Someone Please Help

[ohsroac]

I was just told last night that vanilla is not gluten free unless a person buys gluten free vanilla.. is this true?

I was also told to get rid of old pots and pans I used prior to going to gluten-free.. why? Please help me understand..

Also was told that chocolate is NOT gluten free and I have been giving my daugter M & M's..

I am going to take myself and daughter on an Elimination Diet. Has anyone done that?

[missy'smom]

If you have plain, uncoated metal pans that can be scrubbed well, they can be used. We use our All-Clad for both. Teflon or non-stick pans can't be as thoroughly cleaned or they would get damaged, plus they can have scratches that can harbor gluten and the surface itself is condusive to hanging onto gluten. Cast-iron can be put in the oven on self-cleaning cycle(don't use oven cleaner!) and when they are done, clean well, re-season and dedicate to gluten-free only. We had 2 cast iron skillets so one is gluten-free and the other is for gluten. The self clean process makes a powdery mess so alot of rinsing is in order but it does a good job blasting off any accumulation so your pans will look like new.

plain and peanut M&M's are gluten-free, M&M's crispies are NOT, same for the Nestle Crunch bar and Rice Krispies themselves

not all chocolates as a category are gluten-free

When in doubt, don't hesitate to e-mail or call the companies. Many are prepared fo the question, "is X product gluten-free?"

[ohsroac]

Thank you for replying to me. I have been up all night trying to figure out my next move. I guess I need to go out and buy some new pans.

[OliveBranch]

Hi ohsroac,

There's a lot of chocolate that's gluten free, and it's not hard to find--just make sure you check the label. I eat dark chocolate, which is very unlikely to contain gluten, but be careful about milk chocolate, which sometimes contains barley malt. But it's almost always clearly labeled--chocolate manufacturers are also good about reporting when the chocolate is made on equipment shared with wheat.

It is a good idea to get new pots if you can, but scrub them like crazy if you can't. And DEFINITELY get a new strainer for gluten-free pastas, etc. We made the mistake of using our old one for a few weeks after going gluten-free, even though it contained visible residue from our old pastas--not good!!

I am on an elimination diet of sorts, and it is helpful--I log everything I eat as well as my symptoms in a food diary, which has helped me determine which foods are a problem right now (unfortunately, it has made me eliminate way more things than I wanted to--but hopefully it will help me heal faster).

good luck!

I was just told last night that vanilla is not gluten free unless a person buys gluten free vanilla.. is this true?

I was also told to get rid of old pots and pans I used prior to going to gluten-free.. why? Please help me understand..

Also was told that chocolate is NOT gluten free and I have been giving my daugter M & M's..

I am going to take myself and daughter on an Elimination Diet. Has anyone done that?

[mbrookes]

Pure vanilla should be fine. I use plain ol' McCorkick with no problem. Watch for ingredient labels on "imitation vanilla flavoring"

[sunnybabi1986]

I kept using my nonstick pans after going gluten free, and it wasn't until I threw them out and bought new ones that I started really feeling better. Unfortunately, nonstick pans get tiny scratches that you sometimes can't see, and gluten gets stuck in there. When you make more food, even after washing the pans, the gluten is released into your food, making you sick.

I've yet to see a vanilla that has gluten, but there may be one out there that I'm unaware of. Like others said, just call the company and they should be able to let you know if it's gluten free or not

Good luck, you'll do fine! Just keep asking questions here and we'll get you through it

[Skylark]

Bah... this thread is really old. Wish I could delete a post.