etc.)

That said, I guess we were a little frivoulous with our crumb distribution this weekend and our DD is showing signs of being glutened. Poor thing.

So DH and I this morning have pretty much decided that the house is going to have to be gluten-free for her to feel her best.

And I suspect that I probably have it too but am sporadically symptomatic so I'm going to be tested.

So while in theory being gluten free for one person can be done... it's too big a headache for our family. I'm tired of being the crumb police and DH felt horrible when he toasted his hamburger bun on our gluten-free grill by accident. It's just too much to remember and it's taking the fun out of eating.

We've found decent gluten-free alternatives for most things and the rest of us get our gluten fixes outside the house, at lunch at school, work, or wherever.

So that's our experience. It's really not that bad. As one person pointed out when I was just making the switch for my daughter, try not to think about what you CAN'T eat.... focus on what you CAN eat. And there's plenty.

When we figured out that Christmas dinner would still be the same as always, then we knew it would be OK.

Good luck~

[dionnek]

I am fairly new to this (2 months), but I am the only one in my house with celiac (knock on wood) and have a 22 month old daughter. I was not planning on making the whole household go gluten-free, however, like mamatide said, it has just gotten to be too much of a headache and I am constantly worrying about cross contamination and my little girl's gluteny fingers getting all over everything, so I think I am going to have to make the switch. My husband is fine with eating the foods I eat (since he can get his gluten fix at lunch and when we go out to dinner, which I've found IS doable although more preparation is needed). I am still planning on allowing a loaf of bread for hubby and daughter's sandwhiches (he will make them), and maybe some goldfish crackers for daughter, but the rest of their gluten they can get out of the house

Oh yes, and the kissing thing was something I never thought of! But it is so true and I have to be careful not to kiss my daughter on the mouth after she's eaten her mac and cheese (which I'm now going to try to make from scratch with rice pasta)!

[kabowman]

I am the only one in our house of 5 with this restrictive of a diet (read below). Most of meals i.e., dinner, are gluten free unless I am too tired and have enough for me to eat then I let the kids fix a pizza. If we are warming or cooking separate foods, mine goes first - I have gotten sick by letting them go first. Nobody complains because they don't want me sick anymore.

Breakfast is easy, hubby makes me eggs every morning with my homemade sausage and the kids eat cereal away from me. Lunch is also easy, mine is leftovers and theirs is whatever they want.

They have areas of the kitchen then can use to prepare gluten stuff - away from anything that might be used together except for the cooktop. Their areas are easier to clean and won't contaminate my canisters, the knives, coffee, etc. If they are using a gluten flour like Tiffany, for pancakes then they go to a corner of the kitchen, after I am completely done in there, turn the fan off, then clean up well, then I go back and re-clean.

I have my own area of the pantry (up high) and my own area of the 'fridge (top shelf). The rest is more open, eggs are not on my shelf but I feel safe with those on a shared shelf. Nobody touches my stuff unless they are helping me cook or prepare my food.

I have my own towel so that if anyone will be helping me cook, they wash and dry their hands on MY towel to avoid the CC of stuff wiped on their towel - face it, we all do it and I don't want it in my food. I have a spounge for my stuff that needs to be handwashed and we have a sponge for other stuff - like I have my own pizza pan.

[mamatide]

But it is so true and I have to be careful not to kiss my daughter on the mouth after she's eaten her mac and cheese (which I'm now going to try to make from scratch with rice pasta)!

Just so you know, I still make Kraft Dinner for us - just dump out the gluten noodles (it's about 1 and a half cups of raw noodles - I measured) and boil some corn or rice macaroni instead. Do the rest the same as always. The kids didn't even notice the switch and we can all still enjoy mac and cheese.

I called Kraft to verify that the cheese packet is gluten free and they confirmed that yes it was.

