Im All Over The Place

[Patt]

Im relatively new at this. My doc has been hounding me for years to go gluten-free and I just brushed it off and avoided the subject as much as possible. I "accidently" went gluten-free this spring when I went on a crazy diet to loose weight, which was pretty much meat and vegeables only and some salt and pepper. Well I felt amazing while on the diet but when I acheived my goal I still limited myself exept for the odd fried chicken fix. My boss pointed out to me that my doc might have been right. As much as I hated that it was true. now that I am off completely I find when I slip up I get 10000% worse symptoms than I ever did before. things I didnt even realise were not normal. Im almost afraid to eat because looking back on my once a week cheats all summer, now I realize why Ive had the most bizare summer of my life.

 

now my biggest concern is cross contamination and copping with the daily "would you like some______" from my coworkers

I try to explain why I'm on this diet without saying "because im depressive or it gives me anxietey attacks" but people just dont seem to get it. Example: The security guard comes in every single day with a muffin or some cake and I tell him every day I cannot eat anything that is made with wheat. Then I nearly lost it one day and said what is your muffin made out of? I nearly fell off my chair when he said I dont know.

 

my other concern is the cross contamination. How far is it reasonable to worry about it. I made myself some sweet potato fries one friday without thinking of my frying oil. I didnt sleep from 12-5am and I had the most disturbing nightmares. it made me sick just thinking about it, and then I had the usual brain fog and so on for the next 30 hours... if DH makes a loaf of bread on the counter, dosent invisible flour dust fly out of the bag and cover the counter? how far does it go? can I safely assume that putting all my food on a different shelf in the pantry is good or do I put my stuff in sealed containers (because the bag of flour is on the bottom shelf)

 

Do I need new lip balm? Can I eat chocolate if I don't see any harmful ingredients or does it specificly have to say gluten-free?

I know there is alot of trial and error to this. it just gets tricky when I triggers anxitey.

There is never really a good time to test if you will have a reaction.

 

Please excuse my many questions, this is soo frustrating

[mbrookes]

Easy question first: The chocolate does not have to say gluten free. Read all the ingredients... wheat HAS to be listed if it is used. Rye most likely won't be in chocolate and barley is a big worry if it is malted. Otherwise, it should be OK.

Cross contamination: A lot will depend on how sensitive you are. Flour does float around, so maybe you could get him to make bread somewhere else. Or get him to learn to make gluten-free bread. I am lucky in that my husband doesn't cook with flour ( he mostly makes spaghetti sauce or cooks on the grill.)

I would think a separate shelf would be OK as long as gluten-free food is not stored over it. Under ought to be OK.

Notice, I keep saying "should" and "ought to". No two people are alike. What bothers you might not bother me. Sorry, but a lot is trial and error.

[shadowicewolf]

Im relatively new at this. My doc has been hounding me for years to go gluten-free and I just brushed it off and avoided the subject as much as possible. I "accidently" went gluten-free this spring when I went on a crazy diet to loose weight, which was pretty much meat and vegeables only and some salt and pepper. Well I felt amazing while on the diet but when I acheived my goal I still limited myself exept for the odd fried chicken fix. My boss pointed out to me that my doc might have been right. As much as I hated that it was true. now that I am off completely I find when I slip up I get 10000% worse symptoms than I ever did before. things I didnt even realise were not normal. Im almost afraid to eat because looking back on my once a week cheats all summer, now I realize why Ive had the most bizare summer of my life.

 

now my biggest concern is cross contamination and copping with the daily "would you like some______" from my coworkers

I try to explain why I'm on this diet without saying "because im depressive or it gives me anxietey attacks" but people just dont seem to get it. Example: The security guard comes in every single day with a muffin or some cake and I tell him every day I cannot eat anything that is made with wheat. Then I nearly lost it one day and said what is your muffin made out of? I nearly fell off my chair when he said I dont know.

 

my other concern is the cross contamination. How far is it reasonable to worry about it. I made myself some sweet potato fries one friday without thinking of my frying oil. I didnt sleep from 12-5am and I had the most disturbing nightmares. it made me sick just thinking about it, and then I had the usual brain fog and so on for the next 30 hours... if DH makes a loaf of bread on the counter, dosent invisible flour dust fly out of the bag and cover the counter? how far does it go? can I safely assume that putting all my food on a different shelf in the pantry is good or do I put my stuff in sealed containers (because the bag of flour is on the bottom shelf)

 

Do I need new lip balm? Can I eat chocolate if I don't see any harmful ingredients or does it specificly have to say gluten-free?

