New And Need Help

[snowflakeMN]

I have not been officially diagnosed. Blood test came out slightly positive but couldn't stay on wheat long enough to afford a biopsy. I went off gluten and felt like a new person in just three days. Exhaustion gone, brain fog much better, anxiety gone, voice cleared up, migrains much better. The list goes on. I've been off for a week now. My whole body turned a wonderful healthy shade of pink after four days of being off. (anyone have an idea why?)

Anyway, I don't know how obsessed I need to be about contamination. Are dishes washed in the dishwasher safe to eat off of or would the gluten from everyone elses meals just get all over it. I have glass baking pans, can I use them to cook my food in even though I use them for gluten dishes also? I usually hand scrub these. Should I get separate plastic containers to store gluten-free food in? What is the best way to get gluten out of the sink so I can wash my gluten free things in it. Do you just scrub hard? I bought a nostsick frying pan used only for gluten-free foods.

I don't want to be obsessed, but I have not been functioning as a human being for the last 10 or so years and I want to feel as good as I can. I am wondering now if my fibromyalgia isn't just gluten intolerance.

Any tips would be appreciated.

My oldest child is 19 and has excema so bad he can hardly sleep. I am going to try to get him to go gluten free. He is away at college but comes home every weekend. He does have his own kitchen. I may have a really hard time getting him to try going gluten-free. Tips for him would be great. My daughter that has migrains daily is going to try this week. I don't know what it pack for her lunches though.

I am overwhelmed with the thought of how much cooking I am going to have to do.

sorry so many questions

[rinne]

Hi and welcome.

The easiest thing, of course, is to simply go gluten free completely, is that possible?

If not then you will need separate wooden utensils, plastic storage containers, etc. I know someone will be along who can help you more than I, there is just my husband and myself and we have a gluten free household.

I am thinking that if your blood test was slightly positive then it is positive and certainly your response to the gluten free diet indicates that gluten is a problem. I suspect it is for your children too given their symptoms.

I have heard many people with fibromyalgia have seen huge improvements on a gluten free diet, I hope that is the case for you.

Not a clue about turning pink but how charming it sounds.

[missy'smom]

I have not been officially diagnosed. Blood test came out slightly positive but couldn't stay on wheat long enough to afford a biopsy. I went off gluten and felt like a new person in just three days. Exhaustion gone, brain fog much better, anxiety gone, voice cleared up, migrains much better. The list goes on. I've been off for a week now. My whole body turned a wonderful healthy shade of pink after four days of being off. (anyone have an idea why?)

Anyway, I don't know how obsessed I need to be about contamination. Are dishes washed in the dishwasher safe to eat off of or would the gluten from everyone elses meals just get all over it. Yes they are fine. I will occasionally rescrb pots because my dishwaser doesn't do a good job. I have glass baking pans, can I use them to cook my food in even though I use them for gluten dishes also? Yes.I usually hand scrub these. Should I get separate plastic containers to store gluten-free food in? I don't. Some others do.What is the best way to get gluten out of the sink so I can wash my gluten free things in it. Do you just scrub hard? Yup.I bought a nostsick frying pan used only for gluten-free foods. Good for you. That's the way to do it.

I don't want to be obsessed, but I have not been functioning as a human being for the last 10 or so years and I want to feel as good as I can. I am wondering now if my fibromyalgia isn't just gluten intolerance.

Any tips would be appreciated.

My oldest child is 19 and has excema so bad he can hardly sleep. I am going to try to get him to go gluten free. He is away at college but comes home every weekend. He does have his own kitchen. I may have a really hard time getting him to try going gluten-free. Tips for him would be great. My daughter that has migrains daily is going to try this week. I don't know what it pack for her lunches though.

I am overwhelmed with the thought of how much cooking I am going to have to do.

sorry so many questions

You're on the right track. Don't worry. There are ways to manage the cooking. There are threads on here about college students cooking for themselves as well as some moms who provide their college kids with food. There are alot of threads about freezing and batch cooking and other food management topics. You can always start a new one. We all run out of ideas or get bored with the usual sometimes and sometimes start threads dedicated to breakfast, lunch or dinner ideas.

