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How Can I Help My In-Laws Understand

Gibbit-43

By Gibbit-43
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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Gibbit-43 Newbie
Gibbit-43
Posted

How can I explain to my mother-in-law what is considered gluten free? We spend at least three to five weeks of the year at my inlaw's house and at least 6 of the meals I get fed make me sick. My daughter has Celiac's as well but is still on baby food so I can protect her from it right now but not always. I've tried to bring my own food but I never seem to bring the stuff she cooks. So it's a huge inconvenience to her. Right now I just suffer in silence. But for my daughter's sake I've got to find a way to get through to her. I've had Celiac's my whole life so it's easy for me to read a label and decide if it's safe for me. But my mother in law is lost. This evening she made meatloaf... with bread crumbs. I try to believe it's not that she doesn't care but that she forgets. But she doesn't seem to undrstand at all. My husband and I have been married almost 2 years... how much longer should I wait for her to "figure it out" Does anyone know of a book I could give her as a guide something that will explain it simply?

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kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

Maybe you should be responsible for the food you and the little one eat. Buy it and fix it. Fix it for everyone or just you and child. Have her son talk to her about it. Gluten free for dummies is an easy book to read, but that assumes she would spend the time.

Another thought is that now that you and your hub are a family, maybe you could stay home more or invite them to visit.

lizard00 Enthusiast
lizard00
Posted

gluten-free for dummies is a good book. I would make sure it came to her attention, though, as suffering in silence isn't doing you any good. Obviously, I don't know her and how accommodating she is, but my MIL took a while to understand, too. For a while she was insistent on me not cooking when I was there, but now she lets me do my thing. She made some soup on one visit, and then right at the end she put some flour in it. She was trying, but it was just a habit for her. She's pretty good about it now; she won't cook anything until I look at it. But we had to train her ;)

If she's unreasonable, then I say to heck with it. Bring your own food and do your thing! She'll get the hint, and she needs to know now before your daughter gets much bigger.

NorthernElf Enthusiast
NorthernElf
Posted

Look after your own food. Don't suffer in silence - it won't help her get it. In fact, she'll think that either she is doing things right or the whole thing is in your head. It took awhile for me to get both sides of my family to get that I really can't eat gluten....and stay sane ! :P

FWIW, they have all finally (mostly) got it but I still am looking after my own food. This Christmas my mom even put a yorkshire pudding on my plate. :blink: I got a new plate and she does this whole "I forgot" thing. Hmmm....we're in my kitchen & I even have a "gluten free zone" sign over some counters. The gluten stuff is only allowed on the island, away from the other counters. *sigh*

cap6 Enthusiast
cap6
Posted

My SIL is the same way. When she visits us she brings me gluten-free goodies but will then ask if I can eat one of her cookies. About the only G food in our home is cereal for my son so she brings her own gluten foods to share (I am the only gluten-free one in the home) & sets them on the counters that I have said are gluten-free only. At first I really got upset and angry but now I realize that it's not that she doesn't care but she doesn't live this every day like we do. We have to learn and we have to live it. It all becomes automatic (more or les !!!!) for us but it's not for them.

lucky97 Explorer
lucky97
Posted

This is the way I've begun to explain it to everyone:

1. No bread anything or wheat anything

2. No barley anything

3. No rye anything

Now, pass me a Strongbow!

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