How Do Be Safe In A Non-gluten-free House

[redheadsmom]

I'm 1 week into being gluten free and I'm the only one in my house doing so. I have a husband and 2 kids but I also have a home daycare with 8 kiddos so even if I wanted to be a gluten free house, there is no way I could afford to do so considering how many children I feed here. I have purchased a new toaster, I got a 4 slot toaster and used my label maker to mark one side gluten free for me but now I'm worried that might just be too close for comfort?? I only use stainless steel, cast iron, or pampered chef to cook with. I know I'm not going to be able to cook any of my stuff in the pampered chef stones but what the cast iron and stainless steel? What about food storage containers? Should I get my own for just my food or is it safe if its been in the dishwasher? Any other suggestions I would appreciate! Thanks!

Jessica

PS- I have not been diagnosed with Celiac, my blood work was negative and the GI wanted to do an endoscopy but I turned it down.

[violentlyserene]

I have the same questions as well. From what I've read the cast iron will need to be stripped and reseasoned and the steel pans vary by person. For now, I'm just planning to scrub the pans really well with separate sponges and replace any plastic that's scratched or can't be scrubbed completely (like my cutting boards). More measures are possible if that doesn't cover it but it's a place to start.

[kareng]

I got red colored tape, spatulas, etc. Even a red toaster & cutting board & colander. Red is for gluten free only! Red is for cutting cheese slices before touching the crackers. Because lots of stuff is gluten-free, my red gets used a lot. I use the red tape on the lids of my butter, PB, jelly, etc. It show up better than a label. I would worry that someone putting gluten bread in the toaster might drop a crumb in the other side. Do the bottoms all meet to contain the crumbs? I get plastic containers with red lids. Also, glass ones seem to clean well.

Stainless should be ok if scrubbed. Cast iron has pores so it can contain gluten. Some people put them in the oven during a cleaning cycle. It takes about 600 degrees to burn gluten. Aything porous or with cracks, crevices or scratches could be full of gluten.

[redheadsmom]

I got red colored tape, spatulas, etc. Even a red toaster & cutting board & colander. Red is for gluten free only! Red is for cutting cheese slices before touching the crackers. Because lots of stuff is gluten-free, my red gets used a lot. I use the red tape on the lids of my butter, PB, jelly, etc. It show up better than a label. I would worry that someone putting gluten bread in the toaster might drop a crumb in the other side. Do the bottoms all meet to contain the crumbs? I get plastic containers with red lids. Also, glass ones seem to clean well.

Stainless should be ok if scrubbed. Cast iron has pores so it can contain gluten. Some people put them in the oven during a cleaning cycle. It takes about 600 degrees to burn gluten. Aything porous or with cracks, crevices or scratches could be full of gluten.

Great idea with the red for everything! Yeah I'm a little worried about the toaster being an issue, I think I will just get a whole seperate one for me.

[kareng]

Great idea with the red for everything! Yeah I'm a little worried about the toaster being an issue, I think I will just get a whole seperate one for me.

I just saw a red one at Target!

[Brooksbelle]

Great ideas and I totally need some right now. Just made some regular spaghetti for the kids for dinner (first time since I went gluten-free) and whoops--had bitten and swallowed a tiny little piece (how I use to test for al dente. *&^%! I can already feel my tummy rebelling.

Going to have to come up with some better ideas?

Hadn't thought about the toaster. Anybody here do okay with using the same one as the rest of the family or is cross contamination a big problem for pretty much everybody?

[kareng]

Great ideas and I totally need some right now. Just made some regular spaghetti for the kids for dinner (first time since I went gluten-free) and whoops--had bitten and swallowed a tiny little piece (how I use to test for al dente. *&^%! I can already feel my tummy rebelling.

Going to have to come up with some better ideas?

Hadn't thought about the toaster. Anybody here do okay with using the same one as the rest of the family or is cross contamination a big problem for pretty much everybody?

When I make regular pasta, one of the gluten eaters has to come & test the pasta.

Toasters are so full of crumbs.... And so cheap!

[psawyer]

Hadn't thought about the toaster. Anybody here do okay with using the same one as the rest of the family or is cross contamination a big problem for pretty much everybody?

Toasters fill with crumbs and are just about impossible to clean. The wires that keep the toast upright and away from the elements pick up matter from what is toasted between them. Crumbs come off what is being toasted and end up everywhere.

I'm in Canada. I can buy a two-slice toaster at Canadian Tire (don't be fooled by the name, it's a department store these days) for 7.99. Name brand Black & Decker 2-slice for 19.99. Spend the money and be safe.

[love2travel]

Toasters fill with crumbs and are just about impossible to clean. The wires that keep the toast upright and away from the elements pick up matter from what is toasted between them. Crumbs come off what is being toasted and end up everywhere.

I'm in Canada. I can buy a two-slice toaster at Canadian Tire (don't be fooled by the name, it's a department store these days) for 7.99. Name brand Black & Decker 2-slice for 19.99. Spend the money and be safe.

I totally agree. It is not worth the risk! I bought toaster bags to take along with me when my husband and I travel (i.e. self catering). They can be used 50 times each and there are four to a bag for maybe $5-$7. Pretty cool if you have Udi's bread and crave toast!

[Brooksbelle]

Ok--will definitely do the separate toaster thing!

And the spaghetti thing was just a dumb-blonde moment, it's amazing what you can do on autopilot and multitasking! (Oh and tummy really unhappy now. Took some activated charcoal as soon as I realized what I'd done, but it doesn't seem to be mitigating my reaction.) Lesson Learned!!

Anybody have any luck with cleaning their bread maker thoroughly? I have a Zojirushi and want to dedicate it just to being gluten free. Maybe I need to replace the O-rings and just really deep clean it and then make it off-limits for the rest of the family.

Thanks again for the help and suggestions. =) There's so much to learn about making a safe eating environment for myself.

[violentlyserene]

The toaster bags is a brilliant idea. I don't really eat toasted things much but that will really come in handy if we travel to my mothers this fall.

[cait]

I got red colored tape, spatulas, etc. Even a red toaster & cutting board & colander. Red is for gluten free only! Red is for cutting cheese slices before touching the crackers. Because lots of stuff is gluten-free, my red gets used a lot. I use the red tape on the lids of my butter, PB, jelly, etc. It show up better than a label. I would worry that someone putting gluten bread in the toaster might drop a crumb in the other side. Do the bottoms all meet to contain the crumbs? I get plastic containers with red lids. Also, glass ones seem to clean well.

Stainless should be ok if scrubbed. Cast iron has pores so it can contain gluten. Some people put them in the oven during a cleaning cycle. It takes about 600 degrees to burn gluten. Aything porous or with cracks, crevices or scratches could be full of gluten.

Red is the gluten-free color at our house too! And hot pink duct tape on lids. Wheee. We even managed to find red striped dishtowels at Ikea. We've also started to really limit how much gluten is consumed in our house, especially by the little ones, who get it everywhere. Good luck. This is a tricky thing to figure out. I certainly don't have the answer yet.

[love2travel]

The toaster bags is a brilliant idea. I don't really eat toasted things much but that will really come in handy if we travel to my mothers this fall.

That is a perfect situation in which to use them!