Should I Deny The Rest Of The Family Wheat?

[moon-gypsy]

I have been on a gluten-free diet for 4 months, and my bloating has disappeared. Although my skin is much, much better, I can't seem to completely clear it up. I'm sure cross-contamination is to blame, but I don't know whether to blame the products that I buy or the messes that my children make. (It is probably some of both.) Is it possible to still have wheat products available in my kitchen for the other four family members who aren't celiac? I would love to hear how others have dealt with this.

Thanks.

[Mom23boys]

We have a variety of issues in this house. If there is a food that is tempting or problematic for a person that food is removed from the household. They can eat is else where.

I'm ana to shellfish - that doesn't enter the house. If DH eats it at a business lunch he will strip at the laundry room and run upstairs to shower, brush his teeth...

DS#1 is non ana allergic to peanuts - he is not the least bit tempted so peanuts are allowed in the house.

We have 3 milk allergic -- it is a high problem to all 3 so it is not brought into the house but the 2 non allergic freely eat outside of the house.

We are waiting on our gluten tests and will determine then where its place on our list will be. Since we are seeing varying levels of symptoms in the whole household, it will probably rank farther out than the shellfish.

[psipsina]

When I was diagnosed we removed all my allergens from the house. My husband actually offered on his own. He still eats it when he is out or at work but its not in my kitchen. It means alot to have a safe space free of temptation and contamination. I don't have kids so I know that is a whole different ballgame but I think I will keep my house gluten-free even when we do have them. There are plenty of goodies that you could get for them so they didn't feel deprived and I think having healthy parents is far more important than a few indulgences especially when they can't be held responsible for not cross contaminating your whole house. I used to nanny so I know that little ones basically end up covered in their food by the end of the day which means your house is covered with their food . . . so how are you supposed to keep that from getting on your hands and your food and into your mouth??? Especially with gluten which is such a sticky molecule . . . I wouldn't want that all over my home.

[Phyllis28]

It is always best to live in a gluten free household. I live in a gluten limited household, basically bread and cereal are the only gluten items. I do the most of the grocery shopping and cooking so I have a lot of control of what comes into the house. If I make the meal it is gluten free.

The gluten products are kept outside of the kitchen is what I call a "Sandwich Making Station". It consists of an apartment size refrigerator, a small microwave and a large kitchen cart. In addition to food there is silverware, plates, bowels and cutting boards. These are easily indentifiable from my gluten free items by color. Example my cutting boards are white and the gluten ones are colored.

Hope you feel better soon.

[WW340]

My house is almost gluten free. My husband keeps his own cereal, and crackers. He is very careful with his gluten containing items. He also has some microwavable chicken pot pies that cook in the box and he eats it on a paper plate. He eats regular food when he is outside the home. He really has not complained and comments all the time on how good our home cooked meals are.

My son is not so careful, so when he is here he must keep anything he wants in the way of gluten in his room. He has a microwave there and plastic utensils. He is in his twenties and not here all the time.

All meals are gluten free. We got rid of all flour, baking mixes, and prepared foods that contained gluten.

They will both eat the gluten free pizzas, cakes, cookies, and now the new bread I learned to make.

I can't keep my son out of my Amy's enchilladas - he loves them.

[kbtoyssni]

Many foods are very easy to make or buy gluten-free once you get the brands down. I don't think anyone would have a problem if you switched all flour tortillas with corn and bought only brands of condiments that are gluten-free. I would absolutely go gluten-free with those types of foods.

Where it gets harder is the breads and crackers - things that do taste different if they're gluten-free and tend to be more expensive. When I lived at home, we figured out ways to not eat these things as much. The gluten eaters could eat as much of this stuff outside the house. Occassionally my dad would eat gluten crackers, but he was very, very careful of CC. I don't think your kids would be as aware.

I would try not to phrase this question as depriving the rest of the family. If you happened to make tacos one night that are naturally gluten-free, no one would feel deprived. Eating gluten-free is healthy, and it's not like anyone is going to starve on the diet. There are plenty of gluten-free treats, too. And a family isn't about everyone being 100% equal and getting to do their own thing. Families are groups of people who have committed to living together and supporting each other through good and bad. If making the house gluten-free is what's best for your health, the family should be fully supportive and willing to compromise for your health. You would do the same for them.

[imsohungry]

Almost all of us face this decision at some point...it's a very personal decision.

I have my own cabnit for my gluten-free foods, and my own toaster oven. I keep plenty of clorox wipes, etc. on hand to wipe down countertops regularly.

There is gluten in my house; however, when I am cooking dinner (our one "family" meal), it is always gluten-free. My hubby isn't bothered by this. If he wants toast or wheat noodles with dinner, he can make it himself. Most of the products we keep in the house are naturally gluten free.

