Going Gluten Free. Need Help With Kitchen Ideas

[hadabaday2day]

Hi there. I am going gluten free and I am freaking out that I am not going to do everything right. I have a pantry that I have had for years that has held bread and I was wondering if it's okay to use still. Should I just thouroughly clean it and line it with shelf paper? There is probably gluten in the adhesive on the shelf paper for all I know. What about dishes? I know I need to replace all teflon, nylon and plastics, but what about dishes and silverware and glasses. Should I just wash them a couple times in my gluten free dishwashing soap and I'm good to go?

I also heard that stickers have gluten in the adhesive, so no more stickers for the kids? Our whole house is going gluten free, but only my son and I need to. My daughter will eat regular food at school and at her dad's on the weekend. And my husband will probably eat regular food when he is out somewhere or at work (don't want to torture him too much). Do I just make sure they wash thier hands when they come home?

Oh and do I need to replace kitchen towels or will gluten come out in the wash?

And how on earth does a person afford to do this???!

I am really freaking out here. I feel like I am going to miss something. Thanks for any advice.

Alia

[alba]

Hi Alia!!

First of all don't panic!! I know in the beginning can be very difficult but then it's really easy...

I'm the only gluten free one at home, and what I do is I keep all my gluten free products in zip lock bags, and make other people keep their really dangerous products, like wheat, flour or bread in ziplock bags too, and we just keep it in different shelfs.

For the pantry a deep cleaning should be enough if you then follow the "ziplock bag rule".

I didn't know anything about replacing Teflon or plastic... I just clean everything really good. The only thing that I have "separated" from others is the sieve, because I have the feeling that's difficult to get clean, and I don't use the toaster anymore.

Don't have kids so I don't know anything about the stickers...

hope to have helped a little bit...

[Welda Johnson]

Hi,

Just take a deep breath...breathe deeply. You've come to the right place for help. Checking in here when you can, you should be able to find answers to any questions you have. I'm 64 and have been strictly gluten-free for quite a long time, so please let me help if I can. My symptoms manifest as asthma when I get "glutened," so I have to be diligent in my diet. I eat mostly at home, as opposed to restaurants, but have found a few choices that work when eating out. About all your questions concerning utensils, etc.: I just do the best I can to be perseverant about cleaning pots, pans, etc. that are used for gluten-containing foods, and I've never had a problem at all. What I spend time with is reading labels endlessly, making sure that casein, whey, skim milk, etc. are not there, since I am also intolerant of milk, dairy, egg whites & yeast, along with all grains.

I eat pretty much the same foods over and over, just rotating from time to time, and I'm always so excited when I find a new product that is allowable on this diet. Since I've been dealing with Celiac for years and years, I get excited these days, to see so many new people being diagnosed, because I know that you will not have to go through the torture so many of us went through, and, plus, you can get advice from those of us who have been through the mill with this disease.

I've found that the more basic the food, the better, so I concentrate mostly on fresh fruits and vegetables. As you get started, maybe you could find a book of assorted fruits and vegetables, or get on the internet, because I'm amazed at how many fruits and vegetables we forget even exist. What I want to mainly say is, "Just enjoy what you do eat, because the more you relax, the better you will feel." Best wishes. Welda

[hadabaday2day]

Hi,

Just take a deep breath...breathe deeply. You've come to the right place for help. Checking in here when you can, you should be able to find answers to any questions you have. I'm 64 and have been strictly gluten-free for quite a long time, so please let me help if I can. My symptoms manifest as asthma when I get "glutened," so I have to be diligent in my diet. I eat mostly at home, as opposed to restaurants, but have found a few choices that work when eating out. About all your questions concerning utensils, etc.: I just do the best I can to be perseverant about cleaning pots, pans, etc. that are used for gluten-containing foods, and I've never had a problem at all. What I spend time with is reading labels endlessly, making sure that casein, whey, skim milk, etc. are not there, since I am also intolerant of milk, dairy, egg whites & yeast, along with all grains.

I eat pretty much the same foods over and over, just rotating from time to time, and I'm always so excited when I find a new product that is allowable on this diet. Since I've been dealing with Celiac for years and years, I get excited these days, to see so many new people being diagnosed, because I know that you will not have to go through the torture so many of us went through, and, plus, you can get advice from those of us who have been through the mill with this disease.