I know there is alot of trial and error to this. it just gets tricky when I triggers anxitey.

There is never really a good time to test if you will have a reaction.

 

Please excuse my many questions, this is soo frustrating

Just say "no thank you" no explinations are really needed.

 

If you can, make your kitchen gluten free. If you cannot, have an area where none is allowed. As long as you wipe everything down really good it should be okay.

 

You should have your own shelf.

 

Yes, check your lip balm.

 

I generally research anything before i buy it. Some chocolates, for example, are made in a shared facility. If you are in the US, wheat has to be listed if it is in something.

[Marilyn R]

Not much to add due to the good responses already.  Regarding the oil for your sweet potato fries, if you had previously fried foods with a wheat flour coating (like fish or chicken), your fries were probably contaminated.  Have you tried baking them?  You can use parchment paper on your old cookie sheets....they're yummy!

[Patt]

Easy question first: The chocolate does not have to say gluten free. Read all the ingredients... wheat HAS to be listed if it is used. Rye most likely won't be in chocolate and barley is a big worry if it is malted. Otherwise, it should be OK.

Cross contamination: A lot will depend on how sensitive you are. Flour does float around, so maybe you could get him to make bread somewhere else. Or get him to learn to make gluten-free bread. I am lucky in that my husband doesn't cook with flour ( he mostly makes spaghetti sauce or cooks on the grill.)

I would think a separate shelf would be OK as long as gluten-free food is not stored over it. Under ought to be OK.

Notice, I keep saying "should" and "ought to". No two people are alike. What bothers you might not bother me. Sorry, but a lot is trial and error.

thanks for the advice on the chocolate, I found one that has no dairy in it either so I was really counting on not having any hidden ingredients in it. Gives me an option other than popcorn and chips. My husband is actually more supportive than I would have thought. but I don't expect him to change his eating habits on my behalf Im ok with it as long as he supports me

As far as the shelf...im thinking I might take it a step farther and actually switch all my stuff over to the cupboard instead of the pantry. it makes me too nervous for now. My sister thinks im OCD. maybe, maybe not. all I know is I don't care for another panick attack

Can I share DH's lipbalm, glass of water. does it matter if my kids stick their hands in my popcorn. blah.....

[kareng]

thanks for the advice on the chocolate, I found one that has no dairy in it either so I was really counting on not having any hidden ingredients in it. Gives me an option other than popcorn and chips. My husband is actually more supportive than I would have thought. but I don't expect him to change his eating habits on my behalf Im ok with it as long as he supports me

As far as the shelf...im thinking I might take it a step farther and actually switch all my stuff over to the cupboard instead of the pantry. it makes me too nervous for now. My sister thinks im OCD. maybe, maybe not. all I know is I don't care for another panick attack

Can I share DH's lipbalm, glass of water. does it matter if my kids stick their hands in my popcorn. blah.....

Look at these. I have seen them at whole foods and even a few groceries

Open Original Shared Link

[Patt]

Not much to add due to the good responses already.  Regarding the oil for your sweet potato fries, if you had previously fried foods with a wheat flour coating (like fish or chicken), your fries were probably contaminated.  Have you tried baking them?  You can use parchment paper on your old cookie sheets....they're yummy!

It occured to me after I took them out of the pot that it was used for fish n chips but I thought oh well! up until then, the only reaction I had was fatigue, anger and brain fog. After the oil incident It was insomnia, nightmares, I was wired for 2 days straight and anxiety. this week I had a couple of brain farts to put it mildly. I forgot my husbands name for a few minutes (I didnt tell him that, lol), temporarily couldnt spell my name correctly and nearly walked away the coffee stand with an empty cup. So I naturally blamed it on fatigue because I dont want to cause concern at work. I am just shocked at how this is going... Anyway, I bought new oil, tried them fried and baked. I like the frozen ones better but now im too scared to eat them

[kareng]

It occured to me after I took them out of the pot that it was used for fish n chips but I thought oh well! up until then, the only reaction I had was fatigue, anger and brain fog. After the oil incident It was insomnia, nightmares, I was wired for 2 days straight and anxiety. this week I had a couple of brain farts to put it mildly. I forgot my husbands name for a few minutes (I didnt tell him that, lol), temporarily couldnt spell my name correctly and nearly walked away the coffee stand with an empty cup. So I naturally blamed it on fatigue because I dont want to cause concern at work. I am just shocked at how this is going... Anyway, I bought new oil, tried them fried and baked. I like the frozen ones better but now im too scared to eat them

I get the Ore Ida sweet potato fries. They are gluten-free.

