5yr new DX help!

[HjEamomma]

My son (5)was just diagnosed on Tuesday with celiac disease. This cross contamination stuff has my mind going in circles. 

I know I need to get a toaster just for gluten-free stuff, but what about pots,pans,cookie sheets,utensils? 

Will my multi purpose spray(7th gen) work to clean the surfaces?

Do I need to worry about hand soaps,shampoo,body soap,laundry (stain removes... )

This is a lot, I never knew so much stuff had gluten in it.

Help me keep him safe.

Thank you

[tessa25]

Others can give you good advice on the pots, etc.

I figured I'd give you my list of good tasting gluten free equivalents.

If you're currently on a meat, potato, and veggies diet then relax because this is gonna be easy.

So here's what I found out regarding food:

Note: insert the words "gluten free" in every item mentioned as some of the companies also sell non gluten free stuff. It's tedious to write that phrase all the time.

Get a chest freezer to store all of your frozen gluten-free foods. Makes things easier.

Bread:
  - Canyon bakehouse without question is the most realistic tasting bread. They have white, fake rye, multigrain and bagels (the bagels are fantastic).
  - Schar baguettes are decent.
  - Katz makes an English muffin that, after toasted, reminds me of a real one provided it has stuff on it like butter. I think that's the brand.
  - Etalia has a good boule if you prefer artisan bread. (Colorado)

Pizza crust:
    - Schar makes a good thick and chewy crust.
    - Udis makes a good thin and crispy crust.
    - Etalia makes a great New York crust. (Colorado)

Pasta:
    - Barilla makes the best pasta. Tastes like normal pasta. Spaghetti cooks the best.
    
Flour:
    - Pamelas all-purpose flour is great for making gravy and batter for fried foods.

Cereal:
    - Envirokidz Gorilla Munch cereal is a yummy equivalent to corn Pops.

Cookies:
    - Goodie Girl mint slims - fantastic girl scout mint cookie equivalent
    - Glutino makes a decent Oreo equivalent.
    - Kinnikinnik makes a good nilla wafer
    - Mi Del makes a great ginger snap.

Cake:
    - Betty Crocker chocolate cake mix tastes the same, but you have to get the cooking time exactly right. It is a very small window of time. Too long and it's too dry.
    - Udi's blueberry muffins after 8 seconds in the microwave are addicting
    - Katz chocolate donut holes are fabulous

Frozen meals:
    - Udi's Chicken Florentine is addictive and Broccoli Kale lasagna is a good white lasagna.

Restaurants (not from personal experience, just from research)
    - Chinese – PF Changs. Employees are supposedly trained in gluten free.
    - Burgers – In N Out. The only thing here that is not gluten free are the buns so it is very easy for them to do gluten free. They are also trained in it. They are only out west. Road Trip!
    - Outback steakhouse. Employees are supposedly trained in gluten free. How good they are depends on where you live.

 

 

[HjEamomma]

Thank you so much! 

[cyclinglady]

Read our Newbie thread located under the “Coping” section of the forum for advice.  The forum has several articles about kitchen tips.  I can tell you from experience, that going gluten free at home is most likely best.  I had a shared household for years (hubby was gluten-free).  When I was oddly diagnosed, the whole house went gluten free.  Hubby said that he felt better.  Temptations were reduced and we both just felt safe.  Mentally, it is nice to have a place where you can relax.  This is the only illnesses where the patient must treat themselves.  It can be exhausting, especially in the beginning, so hang in there.  

My kid who can eat gluten, gets her gluten outside of our home.  It is not more expensive if you choose foods that are naturally gluten free.  

So, this gluten-free thing will become second nature.  

Oh, be sure to bake a few gluten-free items and freeze them.  Nice to be able to attend a party and have gluten-free cake!  Anything porous (wood, colendars, scratched plastic, sponges, are pot entail sources of gluten.  Parchment paper (cheap at Costco) is best for baking (non-stick).  

Take care!  

 

[PhoebeC]

The first month is the hardest! You'll get through it! 

We decided to go all gluten-free for cooking at home; we figured it would be psychologically easier on all of us--my husband and I wouldn't have to constantly worry about cross-contamination, and my daughter could feel like there was one place that was totally safe. My younger child does not have celiac so there is one cabinet for gluten-containing foods that he can take for school lunch. He does sometimes eat gluten products at home but we just wipe down carefully afterward. The three of us who eat gluten also go out to restaurants to get our fix of bread and pasta when necessary! If you don't go gluten-free at home, just take some time to develop a system for storing food and cooking tools separately.

For cooking: we replaced toaster, cookie sheets, colanders, cutting boards, cooling racks, wooden spoons, and the cast iron pan. Our food processor was dying anyway so we took the opportunity to get a new one. If you use teflon you should replace that because gluten clings to it. 

For cleaning:

-for pots and pans, I washed everything, then made a paste out of baking soda and water and scrubbed everything down. It does a great job of removing any film on the surface.

-Spray should be fine for counters unless the counters are especially scratched or textured. 

-I wiped down the insides of all the cabinets, fridge, and sink.

I gave myself a few weeks to get through all the cleaning and it was fine! You don't have to get it perfect overnight. Since we went mostly gluten-free at home, once it was done, we didn't have to constantly re-do it.

We do keep a few pots, pans, colander, cookie sheets in the basement for when we do occasionally choose to cook something with gluten. It is nice to keep them separate so we don't have to worry about keeping track every day.

For meals, besides meat/seafood/beans/nuts/veggies/fruit, we cook a lot of things that are naturally gluten-free: potatoes (including fries), rice, southern-style cornbread, quinoa. Bell and Evans gluten-free chicken nuggets are great. For snacks: potato chips, tortilla chips, popcorn. Desserts: ice cream, pudding, chocolate, lots of brands of candies. Our very favorite pasta is Le Veneziane brand--almost indistinguishable from regular (it's on vitacost.com if you can't find it in a local store). Agree with above poster that Canyon Bakehouse is the best bread and Pamela's makes a good pancake mix. King Arthur and Cup 4 Cup both have good flours. Mission makes good gluten-free corn and flour tortillas.

Good luck. You'll soon be an expert! It's been less than a year since our dx, and eating at home has become no big deal. We're still adjusting to eating at restaurants, but even that is much easier than it was.