I've found that the more basic the food, the better, so I concentrate mostly on fresh fruits and vegetables. As you get started, maybe you could find a book of assorted fruits and vegetables, or get on the internet, because I'm amazed at how many fruits and vegetables we forget even exist. What I want to mainly say is, "Just enjoy what you do eat, because the more you relax, the better you will feel." Best wishes. Welda

Thanks Welda! I too am more focused on eating natural foods such as fruits, veggies, and meats. Having two small children I need som snack foods too and convenience foods. My sons test came back negative, but he just had an IgA and an IgG, so I am concerned that he has it anyway. Either that or he has a dairy intolerance. He has eczema pretty bad with what the doctors deemed "atypical reactions to his eczema" such as hives, bumps and so on. Which is a load of crap. He also has digestive issues and he drinks Lactaid. I know eczema is caused by allergies so we are trying gluten first since I need to be gluten free anyway and if that doesn't improve his symptoms, we will remove milk as well. That sounds even scarier. I have always been really focused on feeding them a very balanced diet and now I am scared that I won't balance it right. Will we get enough carbs from rice, beans, and fruits and veggies? If my son has to be dairy free will he get enough protein and calcium? I am a bit leary of feeding my kids soy especially processed soy. Any insight? Thanks again for your response.

Alia

[hadabaday2day]

Hi Alia!!

First of all don't panic!! I know in the beginning can be very difficult but then it's really easy...

I'm the only gluten free one at home, and what I do is I keep all my gluten free products in zip lock bags, and make other people keep their really dangerous products, like wheat, flour or bread in ziplock bags too, and we just keep it in different shelfs.

For the pantry a deep cleaning should be enough if you then follow the "ziplock bag rule".

I didn't know anything about replacing Teflon or plastic... I just clean everything really good. The only thing that I have "separated" from others is the sieve, because I have the feeling that's difficult to get clean, and I don't use the toaster anymore.

Don't have kids so I don't know anything about the stickers...

hope to have helped a little bit...

Thank you. It really does help. It makes me feel better to know that if you can do it in a mixed food household, then I should be able to pull it off in a totally gluten free one. Maybe I will even allow my husband to keep some bread in the house....maybe.

Alia

[missy'smom]

Hi there. I am going gluten free and I am freaking out that I am not going to do everything right. I have a pantry that I have had for years that has held bread and I was wondering if it's okay to use still. Should I just thouroughly clean it and line it with shelf paper? There is probably gluten in the adhesive on the shelf paper for all I know. Remove the shelf liner paper and wash the cabinet with soap and water. Replace the sticky liner with the rubbery type(it is more expensive but can be removed to clean and is duable and reusable.

What about dishes? I know I need to replace all teflon, nylon and plastics, but what about dishes and silverware and glasses. Should I just wash them a couple times in my gluten free dishwashing soap and I'm good to go? You got it. It is recommended to replace teflon or dedicate to non-gluten-free because we can't scrub it well with a scouring pad-it would damage the finish. I have reacted to things cooked in teflon that was not dedicated gluten-free. Don't forget the deep fryer or bread maker if they are lined with teflon. The deep fryer, regardless of finish need to be replace because it is impossible to remove all the build-up. Cast iron pans can be put in the oven on self-cleaning cycle and resesoned and dedicated to gluten-free only-they also get a build-up of on them-that's why. Dishes, silverware etc. are fine to keep and use for both gluten and gluten-free.

I also heard that stickers have gluten in the adhesive, so no more stickers for the kids? Don't know about stickers but I don't lick stamps or envelopes anymore, just wet my finger a bit and lightly skim the surface or have a nonGF person lick them for me!

Our whole house is going gluten free, but only my son and I need to. My daughter will eat regular food at school and at her dad's on the weekend. And my husband will probably eat regular food when he is out somewhere or at work (don't want to torture him too much). Do I just make sure they wash thier hands when they come home? In my opinion, they don't have to wash their hands when they come in the door, most likely they will after eating or sometime before coming home.

Oh and do I need to replace kitchen towels or will gluten come out in the wash? Just wash as usual, maybe more frequently than you used to.

And how on earth does a person afford to do this???! We eat gluten-free as a family and the expenses generally balance out. We eat alot more things made from natural fresh ingredients that are inexpensive so that balances out the more expensive specialty products. There are many mainstream brands and products that are gluten-free. We eat lots of rice and potatoes, few desserts and baked goods. We like fruit so eat alot of fruit based snacks and deserts. gluten-free flours can be purchased at asian markets for cents per bag. We eat the asian rice so we save by puchasing 20 pound bags at the asian market. I didn't try to go out and replace everything. I started by converting some family favorite recipes that relied on fewer processed ingredients and went back to simple old fashioned meals. Rice Chex is gluten-free and can be processed to crumbs for use in meatballs and meatloaf.

