cooking non gluten items in a shared kitchen

[amywads]

i have a lot of anxiety with regards to my households shared kitchen-- i live with my non celiac hubby and two boys. they are all gluten lovers and have no intention of cutting back or going gluten free and its impossible to have a gluten-free kitchen i have accepted--though it would reduce my anxiety by about 99percent.  so that being said, i have incredible amounts of anxiety daily about either touching, breathing in or accidentally ingesting even a minimal amount of gluten from their products. even to the point that when when i touch the counter and see gluten bread crumbs i will get panicky fearing somehow it will get inside of me.  i have so much anxiety about becoming glutened

i do not cook one gluten food for my family anymore. so every night basically we all eat something different, it has taken away so much of the joy of cooking for my family as they wont really eat rice or potatoes or any gluten free pasta and breads. not only do i really miss not cooking for them but we went from a very healthy eating household pre celiac to a household that carries out 4 x a week. (i cook my dinner, but order in for my kids) the guilt and frustration i feel daily is overwhelming,    one day, im hoping to get a black and white yes./.no answer to my questions.  maybe starting here will help

-can i safely cook regular pasta (i envision gluten molecules floating in the steam when i cook and pour the water out --not to mention the anxiety of touching or being splahed by the gluten water--as you literally can see it in the water!

-is it safe to kiss my husband who has had beer or pizza or anything with gluten in it if he hasnt washed out mouth, brushed teeth etc

-is it safe to make gluten sandwiches for my kids, could i accidentally breath in gluten even from a tiny crumb

-is it safe to wash all plates silverware  cookware in same dishwasher or can gluten residue remain on plates

- is is safe to cook and possibly breathe is gluten sauces  like making soy sauce sturfry or teriyaki? i assume the gluten can be breathed in when it rises with oil in the air. (i avoid all hibachi places bc of this)

-please any tips or insight into this would help..what do you do in your shared kitchen..do you cook gluten things? do you require gluten foods be prepared in seperate section on kitchen by someone other than you? 

-

 

[notme]

yes, no, yes, yes, yes, yes - just be careful (you are not asking if you can cook gluten-free pasta with regular pasta, correct?  just breathing the steam won't make you sick.  if you make something with regular flour and it gets in the air, it is possible to breathe it in and ingest it.  but making sandwiches is ok (just use separate cutting board than your gluten-free one)  in the beginning, i had a terrible habit of licking my fingers, so i wore plastic food handlers gloves until i got used to NOT licking my fingers.  

read this:  

deep breaths - you'll be ok.  just takes some getting used to the 'new normal'   welcome to the board 

[Sheena]

I'm newly diagnosed and am in a similar situation. My husband and two boys also love their gluten so I make sure to have some safe packaged things around that they can enjoy and keep cc to a minimum. 

I don't allow them to order out every night and Im the one making dinner so either they eat  what I make or daddy is cooking. He has come around quickly haha. They just needed to get used to new foods, something that most kids resist. Catteli makes an awesome gluten free fusilli. My kids didn't even know it was gluten free. 

I'm constantly worrying too, but it's starting to subside as time goes by. 

Things will get better  

[RMJ]

From a chemistry point of view, it is very unlikely that gluten would be in actual steam.  It could be in small droplets such as oil splatters.  Also, it is not a problem to touch something containing gluten - just wash your hands afterwards.

[Midwitch]

I feel really sad that your family are not supporting you or your health. Accidentally ingesting gluten can make you very sick and ultimately damage your gut indefinitely.  Quite frankly that alone would mean my entire family (who are a TEAM) would work together to ensure the safely and wellbeing of the person with coeliac.  

 

I have one child with a severe allergy to all fish, and seafood. I have several children who LIKE tuna. To keep the allergic child safe NO ONE is allowed to eat fish if they are coming home within 6 hours and fish/seafood is NEVER allowed in the house. Home is his safe haven.  

 

Therefore when his three older siblings were diagnosed with coeliac it simply wasnt ever an issue that everyone was going gluten-free (except a small amount for him in order to allow him be diagnosed in the future). 

 

Naturally your family cannot be 100% gluten-free but they could sure be more supportive. As the mother I do the shopping and cooking, so quite frankly I choose the food we eat. Dinners are absolutely easy to be gluten-free, and healthy. You say they won't eat potatoes or rice - what do they eat every night then? What would happen if you simply served a gluten-free meal of meat and veggies of your choice?  Why tell them the pasta is gluten-free? Why not just cook it and serve it and if they question it (because I sure cant tell the difference in taste) then tell them its a new brand. Why not slowly replace your sauces etc with safe gluten-free options?

 

They don't need to know they are supporting you if they won't do it voluntarily.