My son has eczema that he itches at night in his sleep. Interestingly, I noticed that it got significantly better when I started switching family meals over to gluten-free. I never went through the testing and he never seemed to have any of the classic or severe symptoms that I had, or any symptoms at all, so it didn't occur to me at first that he could have a problem. Plus it took me a while to heal and get my mental powers back. See my signature below about the celiac disease testing and allergy testing and results. For a long time he ate completely gluten-free at home and I sent in gluten-free lunches so he got gluten only at school parties, occasionally on the weekend at church or at restaurants(maybe twice a month total), but even that amount is enough to give him a little constant eczema. We sent off to Enterolabs for a complete panel over the holidays and are awaiting the results.

[snowflakeMN]

You're on the right track. Don't worry. There are ways to manage the cooking. There are threads on here about college students cooking for themselves as well as some moms who provide their college kids with food. There are alot of threads about freezing and batch cooking and other food management topics. You can always start a new one. We all run out of ideas or get bored with the usual sometimes and sometimes start threads dedicated to breakfast, lunch or dinner ideas.

My son has eczema that he itches at night in his sleep. Interestingly, I noticed that it got significantly better when I started switching family meals over to gluten-free. I never went through the testing and he never seemed to have any of the classic or severe symptoms that I had, or any symptoms at all, so it didn't occur to me at first that he could have a problem. Plus it took me a while to heal and get my mental powers back. See my signature below about the celiac disease testing and allergy testing and results. For a long time he ate completely gluten-free at home and I sent in gluten-free lunches so he got gluten only at school parties, occasionally on the weekend at church or at restaurants(maybe twice a month total), but even that amount is enough to give him a little constant eczema. We sent off to Enterolabs for a complete panel over the holidays and are awaiting the results.

I hear you about the mental powers. I've wanted to help my kids out for at least a year but I was too exhausted to do it. I didn't realize I was very low on vitamin D and together with the gluten I couldn't even help myself.

Luckily I finally found a good doctor who did a million tests. By the time I had all those test done I couldn't afford the biopsy until march and I can't be nonfunctioning until March. I am thinking of doing Entero Labs testing for me and my children also. I just need to figure out where all the money will come from. I have 4 kids. They all show some simptoms but the two are much worse than the others.

Thanks

[snowflakeMN]

Hi and welcome.

The easiest thing, of course, is to simply go gluten free completely, is that possible?

If not then you will need separate wooden utensils, plastic storage containers, etc. I know someone will be along who can help you more than I, there is just my husband and myself and we have a gluten free household.

I am thinking that if your blood test was slightly positive then it is positive and certainly your response to the gluten free diet indicates that gluten is a problem. I suspect it is for your children too given their symptoms.

I have heard many people with fibromyalgia have seen huge improvements on a gluten free diet, I hope that is the case for you.

Not a clue about turning pink but how charming it sounds.

Thank you for your reply. Although I can't have my whole house go completely gluten free, there are six of us, I am hoping to make meals that are normal food to them but gluten-free.

My grandmother told me she had gluten intolerance so I really suspect all my kids too.

[Glutin-Free Man]

Anyway, I don't know how obsessed I need to be about contamination. Are dishes washed in the dishwasher safe to eat off of or would the gluten from everyone elses meals just get all over it. I have glass baking pans, can I use them to cook my food in even though I use them for gluten dishes also? I usually hand scrub these. Should I get separate plastic containers to store gluten-free food in? What is the best way to get gluten out of the sink so I can wash my gluten free things in it. Do you just scrub hard? I bought a nostsick frying pan used only for gluten-free foods.

I may be fooling myself, but I'm the only gluten-free person in the house. My wife & kids are eating "normal" food, and we all use the same utensils. I do most of the cooking, and try to be careful about cross contamination, but I'm not obsessive.

I've been gluten-free for about 4 months now, and feel worlds better. It may be that I'll eventually need to be obsessive, but I haven't been yet.

[Chrissyb]

I am the only one who is gluten free and also dairy free. I do most of the cooking but when my husband does cook he is very good about cc. We so share cooking because I also have multiple sclerosis and I have times that getting out of bad is all I can do. My son so far has enjoyed the meals that I have made and the baked goods, he has even liked some things even better then the gluten ones. I use Pamales baking mix a lot and have had great luck with it. It is hard at first but it can be done. I have been doing it for almost a year and I still have melt downs but life goes on

[Glutin-Free Man]

Although I can't have my whole house go completely gluten free, there are six of us, I am hoping to make meals that are normal food to them but gluten-free.

