Is Your House Completely gluten-free? If Only One Of You Has Celiac?

[kb27]

My 8-yr-old was recently diagnosed with celiac via blood test, pending biopsy. We are planning to go gluten-free after that. My husband and I both assumed that the entire house would go gluten-free, but I keep reading about people with "split" kitchens and ways to keep gluten-free food separate from gluten food.

If only one person in the family has celiac, did you make the entire house gluten-free? Or do you just cook separate foods? Why did you choose one approach over the other?

[pricklypear1971]

gluten-free house (except beer and a box of oat cereal).

I'm the Celiac. I'm the cook.

Hubs travels so he gets plenty of gluten away from home. Kid eats lunch at school and when we're out...

Kid isn't a "bready" kid...so he doesn't miss it and doesn't need junk food. Hubs loves bread but gets it elsewhere.

I've found enough "junk" or alternative foods to keep everyone happy. gluten-free pretzels, popcorn, jerky, nuts, fruit, cheese, rice crackers...

With a 9 year old (my son's age) and his hygiene practices I knew having a split house was pointless. Tried keeping gluten bread but it just turned into a "gluten police" mess. Hubs told me not to bother. We are still working on gluten-free pasta - hubs likes Schar.

Baked goods are easier than you think. Start with mixes and learn from there.

[Takala]

House is gluten free. My spouse volunteered to go gluten-free after seeing what happens when I accidentally get cross contaminated. We both shop and cook. We have pets with food allergies, inside dog is very allergic to wheat and cc'd oats, one of the horses outside has multiple allergies (barley, ryegrass, bermuda, soy, etc) and makes my reactions look mild, and this is also the only way we can keep the reactions under control. Pet eating cc'd dog food, or a human gluten leftover, then drinking out of the horse's water buckets, or vice versa, can set off a whole slew of reactions.

No big deal making the transition, just switched to rice pasta and gluten free cereals for him, and if we need bread, or another baked item, I either make it or there is gluten free store- bought available. He eats what he wants when he goes out to lunch on business, or travels. We use rice cakes and corn tortillas for quick grain sources.

Can't imagine cooking separately.... too much effort.

[Metoo]

I am not a diagnosed celiac, I had negative blood work. However I am gluten free and will remain so.

I am transitioning our entire house. If I have it, there is a high probability that one of the kids have it (which works in reverse for you guys, if one of your kids have it, ONE of you does have it, its not a probability you have to have it one of you).

I just slowly have been transitioning. Bought a few essentials at first. We just used up our noodles, stopped buying bread.

I just feel like knowing how it affects me it would be better for me and the kids if the kitchen was entirely gluten free.

[love2travel]

The first couple of months after my diagnosis we did separate stuff but thought of how ridiculous this was. Most things I cook are intrinsically gluten-free, anyway. So, my husband chose to go gluten free so our home is gluten free. My husband sometimes has gluten at functions but not at home. Gluten-free cooking is just as fabulous so we both enjoy it together. I would not risk it otherwise - for example, I make pasta from scratch. It is amazing. I would not want to make myself pasta and drain it, make him gluten pasta and drain it, keeping in mind we must use separate strainers. My kitchen contains so many great appliances - there is no way I would buy another expensive pasta maker. In a hurry cross contamination could happen so easily. And that is just for two adults! I would imagine it would be even harder with children.

However, I have read about a few households who do decide not to be completely gluten free and it seems to work for them. It is just not for us.

[kb27]

I am not a diagnosed celiac, I had negative blood work. However I am gluten free and will remain so.

I am transitioning our entire house. If I have it, there is a high probability that one of the kids have it (which works in reverse for you guys, if one of your kids have it, ONE of you does have it, its not a probability you have to have it one of you).

We had the other 3 of us tested and none came out positive for celiac (I had an overly high Total IgA, but low TTG IgA - go figure). I know at least one of us must have the genes, but unfortunately they didn't test for that, so we're still left hanging as to which line of the family celiac came from and whether or not we need to keep an eye on our younger son.

I'm planning on going gluten-free myself for at least a few months and see if I feel better. I'm the one in the family who can't travel w/o Tums... And it would be nice to support my son in his journey, too.

[Roda]

I still do maintain a shared house.

