toddzgrrl02's Blog

Stepdaughter has been here for a few days and is already gone to church camp. Her dad went with her to make sre she can get to the right gluten-free foods etc. I think we did ok with her meals while she was home though. She eats buddig lunch meat and block cheese and lays potato chips for lunch, which she seems happy about and is what she eats at her mom's... and for dinner we had bean soup, pot roast, spaghetti, and taco salad so far.

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Now, to be honest, I know for a fact I contaminated her food. I was breaking our spaghetti and didn't wash my hands before touching her's and breaking it, but didn't think of it at the time. By the time I did think, the damage was done. However, she never complained that she didn't feel well etc. I am wondering if her symptons from being glutened are just that mild, or if all the fears over cross-contamination are a little overboard.

I also found out she has been eating at Taco Bell with her mom regularly and even ate there on her way to us. She has been eating the tacos, which according to their site, should gluten her as well. Well, after some discussion with her and pointing out that TB's site says they aren't safe to eat, she said she has felt a little sick after eating there, but thought it was from over-eating.

The only other time she says she has been glutened that we know of was when she said her and her mom and them ate at some cafeteria style place and she grabbed an apple and then was really sick for several days. I find it hard to believe an apple could be contaminated that much and suspect it had to have been something else, esp if she can eat 3 tacos at a time at TB or eat the spaghetti after I have touched it with glutened hands, but that is what we were told.

I will say she is really good about reading the labels and remembering what she has already had at her mom's and knows is gluten-free. It makes it a lot easier to shop when I can ask her if she has had something before and saves me from going through 5 different brands to find the one she can have. I always double check her, but just saying, it's nice.

I'm working on a week of meals for when she gets back from camp. I want to do chili one night, spaghetti pie (we have leftover sauce I froze so that takes half the work away), grill out one night with jenni-o dogs/burgers for her (and me cuz I love them too) and some homemade gluten-free mac & cheese and a veggie, bean soup (because we have a ton of beans), and that is all I have so far. Another taco salad night of course, and possibly a baked potato bar night. Of course, a lot of what I WANT to make depends on if I can gluten-free alternatives to products I normally buy.