(be sure to get a gluten free colander - just throw out the old one - you can get them at the dollar store)

mamatide

[penguin]

You can still make "Kraft" mac and cheese. The powdered cheese is gluten-free, and they sell it in a skinny blue can and it says "shake on popcorn" on it. I've found it with the velveeta in one store, and with the can parmesan in another, so it takes some hunting. Here's a link to buy it online, so at least you can see what you're looking for: Open Original Shared Link

I think it's something like 3 or 4 tbsp. of the powder with 1/4 c milk and 1/4 c butter. Use tinkyada rice elbows and it's mac and cheese! I've done it and it works great! I usually don't measure the powder, I just add until it looks good and orange .There's also the melted velveeta with a little milk option, too.

I forgot something I allow. I let DH make his oatmeal fudge when he wants (every few months). Poor thing, it's the only thing he knows how to make. I'm not allowed to make it anyway, because since the recipe came from his dad, it's a "man" recipe. He's very careful and uses the gluten pot and cleans immediately after.

I don't have kids yet, but when I do, they'll probably be gluten-free until they're old enough to police their own crumbs. Based on my neices, nephews, and all of the kids I've babysat since I was 12, little kids get gummy. They're sloppy with the cheerios etc and they get gummy cheerois/goldfish/crackers/spaghettios all over their face, hands, hair, clothes. Then they kiss, touch things, slobber...No amount of baby wipes gets rid of all of that. I will probably make the whole house gluten-free (not even cheerios for dh) when we have kids for ease. I certainly don't want to have to push my kid away because he/she is covered in crumbs, and I don't want to have to wear a hazmat suit to handle my kids. JMO

[Ursa Major]

Well, my family apparently doesn't care about keeping me safe. They've all declared that it is my own responsibility to make sure I'm okay. Meaning, that my husband and two youngest daughters (20 and 14) leave crumbs, gluteny knives and dishes EVERYWHERE, and expect me to clean them up.

I suspect that is why my health has improved to a certain point, and that's where I'm stuck. I am much better than I was, but still never feel well.

I've asked them a million times not to eat at the computer so the keyboard isn't contaminated, but they just tell me they don't care, that I must be crazy to think they'd change their lifestyle just for me.

I hope you get more cooperation, that your own family cares more about you than mine.

[CarlaB]

I'll also have to remember to stay out of my wife's make-up.

First, welcome! This is where it gets funny, actually. If your wife is wearing anything with gluten -- lipstick, foundation, hair products, etc. -- and you kiss her, you are at risk for getting glutened.

I am the one in my house who has it. My daughter Chloe, who posts here when she wants to find out if a certain candy or lip gloss has gluten (she's 13), also has it. My other 5 kids and husband do not. Since I'm the cook in the house, all our dinners are gluten-free/casein-free. Everyone is in charge of their own breakfast and lunch (except my poor husband who hasn't a clue how to feed himself). Our island in the kitchen is the only place where gluten is allowed, so the kids make their sandwiches there.

We have a red permanent marker and a green permanent marker. I will mark jars (like mayo, peanut butter, etc.) with a green g. f. if I expect that product to be used as gluten-free only. If someone uses it for gluten and contaminates it by sticking a knife in the jar after using the knife on bread, they take the red marker and put a big X on the jar so that I know not to use it. They're very motivated because when I'm sick, their workload increases dramatically!

Everyone in my household is very supportive because they have all seen such a dramatic change in my health, so it makes it much easier to live together with some of us being gluten-free and others not.

[ravenwoodglass]

Hello and Welcome, You have gotten some great advice here the only thing I want to add is the need for testing everyone in your home, even the ones who are asymptomatic. There is a very strong chance that at least 1 if not more of the members of your home need to be gluten-free other than yourself.

[emcmaster]

Well, my family apparently doesn't care about keeping me safe. They've all declared that it is my own responsibility to make sure I'm okay. Meaning, that my husband and two youngest daughters (20 and 14) leave crumbs, gluteny knives and dishes EVERYWHERE, and expect me to clean them up.

I suspect that is why my health has improved to a certain point, and that's where I'm stuck. I am much better than I was, but still never feel well.

I've asked them a million times not to eat at the computer so the keyboard isn't contaminated, but they just tell me they don't care, that I must be crazy to think they'd change their lifestyle just for me.

I hope you get more cooperation, that your own family cares more about you than mine.

