Rash Is Back! How Can I Tell If There Is Gluten In It?

[AmyinTX]

UGH! So today I woke up and my rash is back! I mush have eaten something with Gluten in it as I have been soooo tired and feel horrible today. I have been staying away from breads and pasta etc, and I don't eat anything that says whole wheat flour in the ingredients. Am I missing something? Is there some other ingredient I should stay away from?

Thanks

[kareng]

Let's start with:

Avoid all wheat, flour, rye, barley, malt ( actually barley) and oats. Did you eat anything with any of those in it? Cereal and candy sometimes have malt. But other things could, too.

Do you share a toaster, butter tub, PB jar, jelly jar, etc with gluten eaters? Don't use a colander that has drained gluten pasta. Have you checked your vitamins and any medicines?

Did you eat food prepared by anyone else?

[AmyinTX]

Let's start with:

Avoid all wheat, flour, rye, barley, malt ( actually barley) and oats. Did you eat anything with any of those in it? Cereal and candy sometimes have malt. But other things could, too.

Do you share a toaster, butter tub, PB jar, jelly jar, etc with gluten eaters? Don't use a colander that has drained gluten pasta. Have you checked your vitamins and any medicines?

Did you eat food prepared by anyone else?

I had a hamburger helper meal that said "Gluten free" on the box. It was a rice dish and I made it with turkey. I had some corn tortillas. I do share a PB jar with my son. Thats all I can think of. I had a couple of french fries too. Other than that I can't think of anything.

[Jenniferxgfx]

French fries from restaurants are likely cc'd. And sharing pb is a big source of cc.

DH can be really sensitive to trace gluten. Time for your own pb.

Iodine can make it worse, while healing. Stuff like iodized salt.

[GlutenFreeManna]

I had a hamburger helper meal that said "Gluten free" on the box. It was a rice dish and I made it with turkey. I had some corn tortillas. I do share a PB jar with my son. Thats all I can think of. I had a couple of french fries too. Other than that I can't think of anything.

I would suspect the Hamburger Helper. General Mills recently pulled the gluten free label from the product because of processing concerns: Open Original Shared Link

Also, did you happen to make it in an old srcathed non-stick skillet or cast iron pan previously used for gluten? Also a good idea to get your own PB And other condiments people spread on bread with a knife) unless your entire family is gluten-free.

[AmyinTX]

I would suspect the Hamburger Helper. General Mills recently pulled the gluten free label from the product because of processing concerns: Open Original Shared Link

Also, did you happen to make it in an old srcathed non-stick skillet or cast iron pan previously used for gluten? Also a good idea to get your own PB And other condiments people spread on bread with a knife) unless your entire family is gluten-free.

Yep! I've made everything in my same skillet I used for everything before. My husband makes dinner for him and my son and then I make my own..LOL I guess I need my own skillet too!

Thanks! I didn't realize I could not use my regular old pans.

[Roda]

Many or most meals we ate prior to me going gluten free, have been sucessfully made or modified to be gluten free now. Whenever we all eat together, all meals are gluten free. Of course now it is easier because three of the four in our house are gluten free now. Initially following my diagnosis I got rid of any baking items, spices/herbs that may have been contaminated, rid the house of regular flour and would not allow any baking unless it was gluten free, replaced old baking pans and scratched/worn cook ware, got another toaster and pasta strainer for gluten free only, replaced my wafle iron and non stick crock pot(my crock pot had a teflon coating that was worn and scratched), got rid of my baking stone and wooden cutting boards(only necessary if the cutting board had any bread or gluten item on it) and replaced some utensils. The shared condiments we had I let everyone else finish up and bought more to share. My hubby didn't want the extra expense of having two of everything so he is very diligent to not cc anything we share. Now my husband is the only one in the house that eats any gluten. Usually it is for breakfast as cereal, sandwich or burito for lunch and he has some snacks. He has even quit cooking regular pasta for himself because he says it's a pain to cook both. Some of things I had to replace or modifiy was cream/condensed soups for particular recipes. I just couldn't find any gluten free so i started making my own from scratch. Hubby says those particular dishes taste better with everything made from scratch and no funky can taste. It can be a little extra work, but so worth it in the end. I'll take days and make up some things ahead and freeze for later.

[GlutenFreeManna]

Yep! I've made everything in my same skillet I used for everything before. My husband makes dinner for him and my son and then I make my own..LOL I guess I need my own skillet too!

Thanks! I didn't realize I could not use my regular old pans.

If it is a scratched non-stick skillet then traces of gluten can be stuck in the scrathes. Cast iron is pourous and also could have gluten in the coating. The same thing goes for anything with small holes or plastic with scrathes or wooden or anything difficult to clean (old cutting boards, collander, toaster). If your skillet is cast iron you can clean in in the oven self-clean cycle and then reseason and ONLY use for gluten-free items. If you had a stainless steel skillet you can maybe get it clean by scrubbing it really well (depending on how beat up it is). If you do buy your own new skillet for gluten-free then you may want to label it somehow so you don't forget. Many people use colorful tape on the handle to mark their gluten-free items.

[AmyinTX]

If it is a scratched non-stick skillet then traces of gluten can be stuck in the scrathes. Cast iron is pourous and also could have gluten in the coating. The same thing goes for anything with small holes or plastic with scrathes or wooden or anything difficult to clean (old cutting boards, collander, toaster). If your skillet is cast iron you can clean in in the oven self-clean cycle and then reseason and ONLY use for gluten-free items. If you had a stainless steel skillet you can maybe get it clean by scrubbing it really well (depending on how beat up it is). If you do buy your own new skillet for gluten-free then you may want to label it somehow so you don't forget. Many people use colorful tape on the handle to mark their gluten-free items.

That is really great advice! thanks! I am really struggling with the expense of everything. A small bag of brown rice pasta is like $3.50! The regular kind is like $1.00 ..LOL everything is so much more expensive. I bought a very small loaf of bread and it was $7.00! it literally made 4 sandwiches. I am now baking my own bread but the box was still $4.50, not sure how good it is going to be it is still "rising" in the garage..LOL This is driving me crazy :/

[GlutenFreeManna]

That is really great advice! thanks! I am really struggling with the expense of everything. A small bag of brown rice pasta is like $3.50! The regular kind is like $1.00 ..LOL everything is so much more expensive. I bought a very small loaf of bread and it was $7.00! it literally made 4 sandwiches. I am now baking my own bread but the box was still $4.50, not sure how good it is going to be it is still "rising" in the garage..LOL This is driving me crazy :/

Yeah, it's much cheaper to go with naturally gluten-free foods. I have pasta and bread only ocaisionally--they are only for when I don't feel like cooking or am in a hurry. Most of my meals focus around cheaper staples such as rice, beans, potatoes and corn products instead. Meat, vegetables and fruit are the same price they have always been. The more you can learn to cook from scratch the better for your budget.