I also have a shelf in the fridge that is mine and every product is clearly labled gluten-free (I write it on the product in black marker). I keep my own mustard, mayo, etc., and I also buy the squirt bottles so that I can eliminate my husband accidently cross-cont. me if he grabs my bottle by mistake.

Take care. My best to you with your decision and your healing.

-Julie

[Phyllis28]

I would try not to phrase this question as depriving the rest of the family. If you happened to make tacos one night that are naturally gluten-free, no one would feel deprived. Eating gluten-free is healthy, and it's not like anyone is going to starve on the diet. There are plenty of gluten-free treats, too.

I agree, my husband and son have not felt deprived because we don't and have not had products such as Ding Dongs, Twinkees, cake, cupcakes or crackers in the house.

[moon-gypsy]

Temptation is not the problem. I've spent the last 10 years trying to figure out what foods made me feel terrible. Now that I finally have an answer, the pizza and brownies lead to a brief "pity party" but no real urge to cheat. The big problem is that my kids' (ages 12, 9, and 7) absolute favorite lunch or snack is peanut butter sandwiches. They have tried to be careful, but it's a nightmare of crumbs. They have been so supportive that I hated to ask them to give up their bread. I really feel it is coming to that, though. The PB&J has always been the go-to food for them, and habits are hard to break. Now I guess I'll just have to be creative.

SO--any kid friendly, fast, easy snack suggestions to replace my kid's standby?

Thanks for all the responses. . .Everyone is so generous.

-D

[Glutenfreefamily]

For fast food out the door, my husband and daughter eat delimex taquitos, the corn shell ones and they clearly list gluten on the labels with the ones that contain it. My husband likes to dip them in salsa or sour cream.

By my username its obvious we all went gluten free. I was the first one to find out about it then we tried my 3 year old since she had a little rash once in a while that was unexplainable but went away within a week. Since we found out through enterolab and her reaction that she is gluten intolerant. My husband went on it by default since I knew I was getting glutened her and there when it was just me and we didnt want our daughter to get glutened like that. Now he has symptoms and his reflux went away.

[ItchyMeredith]

How old are your kids?

I asked this question a few weeks back because I have very little ones who are very messy. I did decide to make the family gluten-free and my DH is MUCH better. Go figure?

Here is the link:

Open Original Shared Link

[tgrand]

We have a gluten free home. My 2 year old daughter and I have a sensitivity to gluten. My husband does not. Thankfully, he offered to support us by being gluten free at home. He is welcome to eat sandwiches and pizza out, but we do not have any gluten in the house at all - ever. It doesn't seem to bother him much. We eat well gluten free and he likes a lot of the gluten free alternatives - brownies, etc. I think the thing we miss the most is a really good pizza crust and he probably misses regular bread more since he likes sandwiches. I don't care about that as much. I just think it makes our lives much easier all around. I don't have to ever worry about accidental cross contamination from his food. (When he does have some out, he washes his hands, face and bushes his teeth usually). Also, he can freely share his meals with our daughter. Like I said, my daughter can't have it either, so when I go to play groups I'm a nervous wreck. Toddlers are constantly roaming around with goldfish, teddy grahams, etc. Why is it that nearly every toddler friendly food is gluten filled? Toddlers are messy and do get their food on everything. It's impossible to control. I guess you could have a mixed home, but to me it just seems like a lot of work and too much potential for getting sick. It all comes down to the family dynamics - who has it, who doesn't and how willing your spouse and children are in switching. I'm glad my daughter is young. She doesn't have much say AND she is just naturally adjusting her tastes.

Good luck in your decision!

TGrand

I have been on a gluten-free diet for 4 months, and my bloating has disappeared. Although my skin is much, much better, I can't seem to completely clear it up. I'm sure cross-contamination is to blame, but I don't know whether to blame the products that I buy or the messes that my children make. (It is probably some of both.) Is it possible to still have wheat products available in my kitchen for the other four family members who aren't celiac? I would love to hear how others have dealt with this.

Thanks.

[Cynbd]

I don't allow any gluten in my house. Every time I have had bread or gluten cereals around I end up having ongoing problems-- too many crumbs unaccounted for

My husband isn't too bad because he doesn't eat bread or cereal, and it's easy to find gluten free condiments. My son, who is 13, is a problem. He knows how sick I get, and he understands how bad it is for me, and yet, he can't seem to worry about all the crumbs (bless his heart). So, if he wants a sandwich he has to go somewhere else and eat it. Same with pizza.