Urusla, I'm so sorry to hear about the problems you're having with your family.

Have you tried punishing your youngest daughters for not following your rules? Think of your rules of not eating at the computer as having the same importance as coming home before curfew - they mess up and privileges get taken away.

Just a thought. You're amazing for dealing with it as well as you have without the support of your family.

[emcmaster]

I am also the only celiac in the house. My husband is generally pretty supportive, but is not gluten-free. I have a designated gluten-free counter that gluten never touches. We don't eat meals together (we never have), so when he makes his food, he makes it on his own counters and cleans up pretty well afterwards.

Occasionally he makes bread, but he has his own bread machine and cleans up pretty well afterwards. We don't keep non-gluten-free flours in the house except for his bread flour, and that is kept in a sealed container that only he touches.

Also, I have 2 separate dish brushes (1 for things going in the dishwasher, and 1 for things that are being hand washed), as does he. He knows which of my brushes to use when he's doing the dishes. We switched to stainless steel pots and pans, and we both have our own separate skillets for omelettes.

And we use only paper towels to prevent CC.

Hope this helps!

[ehrin]

I also live in a household where I am the only one who is gluten-free. I bought my house with a friend of mine - I do not think it's fair to force him to become gluten-free when he does not have Celiac disease, so for the next 4 years I will be in a dual household (not sure if when James and I get a place I will make it strictly gluten-free - I somehow doubt it though). So...I'm not saying it's easy, it isn't, but it's doable. Lambert has his own toaster and makes his toast/sandwiches in one place. He doesn't clean up after himself (he thinks he does, but apparently his eyesight sucks) so I know to wipe down his spot, again, after I get home. He's getting better with putting his own dishes in the dishwasher, but even this is not a given - I often will have to empty the sink (we do put both gluten-free and gluten items in the same wash - it hasn't been a problem). I probably wash my hands about twice an hour - being T1 diabetic as well, I am constantly testing my blood sugar - I am diligent about making sure I have no gluten on my hands for both reasons. What I've found, and this is true of both Lambert and my boyfriend, is that those that don't have a knowledge of food will find being gluten-free the hardest. Lambert asked me if I wanted an ice cream sandwich - I informed him that I couldn't eat those and he says "but you eat chips!" He doesn't get exactly what gluten is because he is grossly uninformed of what he shoves into his mouth. You'll find yourself educating, educating again and then educating some more. And the more familiar both you (if necessary) and your family become with food it'll become more like second nature.

Good Luck!

Ehrin

[Cornhusker]

I was aware of it before, but it's become readily apparent to me over the past three days...I live with 4 slobs. The girls are 6, 4, and 2, so I imagine I have to give them a pass , but the wife! Out of sight is out of mind, and superficially clean is clean enough.

I've spent some time this afternoon trying to pull the kitchen into shape. The amount of crumb-based debris in every nook and cranny is amazing. It seems at times its about 50/50 whether the food goes in the girls' mouths or somewhere else.

I was hoping to segregate the foodstuff this afternoon, but cleaning of the counters, cupboards, table, and booster chairs, not to mention running all our dishes through the washer (I can't see the point of cleaning the cupboard surfaces only to put the same dishes back afterwards) has taken so much time.

The wife is at work right now. Hopefully, when she gets home, she sees the kitchen in it's current, partially completed state and sees how serious I am about this.

Honestly, am I getting a little neurotic here? CC won't help me get better, but it's not going to kill me in the short-term. My body probably wouldn't even notice it right now. But my biggest concern, if I don't go a little obsessive right now, the wife won't appreciated the importantance of this long-term.

I want to do everything at once and skip forward in time 6-months...

[vwincuw]

WOW that is a great idea! My girlfriend would love that! How did you find out that the cheese sauce was gluten free?

[penguin]

WOW that is a great idea! My girlfriend would love that! How did you find out that the cheese sauce was gluten free?

Kraft won't hide gluten in their labelling, so if there is not wheat, barley, rye, or oats listed in the ingredients, there is no gluten in it. If you're still unsure, you can call Kraft for your peace of mind.

I've eaten it tons with no problems