Separate Meals Vs Converting The Family (including Toddler)

[nw0528]

I'm new here. Just received my diagnosis. I'm curious how people have coped with meals at home when there is a family involved. Seems easiest (for me!) to convert our household to gluten free for meals. Then, I would just be making one meal, rather than one for the family, separate one for me. However, I'm questioning this as we have a two year old who loves to eat. I'm worried if we convert to be all gluten-free for meals and he has very little exposure to gluten, when he is older (enters school perhaps) and is exposed to gluten, is he at any increased risk for celiac since he would have been primarily gluten free for several years.

So, I'm curious how others have managed household meals, especially when young children are involved who do not have Celiac.

Thanks!

[maile]

I'm new here. Just received my diagnosis. I'm curious how people have coped with meals at home when there is a family involved. Seems easiest (for me!) to convert our household to gluten free for meals. Then, I would just be making one meal, rather than one for the family, separate one for me. However, I'm questioning this as we have a two year old who loves to eat. I'm worried if we convert to be all gluten-free for meals and he has very little exposure to gluten, when he is older (enters school perhaps) and is exposed to gluten, is he at any increased risk for celiac since he would have been primarily gluten free for several years.

So, I'm curious how others have managed household meals, especially when young children are involved who do not have Celiac.

Thanks!

Hi and welcome!

I'm in a "mixed household" (funny how that has such a different meaning here ) and no one else in my family follows a gluten-free diet, in fact they whine because I'm baking with gluten-free flours (not that the whining stops them from eating it )

I suspect that for the most part you can make a single meal....steak, potatoes and salad for example, no gluten but not specifically "gluten free"

as for your question about your son, if you have celiac then remember he has a good chance of being at least gluten intolerant as he will have 1 gene from you. it may not be a bad idea to be gluten lite with your son (unless of course there are obvious intolerance signs) jmho

[Fiddle-Faddle]

My solution was to make gluten-free breakfasts and dinners (I like to cook, and I'm good at it), but to let everyone else have their own bread for lunches. This drastically reduced the gluten that everyone was eating--and lo and behold, the eczema and tummy aches that were plaguing all three kids got WAY, WAY better.

So we tried a gluten-free household, and the problems disappeared altogether.

We went back and forth several times, and finally decided that we don't care what the diagnosis is (and it might be better to avoid an official diagnosis anyway, as insurance companies can use that to deny you coverage)--obviously the kids have an issue with gluten that causes either tummy aches, or autoimmune skin problems, or both. The answer is obvious, no matter what the diagnosis is.

So we now have a gluten-free house except for my husband's occasional purchase of bread for himself.

[CeliacMom2008]

We are a primarily gluten free house. It works for us. There is gluten cereal that my husband occasionally eats at night after our son is in bed. That's it. I think it's easier on all of us. I'm busy enough that I would never have time to make separate meals. Keeping the gluten and non-gluten separate would be a huge headache for me. My husband likes knowing that with the exception of the boxes of cereal he buys and puts on the top shelf in the closet everything is OK for him to feed our son. And I think it's easier on my son to have a "safe haven" where he doesn't have to be on guard like at school. We all eat very well, much better than before Celiac without a doubt, and by "better" I mean taste, variety and healthfulness.

[lizard00]

I'm the only one in my house, too. As a general rule, I don't cook anything I can't eat. My son and my husband eat cheerios for breakfast, or they'll eat regular toast. We have very little gluten in our house. I do not have wheat flour, so anything I bake is gluten free. My husband has been really good about it, and we eat really well without gluten. I feed people gluten free, and no one even notices. Meat, veggies, fruits, whatever.

You decide what amount of gluten in your house doesn't freak you out; for me it's a loaf of bread, goldfish crackers and cheerios. I don't think I could handle much more than that, though; my son is 3 and can be very messy. The goldfish and cheerios are pretty self-contained.

You will save a great deal of your sanity by NOT preparing two separate meals.