My grandmother told me she had gluten intolerance so I really suspect all my kids too.

That's what I'm doing. I cook dinner for my family most evenings, and I simply cook meals that don't require gluten. Occasionally I'll cook some pasta for the kids, and make a gluten-free pasta for me, but usually we all eat the same meal. I've been doing this for about 4 months so far, and there have been no complaints (from the kids - occasionally I'll get one from the wife, but as time goes by we're learning more about cooking gluten-free, so I'm getting fewer complaints from her too).

Lately, I've been dairy-free too, which makes planning for dinners a little more complicated, but it's not too bad. We've been eating a fair number of ethnic foods (Middle-Eastern, Mexican, Asian, Indian), most of which have a reduced emphasis on wheat. We also eat a lot of rice (I buy it in 15 or 20 lb. bags). We've been eating a lot less pasta. I was already cooking pizza from scratch for the family before I got sick, so now I'm making two types when we have pizza. I've had to get more creative with toppings since going Dairy/Casein free, but the internet helps a lot. I particularly enjoyed the "sort of Puttanesca" pizza from Open Original Shared Link which I tried a couple weeks ago.

I got a copy of Annalise Roberts' Gluten Free Baking Classics, and I am really enjoying her Italian bread. It's the first gluten-free bread I've eaten that makes me feel like I'm not missing anything.

A lot of the dinners we eat are variations of what I used to cook from before I got sick. Some of the recipes were already gluten free, some of them can be made gluten-free with small alterations (corn starch in place of flour for thickening), and some of them I don't cook at all so far (biscuits).

The kids really like these Open Original Shared Link. I need to find a way to make them without buttermilk.

There are a lot of resources available on the net, and you've already found one of the most helpful ones. You'll figure it out.

[snowflakeMN]

That's what I'm doing. I cook dinner for my family most evenings, and I simply cook meals that don't require gluten. Occasionally I'll cook some pasta for the kids, and make a gluten-free pasta for me, but usually we all eat the same meal. I've been doing this for about 4 months so far, and there have been no complaints (from the kids - occasionally I'll get one from the wife, but as time goes by we're learning more about cooking gluten-free, so I'm getting fewer complaints from her too).

Lately, I've been dairy-free too, which makes planning for dinners a little more complicated, but it's not too bad. We've been eating a fair number of ethnic foods (Middle-Eastern, Mexican, Asian, Indian), most of which have a reduced emphasis on wheat. We also eat a lot of rice (I buy it in 15 or 20 lb. bags). We've been eating a lot less pasta. I was already cooking pizza from scratch for the family before I got sick, so now I'm making two types when we have pizza. I've had to get more creative with toppings since going Dairy/Casein free, but the internet helps a lot. I particularly enjoyed the "sort of Puttanesca" pizza from Open Original Shared Link which I tried a couple weeks ago.

I got a copy of Annalise Roberts' <a href="http://www.(Company Name Removed - They Spammed This Forum and are Banned)/Gluten-Free-Baking-Classics-Annalise-Roberts/dp/1572840994/ref=ed_oe_p" target="external ugc nofollow">Gluten Free Baking Classics</a>, and I am really enjoying her Italian bread. It's the first gluten-free bread I've eaten that makes me feel like I'm not missing anything.

A lot of the dinners we eat are variations of what I used to cook from before I got sick. Some of the recipes were already gluten free, some of them can be made gluten-free with small alterations (corn starch in place of flour for thickening), and some of them I don't cook at all so far (biscuits).

The kids really like these Open Original Shared Link. I need to find a way to make them without buttermilk.

There are a lot of resources available on the net, and you've already found one of the most helpful ones. You'll figure it out.

Thanks you really gave me some good idea. I too can't eat milk and that does make it harder. I will look at the pizza recipe you mentioned and will take a look at the italian bread also.

[Darn210]

We have a mixed household, but all of our "cooked" meals are gluten free. I'm the cook and I don't want to have to make two separate meals. It hasn't been that hard to convert recipes over (instead of crushed crackers in the meatloaf, I use crushed rice chex . . . stuff like that). The gluten in our house consists of the premade items . . . bread, cereal, crackers. So far we seem to be doing just fine with this method and we've been doing it for a year and a half.

You'll work it out . . . just a little trial and error to determine what works best for your family.