I am really freaking out here. I feel like I am going to miss something. Thanks for any advice.

Alia

[hadabaday2day]

Thank you so much for the in depth answers. You post is very helpful. I noticed that you figured out the cause of your son's eczema to be wheat. I am hoping that my son's will get better once we start this diet too. The doctor's never even suggested to me that his eczema was caused by something. They would rather just treat it wouldn't they?

Thanks again.

Alia

[missy'smom]

Thanks Welda! I too am more focused on eating natural foods such as fruits, veggies, and meats. Having two small children I need som snack foods too and convenience foods. My sons test came back negative, but he just had an IgA and an IgG, so I am concerned that he has it anyway. Either that or he has a dairy intolerance. He has eczema pretty bad with what the doctors deemed "atypical reactions to his eczema" such as hives, bumps and so on. Which is a load of crap. He also has digestive issues and he drinks Lactaid. I know eczema is caused by allergies so we are trying gluten first since I need to be gluten free anyway and if that doesn't improve his symptoms, we will remove milk as well. That sounds even scarier. I have always been really focused on feeding them a very balanced diet and now I am scared that I won't balance it right. Will we get enough carbs from rice, beans, and fruits and veggies? If my son has to be dairy free will he get enough protein and calcium? I am a bit leary of feeding my kids soy especially processed soy. Any insight? Thanks again for your response.

Alia

Alia, I'm low on energy today so won't write a long post but my son has eczema too. See my signature at the bottom of my post for a basic explanation. Our next step is to get him tested through Enterolab this holiday vacation. If you have any questions or want to talk about our experience with eczema PM me and I'll get back to you.

[missy'smom]

Thank you so much for the in depth answers. You post is very helpful. I noticed that you figured out the cause of your son's eczema to be wheat. I am hoping that my son's will get better once we start this diet too. The doctor's never even suggested to me that his eczema was caused by something. They would rather just treat it wouldn't they?

Thanks again.

Alia

I saw this post after I posted and I have a little energy back so here's a bit of our story. Hope it helps.

The doctors completely ignored and didn't diagnose his eczema for years. It wasn't until I asked our ped. for allergy testing that we got the diagnosis of eczema from the allergist. They seemed apathetic about the food allergens that showed up-even when I reported back that the elimiation proved that it was caused by wheat. I was even told by the assistant that they don't mention eliminating allergens from the diet(unless it's an epi-pen allergy) because they figure people can't handle it. I went the allergy testing route first after what seemed like a reaction to a frozen pizza that he ate(which contains most of the major allergens!). After wheat came up on the radar, that got my attention. Yes, they would rather just have you slather medicated cream on it. They would even rather treat their own eczema that way too. It has to be caused by something! It took a good 6-8 weeks of being COMPLETELY gluten-free for my son's eczema to clear up, sores to heal and for us to see that it wasn't coming back. When we reintroduced gluten, it came back. When he is mostly gluten-free, it's not enough. I first noticed a connection when I went gluten-free and started switching the family meals over to gluten-free and his eczema got MUCH better, but didn't go away completely. It took me a while to put 2 and 2 together because I was still in recovery and because he doesn't have severe, classic symptoms. I didn't see how old your son is, but during the gluten-free trial, I notified his teacher and sent in snacks for him, just in case they had treats at school.

[YoloGx]

I am wondering if the sticky shelf paper really is a problem since the sticky side is down and not in contact with the food...???? Was thinking of using an old roll I have for my mom's kitchen. She has wood cupboards that never had shelf paper on them, so I figure there is a lot of old stuck in gluten in the wood even after scrubbing. Any comment here would be helpful...

[missy'smom]

I am wondering if the sticky shelf paper really is a problem since the sticky side is down and not in contact with the food...???? Was thinking of using an old roll I have for my mom's kitchen. She has wood cupboards that never had shelf paper on them, so I figure there is a lot of old stuck in gluten in the wood even after scrubbing. Any comment here would be helpful...

Just my 2cents

If the home is completely gluten-free and you're putting down new liner then I don't think it matters if it is sticky, but I prefer the non stick because we do have a little non-gluten-free bread and pasta in our home so the non-stick is easier to clean if need be. The sticky kind works it's way up in corners and edges and is a magnet for crumbs!

[hadabaday2day]

I saw this post after I posted and I have a little energy back so here's a bit of our story. Hope it helps.