[MaryJones2]

We had a mixed house for a while but over time it went totally gluten-free. I think people have to get used to the taste of gluten-free cooking and would think that your young children would adapt quickly and learn we eat this way at home and I can eat this way when I'm not. For the first year or so my husband would make pasta and sandwiches on his counter with his pots, etc. But after a while he just started saying I'll eat your bread (because he prefers my gluten-free bread now) or whatever you're making so it evolved to fully gluten-free and is much easier now (and we do save a lot of money). As for the seperate meals, I've become quite skilled at making a base meal and then adding what I want or what he wants. For example, we both have gluten-free pasta and red sauce. He like olives and capers so he adds those in. All of the condiments in the house are gluten-free so even though I don't eat all of them due to other issues I don't have to worry about it.

[gfwb]

We only cook gluten free for supper and weekends when we are both home. For breakfast, my DH keeps some regular cereal and has regular bread in the house to take his lunch for work. But when it comes to supper and any evening snacks, he only eats gluten-free with me. He figured out it was a really big turn off to me to even think about kissing him when he had been munching on something in the evening that would make me sick. This keeps everybody happy.

[Darn210]

We're a mixed house but all cooking and baking is gluten free. There are no gluten flours or mixes in the house. Crumbs are much easier to contain than powdered gluten (wheat flour). My pantry only contains gluten free items. The gluten items (bread, cereal, some crackers/cookies) are in a separate cabinet. I did not want to try and cook two meals. I did not want to keep track of gluten pots and pans and gluten free pots and pans. You'll find that you can easily adapt most of your gluten meals to gluten free. Tinkyada pasta is a great gluten free pasta. I use crushed rice chex to make my meatloaf now instead of crushed saltines. Instead of the Betty Crocker Au Gratin potatos, I use the Great Value (Wal-Mart) brand. Instead of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup (for casseroles) I use Progresso Creamy Mushroom. It's not that hard . . . to me, it's easier than cooking two separate meals. If you get stuck on how to convert one of your old meals into gluten free, just ask, there are lots of people here to share what works for them.

[nw0528]

Thank you all for the suggestions and information you have shared with me so far.

I'm a teacher and on vacation next week, so planning to sort through the pantry and fridge. I told my husband he has about a month to use up the gluten foods (mostly pastas and crackers) in our pantry. My husband gave me this very nice labelling device for Christmas which now seems like it is going to get a lot of use marking things gluten-free and making a shelf for my husband and son in the pantry for gluten foods such as cheerios, chips, goldfish, etc.) I'll also be going shopping for gluten-free foods. In the meantime I'm just doing plain meats, veggies, rice and lots of fruit. I'll go to see the gluten-free options for grains over the vacation.

Thanks again for your ideas!

Nicole

[Fiddle-Faddle]

You will need a new colander/strainer for pasta, as it's impossible to get all the gluten off of those once they have been used on gluteny pastas! Also, a new toaster, unless you have a toaster oven (which is much more easily cleaned of gluteny crumbs). Many celiacs replace everything in their kitchen.

I didn't ask my hubby to eat any remaining gluteny items--I wanted them OUT of the house. I gave them to friends or to local food drives.

[digmom1014]

We are a "mixed" house also. I do the big main dinner meal gluten-free but, my son and my husband graze on gluten food most of the day. However, my 12 yr. old has started ordering gluten-free food from Carraba's, P.F. Changs, etc. since Mom can have some too! IMHO most people have different tolerance levels and they need to find what is right for their family.

[Hummingbird4]

I am the only Celiac at our house, but we are a gluten-free household. I buy the groceries, I cook the meals, and I want my house to be safe for me. My husband and kids can eat whatever they want when they're not at home. It works for us!

[Juliebove]

We do have additional food allergies. So our diet has to be more strict.

In the beginning, I gave away or threw away all food that contained allergens. Bought a little fridge for daughter's special food (after first trying one shelf in the big fridge and labeling everything) and made a part of the dining room just for her food.

We ate only allergen free meals. This worked for a couple of weeks but then husband started wanting sandwiches to take to work. So I bought him ready made sandwiches and occasionally other ready made food like mac and cheese.

Eventually I began buying cereal and regular bread. Sandwiches are prepared on paper plates and cereal is eaten out of paper bowls. We don't buy mayo and daughter is allergic to peanut butter so no fear of cross contamination with those things. Most of our other condiments come in squeeze bottles.

For the most part, our meals are gluten free. Tonight, daughter wanted hot dogs. Hers were on gluten-free buns and husband wanted his on regular white bread. But if I make pasta, I use gluten-free pasta.