I Need Help/advice

[JayinUT]

I just got diagnosed 3 weeks ago and I need some help. I'm doing pretty good on my diet, my wife is checking labels and we are cooking gluten free here at home. Here are my issues:

For the first week and a half I was doing my cooking and that was working. Then my wife wanted to be supportive and took over the cooking. She is using gluten free food but not the pans we bought for my cooking, she is using the Celephon pans (not teflon but non-stick yes) we've had for a couple years for cooking and I am having my symptoms again. Can the pans be cross contaminating?

My wife also thinks it is ok if she does her baking with the 40lbs of wheat flour she has in our pantry. I let her know we cannot store any of my products in the pantry if the flour is in there and that if she cooks with the flour it can contaminate my cooking materials and me via the air. I hate being sick when I get this. I get that memory fog, fatigue and the impact on the digestive system is not worth. Just to clarify, I was diagnose with IBS in 1989 and my gastro thinks I've probably had Celiac since back then. I am really sensitive to gluten and was confirmed with two biopsy's from a balloon endoscopy from different locations in the small intestine.

So here are my questions. Should we only use my cookware whether the cooking is for just me or the entire family? Next, can she use regular flour in the kitchen and not cross contaminate with my items that are in the cupboard? Finally, how do we find a balance between my dietary needs and those that my wife and two teenagers may want some of the items they enjoy ie cookies, brownies etc, realizing that the teenagers will adjust regardless. My wife wants to help, and has helped, yet we are just unsure how to proceed since I am the only one with issues, and what we can and cannot do and how to do. Any help or advice?

[Beth in NC]

Yes, the nonstick pans can DEFINITELY be a problem. I can understand them still wanting some gluten containing products (it's the other way around here...I'm the mom with celiac disease and my husband and teenage son are ok), but she needs to get rid of ALL the cookware that could be an issue. Old non stick pots/pans, collanders, toaster, porous items like wooden spoons/cutting boards.

I also used to make my own whole wheat bread. I even ground the berries! I'm getting rid of all those items because of the dust from the flour. Anytime she bakes with gluten, she is risking CC.

What I have done to keep my family happy is buy cookies/cereal that they can eat, but they have a designated area for them and are only allowed to eat them at the kitchen table. NONE of that stuff is allowed in the kitchen proper except the sink, which I always consider contaminated. I actually prefer it go straight in the dishwasher, but sometimes it hasn't been emptied yet.

Do you think she just doesn't get it or that she is just unsupportive in general. She needs to have some serious teaching on how severe this issue is for you.

[ShayFL]

I think it is doable to have a "mixed" household. But FLOUR is the worst!! That fine powder gets EVERYWHERE!!! You have to make her understand this.

My family absolutely LOVES the gluten-free goodies I make for them (brownies, choco chip cookies, banana bread, etc.). My daughter has proclaimed that my gluten-free homemade foods taste better. She says that she hopes I am always gluten-free (which I will be).

You could buy your wife a good gluten-free cookbook, bookmark your families favorite baked goods, buy her the right flours and let her go to town. My favorite cookbook so far is "Cooking Free". But other people have their favorites.

She will be amazed at how delicious gluten-free baking can be.

If she makes homemade bread, that will be the toughest one. But if you search the forums you will find great recipes for gluten-free bread.

[curlyfries]

Yes you could be getting glutened from the pans. Especially if there are any scratches in the non-stick coating. Always use your pans for anything you will be eating.

The flour is a big problem. When your wife uses it, a thin layer can get on everything in the kitchen....which you will end up touching. Plus the fact that if you are home at the time, you'll be breathing it in. ( I once got glutened in the grocery store just by standing near the flour. I think they may have recently stocked the flour, causing it to poof thru the seams. I could smell it in the air.)