The doctors completely ignored and didn't diagnose his eczema for years. It wasn't until I asked our ped. for allergy testing that we got the diagnosis of eczema from the allergist. They seemed apathetic about the food allergens that showed up-even when I reported back that the elimiation proved that it was caused by wheat. I was even told by the assistant that they don't mention eliminating allergens from the diet(unless it's an epi-pen allergy) because they figure people can't handle it. I went the allergy testing route first after what seemed like a reaction to a frozen pizza that he ate(which contains most of the major allergens!). After wheat came up on the radar, that got my attention. Yes, they would rather just have you slather medicated cream on it. They would even rather treat their own eczema that way too. It has to be caused by something! It took a good 6-8 weeks of being COMPLETELY gluten-free for my son's eczema to clear up, sores to heal and for us to see that it wasn't coming back. When we reintroduced gluten, it came back. When he is mostly gluten-free, it's not enough. I first noticed a connection when I went gluten-free and started switching the family meals over to gluten-free and his eczema got MUCH better, but didn't go away completely. It took me a while to put 2 and 2 together because I was still in recovery and because he doesn't have severe, classic symptoms. I didn't see how old your son is, but during the gluten-free trial, I notified his teacher and sent in snacks for him, just in case they had treats at school.

Thanks for your reply. It's nice to know I'm not the only one dealing with this. My sons doctors never suggested that his eczema was caused by anythin, but I knew it was and had allergy blood work done when he was 1 year. It all came back negative, but I don't know exactly how many things they tested for. I know it is something and I am putting my money on gluten. He is 2 1/2 now and he rarely even gets eczema patches. He has a few, but mostly he gets little red itchy bumps all over and one time he had huge welt like hives. They were awful. He scratches a lot. We are going gluten light until I have the money to buy replacement kitchen items. In essence we are buying all gluten free food now and slowly cleaning out the kitchen, but until we replace utensils and our scratched up teflon (bad I know, even for those without allergies!) we will still be getting some cross contamination I'm sure. After the holiday I am taking my son to a naturopath and having an allergy panel done and we will see if a gluten free diet helps as well. If not I will be eliminating dairy after that. Wish me luck! Take care and thanks again.

Alia

[YoloGx]

Just my 2cents

If the home is completely gluten-free and you're putting down new liner then I don't think it matters if it is sticky, but I prefer the non stick because we do have a little non-gluten-free bread and pasta in our home so the non-stick is easier to clean if need be. The sticky kind works it's way up in corners and edges and is a magnet for crumbs!

Thanks for this heads up. With my mom's place I cant be certain if it will always be gluten-free--so the sticky shelf paper is out as you say...! Has been fine for me but now I know why. It seems that it hasn't been there in my kitchen drawer long enough to work its way up on the corners--and even so I use no gluten in my kitchen.

Bea

[ang1e0251]

My friend's grandson was told eczema is most often helped by avoiding eggs. They are conducting an elimination diet with him now. Hope this info is helpful.

[loco-ladi]

The begining is hard to deal with, my advice dont try to do everything in one day!

start small and work at small changes daily....

Start with cleaning out the pantry..... read all labels and gift what you cant use to a friend or food pantry, no sense in it going to waste you paid good money for it

Second step, now that your pantry is empty clean it very well, scrub scrub scrub!

Third step fill 'er back up! put back what you can use... purchase gluten-free alternates for the rest

Now for the cookware part....

Again gift what you will replace...

I agree plastic, teflon etc has to go.... I also traded out my cast iron and wood (dont forget the rolling pin like I did!)

start small with the everyday items and work your way up, doing it all at once will kill a budget!

Ahhhh on to cooking with flavor at last!

since you are begining I assume you are doing the KISS (keep it simple silly) diet... plain meat, veggies etc... now is when you get to start expirimenting, heres a couple ideas or suggestions for you.....

"kitchen basics" beef and chicken broths are gluten-free and make awesome soups. stews and gravy's, trade out gluten-free flour or corn starch for the reg flour to thicken it (yes there are many other things you can use but this is the KISS diet, lol)

use left-overs for your lunch the next day or freeze leftovers for later use as a quickie meal.

Rather than use your "normal" crust for pies try crushed gluten-free cookies made like a graham cracker crumb crust

Hormel is good about labeling their product gluten-free and a couple cans of their beef stew on hand is good in a pinch or a lazy day

get a healthy dose of the food network, most of their recipes contain gluten but editing in gluten-free flour and xantham gum is a fun alternative!