I buy gluten free frozen waffles and pancakes from Trader Joes, and I buy the wheat free cereals by Barbara's Bakery (although I won't eat them), and I buy other gluten free cereals.

A lot of times I will take my son to Costco with me, he will go get a slice a pizza while I am shopping -- so I guess I accommodate the best I can.

I use lots of rice, rice pastas, and corn tortillas.

At some point you have to decide if your house is just too risky. I, for one, like to know that everything I touch in my house is safe.

But as others have said, it really is a personal decision. My guys go out to eat and get their treats so I really don't think they feel deprived. If anything, I am deprived

Good luck!

[Cynbd]

They have been so supportive that I hated to ask them to give up their bread. I really feel it is coming to that, though. The PB&J has always been the go-to food for them, and habits are hard to break. Now I guess I'll just have to be creative.

Another thing, my friends know that I won't have bread around, so when the kids get together for summer beach days, or other long outings, I bring snacks and the other moms will supply sandwiches. (My 13 year old is 6'2" so I have to bring a lot of snacks to compensate for all the sandwiches he eats

[Takala]

Temptation is not the problem. I've spent the last 10 years trying to figure out what foods made me feel terrible. Now that I finally have an answer, the pizza and brownies lead to a brief "pity party" but no real urge to cheat. The big problem is that my kids' (ages 12, 9, and 7) absolute favorite lunch or snack is peanut butter sandwiches. They have tried to be careful, but it's a nightmare of crumbs. They have been so supportive that I hated to ask them to give up their bread. I really feel it is coming to that, though. The PB&J has always been the go-to food for them, and habits are hard to break. Now I guess I'll just have to be creative.

SO--any kid friendly, fast, easy snack suggestions to replace my kid's standby?

Thanks for all the responses. . .Everyone is so generous.

-D

They could still eat gluten free bread and other baked goods, like gluten free pizza, cake, etc, even if you don't eat it yourself you can still play with the stuff and it won't make you sick at all.

Some people will find a recipe that works for them in a bread machine and just set the thing up every day to make another loaf, for family sandwiches. Others figure out a conventional oven way to get an end product that is workable, even tasty, and use that to make baked goods for the gluten eaters.

Most of the gluten free loaves one purchases at the health food store are supposed to be stored frozen and then thawed and toasted before being used for sandwiches. That's another option, but it's cheaper to make your own and customize it to what ingredients you prefer, and the homemade stuff tastes better.

You can make batches of gluten free muffins that aren't too sweet, store the extra in the freezer, and use them for almost anything you would use bread or buns for. Muffins only take 15 - 20 minutes to bake, and are harder to screw up compared to bread loaves. You don't even have to have a stand mixer for the HEAVE HO BEAT THE DOUGH routine. Put the dry ingredients in a bowl, put the wet ingredients in another bowl, stir both up, add the wet to the dry, stir to blend, put it in the greased muffin tin cups. There is no reason I can think of that a kid cannot put peanut butter on a sliced muffin. Put chocolate chips in them and the kid might even WANT to put the peanut butter on the muffin.

You can also buy something like Pamela's Baking Mix, which is a really good gluten free mix, for them to make their own pancakes, quick breads, etc.

If you end up doing a lot of baking you can order the gluten free flours in bulk or by the case, and mix your own baking blends.

[debmidge]

When you have kids it must be harder to control gluten crumbs, etc.

It's just me & husband and I am very careful with my gluten foods - I am wiping table constantly. But prior to gluten-free diet, we never had processed junk in house anyway (no cakes or pies or crackers) so I am pretty much used to not having extra food in house.

I basically use my own whole wheat bread for lunches and what's in Campbell's soups and Lean Cuisines. So I guess I don't have much gluten foods in the house to begin with. I don't cook with wheat flour any longer and I have substituted gluten-free flours as much as I can.

[Adelle]

Our house is 100% gluten free (even the pets). Our original agreement was DH could have all the gluten he wants outside the house, the house would be gluten-free. After a few weeks of gluten-free living, he had a "boys night" of pizza and beer (at a friend's house) he had such D and stomach pain (his almost constant stomach pain had dissapeared while he wasn't eating gluten) over the next few days... he has been 100% gluten-free for about 16 months now!!

We don't have kids, but we babysit for friends all the time (mostly toddlers), and they all LOVE our house! We make pancakes, fruit/vegi/dip platters, spaghetti (with gluten-free noodles ofc), air popped popcorn (no salt or anything, just plain), salads, chicken chunks... all kinds of stuff. We do eat more "adult" foods, but I've never had a kid not eat anything. I don't force them to eat what I'm eating, the rule is you either eat what I'm serving, nuked leftovers, or nothing. Either way, no worries.