It is so much easier if the whoe family goes gluten free. There are some great recipes on this forum. Just do a search or ask how your favs can be modified. My husband is usually very picky and wary of new things, but he has no problem eating gluten free. The only thing gluten that he still eats at home is regular bread. ( Even with that, he has a lot less gas, now )

[Ursa Major]

I am afraid that 40 pound bag of flour has to go. And I mean, out of the house, given away. Every time she bakes with it, the flour dust will be in the air for you to breathe in, and it will settle all over the kitchen, contaminating every surface. It will keep you sick.

And as said before, ALL the cooking (if you are going to eat it) needs to be done in new cookware. If the pots and pans you bought for yourself are too small for the cooking for the family, you need to get family sized ones.

The best thing to do is only cook gluten-free. You can cook gluten-free without anybody knowing the difference. Potatoes, rice, vegetables, meat, fish, eggs etc. are gluten-free anyway, so I don't see the problem. Gravies can be made gluten-free and be every bit as good as those thickened with wheat. Lots of people use corn starch or rice flour for thickening gravy, but my favourite is light buckwheat flour (buckwheat is not a grain and has nothing to do with wheat).

There is excellent rice pasta out there. I serve it to my company, too. In fact, I don't think they even notice the difference. One of my daughters prefers rice pasta, she likes the taste better (plus, I think she has celiac disease, but she refuses to get tested, and it likely doesn't make her feel bad).

Your wife can bake gluten-free cookies, cake and brownies that are every bit as good as the wheat ones. And you could eat them, too.

You absolutely need your own toaster for your gluten-free bread. It isn't possible to get the old one clean enough for you to use. The same goes for the colander, your gluten-free pasta needs to be drained in a new colander. You can't get gluten out of small crevices, only off smooth surfaces that can be properly scrubbed.

Finally, if you have celiac disease, it is quite likely that at least one of your kids has it as well. It is always recommended to test the whole family (including your siblings and parents/grandparents) as well, because it is hereditary. Your teenagers may find that they feel much better when eating gluten-free with you.

[Darn210]

Here's my opinion . . .

We have a mixed household but ALL baking is gluten free. You just can not keep flour from floating about. All the gluten items are prepackaged items (cereal, cookies, bread). We have a designated area (counter) for handling the gluten items. It's the same counter area that has the gluten toaster. Even with that, all gluten free items are always prepared on a plate or papertowel even if the counter has been wiped "clean".

My theory on pots and pans is that if you can't take steel wool to it and scrub till you can scrub no more . . . then you need new pots and pans. I did not replace my metal pots and pans but I did replace all my "coated/nonstick" skillets. I also replaced my cake pans/cookie sheets that had the browned-on oil areas that you just can't seem to scrub off.

Don't forget that if you have a mixed household, you will need your own butter, peanut butter, mustard, mayo, etc as crumbs are transfered back and forth by sharing.

[JayinUT]

Thanks everyone for your help. We are going to go to a support group locally that meets once a month on the 1st Thursday, but my wife is understanding more now; she just doesn't want to give up her Holiday Baking, but that can be worked out.

I have another question. If my kids eat something with gluten and leave it in the sink, can I do the dishes or do they or my wife have to do it? I think if I do it I run a chance of CC but I'm not sure. Thanks again.

[curlyfries]

When I mentioned touching the flour that settles on everything, it was because you then could touch your own food and get glutened that way. Washing dishes should be fine. (You're not going to get out of doing the dishes THAT easy! ) I still pack my hubbby's lunch every morning which includes a sandwich with regular bread. I just make sure I wash my hands afterward.

[Darn210]

You're not going to get out of doing the dishes THAT easy!

[kbtoyssni]

I agree with everyone else on the flour - if I had a shared household, flour would be one of the few things I would refuse to have in my house.

I have some celephon pans, and I would not be concerned about continuing to use them if they'd had a good scrub. Do you have the kind that are very heavy-duty with no coating? Mine are almost like stainless steel in that they won't scratch and are easy to clean. If that's the type you have, I think you'd be find.