[shadowicewolf]

thanks for the advice on the chocolate, I found one that has no dairy in it either so I was really counting on not having any hidden ingredients in it. Gives me an option other than popcorn and chips. My husband is actually more supportive than I would have thought. but I don't expect him to change his eating habits on my behalf Im ok with it as long as he supports me

As far as the shelf...im thinking I might take it a step farther and actually switch all my stuff over to the cupboard instead of the pantry. it makes me too nervous for now. My sister thinks im OCD. maybe, maybe not. all I know is I don't care for another panick attack

Can I share DH's lipbalm, glass of water. does it matter if my kids stick their hands in my popcorn. blah.....

No, no, yes it does matter if the kids stick their hands in the popcorn.

[Patt]

I get the Ore Ida sweet potato fries. They are gluten-free.

Im not sure If I can get these in  NB. Mcain and Cavendish are mainstream here. The Mcain ones are coated with rice flour, tapioca flour and potato starch. it all sounds safe im just getting nervous about the stuff that doesnt clearly state gluten-free anymore...

 

im running out of amounts of post I can reply to for a bit. Im new here still restricted on what I can put up

[Marilyn R]

Safe sweet potato fries:

 

Scrub 1- 2 sweet potatoes.  Microwave for a minute, or boil for a couple of minutes (thanks, Karen G.)  Because you're fatigued, sit down at your kitchen table with a cutting board and sharp chef's knife.  Cut them up in the size you like.  Meantime, heat your oil if you're frying, or your oven if you're baking. 

 

They taste so much better when you make them from "scratch", and other than having to wash the cutting board and knife, it's not much extra work. 

 

Hope that helps, good luck to you. 

[Pegleg84]

Welcome to the Forum Patt!

Just noticed you're in NB. I'm from there (in Toronto now, but eaten my share of McCains over the years). Get the plain ones. Check the labels. Nothing crispy. They should be ok.

I'm not sure where in the province you are, but I do know that there's been a pretty good spread of gluten-free awareness in the province, and your local Superstore/Sobeys should have a decent stock of gluten-free stuff. There's also a fairly active chapter of the Canadian Celiac Society based in Moncton (I think. my mom goes to it).

 

As for sharing spaces, anything WITH gluten should be on lockdown as well, especially flour. Ask your hub to store it in a well-sealed container (not just in the bag) and clear very very well when using it. If your kids want the popcorn, they better wash their hands first. Try to steer the rest of the family toward more gluten-free meals. This is for your health, but that affects the rest of the household, so better to keep you healthy and happy.

 

Good luck!!

[Patt]

Thanks Marilyn R and Pegleg84. I will try the potatoes in a couple of days. I must of ate something again. feeling really blue

Why is it that when you contaminate yourself the symptoms intensify? Blah! I wish there was a way to learn without making mistakes

 

Pegleg84 im from Moncton, Where abouts were you? Ive been thinking about joining the chapter. I wonder if I can claim the membership fee on my taxes?

[Pegleg84]

I live in Toronto, but I have family back home (I'm from Sussex). Moncton is probably a good place to be for gluten free. I've never been to it, but there is a gluten-free bakery/restaurant there somewhere (I think it's still there?). I bet if you look at the Canadian Celiac Association it will have info on regional chapters.

 

When I was home this summer, I think I saw just as much gluten-free stuff available in random places like a cafe in Alma than I do around here. You should be fine.

However, doing as much of your own cooking as possible is better for healing.

 

Too bad my Mom's not on this forum, or I'd point you to her to get all the info.

[NoGlutenCooties]

Just one thing to add to all of the previous posts... many foods are naturally gluten-free and do not have to be labeled "Gluten Free".  You can Google just about anything... "does chocolate have gluten?" and learn how to read the labels.  The trickiest is the "malt" products that are made from Barley - they won't be labeled as having come from Barley (at least not usually).  If there are particular brands that you're not sure to trust, check their websites too.  Many will list which products are gluten free, and which products may be gluten free but are made on potentially-contaminated machinery.

 

I'm only about 3 weeks into the world of being gluten free, but with a little research at the front end you can quickly learn how to read labels and figure out where you're safe and what to leave alone.

 

For example, with the chocolate - many full-sized chocolate bars are gluten free.  But the same thing in the miniature size may not be.  That's because they use the run-off chocolate when they make the miniatures.  So the chocolate could have picked up gluten cooties from something else.  Personnally, I like the Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chunks.