I just don't have time to worry about CC all of the time, and I value my health more than that. And I feel like it's MY house, I should be safe here.

Good luck!

[lizard00]

So far, I'm the only one with gluten issues in my house. But my DH has been sooo great about it, even realizing when he's dipping a knife into the PB a second time. About the only thing in our house is bread, which I truly could care less about. He takes his cereal to work and leaves it there. The other night, we had pizza. He bought me an Amy's and regular for himself, and just cooked mine first and used two separate pizza cutters. No problem! My meals however, are all gluten free, and he loves them. I have never been one to cook with a lot of ready made stuff, so our meals aren't too different from what they've been. Just more carefully planned.

But, we have a two and a half year old, who also LOVES PB sandwiches, so we give them to him. Thankfully, I don't have any problems with my skin reacting to gluten, so I can clean up after him w/no problem. And if I only have to worry about a loaf of bread, it's ok with me. We've switched to rice crackers for me, and my husband likes them just as much.

I hope it gets easier for you!

[debmidge]

Our house is 100% gluten free (even the pets). Our original agreement was DH could have all the gluten he wants outside the house, the house would be gluten-free. After a few weeks of gluten-free living, he had a "boys night" of pizza and beer (at a friend's house) he had such D and stomach pain (his almost constant stomach pain had dissapeared while he wasn't eating gluten) over the next few days... he has been 100% gluten-free for about 16 months now!!

Good luck!

Wow! Sounds like he has a gluten intolerance issue he should look into......

[moon-gypsy]

Thanks for all the ideas. I really didn't want to tackle this, because I thought I didn't have the time to reinvent the snack/sack lunches. I know I'm in a rut, but it's SOOO nice when the kids can just feed themselves. One of the posts made me realize that I'm spending too much time worrying about their messes and wondering what the heck made me break out this week, and that dwarfs the time it would take me to re-think the menu. I haven't had much luck finding a gluten-free bread that I like, but I plan to try another recipe today. They like my cornbread--I guess I can feed them that until I find another bread recipe they'll eat. Thankfully, they are already used to stir-fry, curries, and soups, so dinner hasn't been too much of a change.

Thanks again--my best to all.

-D.

[Adelle]

Wow! Sounds like he has a gluten intolerance issue he should look into......

Actually, he knows that but we don't want to go back on gluten for a biopsy, too risky!! So our awesome doc just put "gluten intolerance/celiac" in his file, without testing, he believes that dietary response is enough, and so do we!

[gfp]

I just don't have time to worry about CC all of the time, and I value my health more than that. And I feel like it's MY house, I should be safe here.

Good luck!

This absolutely sums it up....

Unless people are going to be REALLY careful ALL the time then accidents will happen!!!

Kids .. its impossible... they might try but unless they have no energy or enthusiasm for life they will make crumbs

Someone else mentioned petfood .... this is another biggy.... especially DOGS.... (and quite honestly why give a cat gluten)

Dogs are just messy eaters ... they can't help it so they get crumbs in the beard .. which end up on the furniture etc.

but the bottom line is if DH likes his gluten or the kids miss treats then this is really not being selfish because its your health vs what they miss .... would someone smoke next to an asthmatic? I view it like this...and Adelle sums it up very nicely.

[Wonka]

This is a recipe that I like and my gluten loving children love it too.

TAPIOCA BREAD

1 3/4 cups warm water

2/3 cup instant milk powder

3 large eggs, beaten

1/4 cup melted butter

1 tsp vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 1/4 cups brown rice flour

1 1/2 cups tapioca flour (sometimes sold as tapioca starch)

1 Tbsp Xanthan gum (this is important to help the structure of the loaf)

1 Tbsp quick rise yeast

In a bowl (I use my KA but this can be done in a bread machine) whisk together water, powdered milk, eggs, melted butter and vinegar until well blended. Pour into baking pan if using bread machine or just leave in KA bowl. Combine sugar, salt, rice flour, tapioca flour, xanthan gum and yeast. Add to baking pan or KA Bowl. If using bread machine, insert into machine. Close lid. Used rapid rise cycle or shortest cycle; start machine. Once machine begins, with a ruber spatula stir and scrape down sides of pan, without touching the kneading blade, until dry ingredients are well mixed. If using KA, run machine on low with the paddle attachment, scraping sides occasionally until the dough is well mixed. Pour into a greased bread pan (I couldn't find a size on the one I use but 8 cups of water filled it to the top - a pan smaller than this will overflow) and let rise for 45 min to 1 hour. Place in a 375 F oven and bake for about 45 minutes (I always check earlier than that and using an instant read thermometer it should read 200 degrees). Remove bread from pan when done and cool completely before slicing.