Do a little research into Enterolabs before you spend the money. Enterolab can not diagnose Celiac. They will only diagnose a gluten intolerance. It sounds like you've already figured that out . . . for yourself anyway.

Lunches for your daughter?? . . . my daughter does a lot of cheese, loose ham, yogurt, peanut butter on a corn thin (like a rice cake but thinner), cold fried chicken. She'll take (gluten-free) mac&cheese in a thermos or occasionally a hot dog or left-overs from the night before . . . plus the regular side stuff like chips and fruit.

[shade34098]

Hello ALL.

I guess I'm kinda in the NORM as far as living in a Mixed Household.

I'm a single dad with 2 gluten-free kids. My son who is now 6 was diagnosed very young (maybe 1, I think) and I don't remember that there was an available blood test for Celiac at the time, but after colonoscopy and many many many other tests we decided to go gluten-free for him. We first started seing issues after he got started on "Cheerios" and began dropping weight, which isn't good for a tiny youngster like him. He immediately responded to the gluten-free diet and grew like a horse. We never had my daughter tested even though there was a blood test, because we began to see the same issues present that we saw with my son. She also responded to the gluten-free diet and is a wonderful 2 year old going on 19.

I don't normally eat gluten-free unless it just happens to be a standard meal that is gluten-free, (ie. Steak, mashed potatoes (or rice) and veggies) but I must be vigilant about being gluten-free for my kids. I don't get crazy regarding the dishwasher, containers (I've gotten good about being able to measure out what the kids will eat for that meal and making only what they will eat) As long as it is washed well enough that you would feel comfortable that there is no bacteria in there, I presume you'll be safe putting your gluten-free products in it. Just some soap and hot water should be good enough.

Hope this helps

[countrypenny]

That's what I'm doing. I cook dinner for my family most evenings, and I simply cook meals that don't require gluten. Occasionally I'll cook some pasta for the kids, and make a gluten-free pasta for me, but usually we all eat the same meal. I've been doing this for about 4 months so far, and there have been no complaints (from the kids - occasionally I'll get one from the wife, but as time goes by we're learning more about cooking gluten-free, so I'm getting fewer complaints from her too).

Lately, I've been dairy-free too, which makes planning for dinners a little more complicated, but it's not too bad. We've been eating a fair number of ethnic foods (Middle-Eastern, Mexican, Asian, Indian), most of which have a reduced emphasis on wheat. We also eat a lot of rice (I buy it in 15 or 20 lb. bags). We've been eating a lot less pasta. I was already cooking pizza from scratch for the family before I got sick, so now I'm making two types when we have pizza. I've had to get more creative with toppings since going Dairy/Casein free, but the internet helps a lot. I particularly enjoyed the "sort of Puttanesca" pizza from Open Original Shared Link which I tried a couple weeks ago.

I got a copy of Annalise Roberts' <a href="http://www.(Company Name Removed - They Spammed This Forum and are Banned)/Gluten-Free-Baking-Classics-Annalise-Roberts/dp/1572840994/ref=ed_oe_p" target="external ugc nofollow">Gluten Free Baking Classics</a>, and I am really enjoying her Italian bread. It's the first gluten-free bread I've eaten that makes me feel like I'm not missing anything.

A lot of the dinners we eat are variations of what I used to cook from before I got sick. Some of the recipes were already gluten free, some of them can be made gluten-free with small alterations (corn starch in place of flour for thickening), and some of them I don't cook at all so far (biscuits).

The kids really like these Open Original Shared Link. I need to find a way to make them without buttermilk.

There are a lot of resources available on the net, and you've already found one of the most helpful ones. You'll figure it out.

[missy'smom]

I do exactly what Glutin-free man does minus the pizza and bread and minus the dairy too! We buy asian shortgrain rice at the asian market in 20lb. bags for a very reasonable price and cook it in the automatic rice cooker. It was a little expensive but has lasted us maybe 11 years so far and is still going strong! It is very convenient. Any leftover rice gets refrigerated and made into fried rice for somebody's lunch or breakfast the next day.

[ang1e0251]

We also have a rice cooker, love it! We make enough rice for 3 or 4 days then microwave it for leftovers. I found if I sprinkle a little water over the top then nuke it, it's moist and good. I don't know about short grain, we only eat long grain.