After I was diagnosed though, since I do most of the cooking all shared meals, were gluten free as was any baking. I won't let any flour/regular mixes in the house. I replaced what I needed to to keep me from getting cross contaminated. My husband and two boys continued to eat crackers, cereal and bread and ate gluten at school and out of the house also. There were ground rule as to where they could eat and they had to wash after. Their father usually was in charge of getting things for them to keep them from CC'ing me. They had a shelf in the pantry, a drawer in the fridge and a dedicated section of the counter for gluten items with the rest of the kitchen dedicated gluten free.

Nov. 2010 my youngest son was diagnosed. Hubby felt bad about eating certain things in front of him so he decreased the gluten items in the house. Mostly at that point it was just his and my oldest son's bread, cereal and crackers.

Aug. 2011 my oldest went on a gluten free trial. So again a lot less gluten in the house. Just hubby now. Hubby has been extremely careful from the get go about cross contamination, and hasn't CC'd us yet. Our pets are on a grain free dog food also. They are much healthier and it is better for the kids since they are the ones who mostly feed the animals.

It's really a personal choice to what works for you. With both of my kids gluten free I feel they need to have full access to the kitchen and not worry about CC. They know not to get into their dads drawer in the fridge, the topmost shelf in the pantry and stay clear of the small area dad handles his items on.

[lovegrov]

My house is shared. For the most part the dinners are gluten-free, but that's because it's so easy to make delicious naturally gluten-free dinners.

richard

[birdie22]

Not diagnosed but my house is shared. DH is the cook. Most of our dinners are naturally gluten free. The ones that aren't are either modified entirely or supplimented (like he and the girls have regular pasta and I cooke gluten-free pasta, we share the sauce).

A friend of mine is diagnosed celiac. She's in a shared household. She even uses the same cook wear and toaster. She has had several follow up blood tests and endoscopies all which show complete healing. I guess she's one of the lucky ones who isn't impacted by CC.

[MitziG]

3 of us Celiac, so my husband is gluten-free by default. For awhile I kept a few things in the house for him, loaf of bread, some cookies etc...but the kids were so sensitive they kept reacting. And it was hard being the "gluten-cop" as someone mentioned...(No, you didn't eat the cookies in the red package did you?! Those aren't gluten free!" This way, there is no worry about if someone forgot to use a new knife in the mayonaise jar or the butter. Besides, I don't have enough counterspace for two toasters!

[Darn210]

We are a shared household.

All baking is gluten free. There is no wheat flour or wheat flour mixes in the house. Almost all cooked meals are gluten free. The two meals that come to mind that aren't are grilled cheese and french toast (so that I can use the cheap bread). Everything else I would consider to be too much trouble to do separately. I don't include stuff like hamburger buns in this statement since I don't make them and they are added after all the cooking is done.

My cookware and bakeware are gluten free with the exception of one skillet (you know, to make grilled cheese ), one toaster (separate toaster for gluten free), and one cutting board which are kept in the same cabinet as any gluten food. The gluten food consists basically of bread, crackers, and cereal. All food in the pantry is gluten free and my daughter knows she can have anything in there.

Rules were set up initially about handwashing and labeling and who can use what and not reaching into a bag of chips and contaminating them, etc. I made the warning that if we couldn't keep my daughter from being cc'd I would take the whole house gluten free.

It works for us.

[upwitht21]

Completely gluten free.....myself and my oldest are blood test confirmed Celiac and my youngest (5) is having a biopsy soon, I think he has it as well. I am also a daycare provider and they eat gluten free and love it. I'm very strict with no outside food policies and all guests are asked to wash hands when they enter our home. Since going gluten-free in November the only time I've had a problem is when we've eaten out apparently I'm super sensitive now.

=)

[eatmeat4good]

Completely gluten free.

I feed friends and family gluten free when they visit.

If they bring their own fast food, pizza, or snacks, it has to be eaten on the patio...rain or shine.

If they want to leave it in the car and eat my food, that is better.

There are only two of us. Myself and my son. Both Celiac.

I am more sensitive than he is.

I get to make the rules.

[researchmomma]

We have a gluten free cupboard and a gluten cupboard. However, no gluten flour in our house. My daughter is gluten-free (and I am to support her). I am travelling this week and my husband almost glutened her with some teriyaki sauce. marinade on chicken He realized it before he gave it to her. He said "I almost cut out the outside and fed it to her but I didn't want a demon on my hands". She gets really mean and cranky when she eats gluten because she is miserable. So when I get home, I am throwing out ALL condiments that aren't gluten free.

My daughter doesn't have Celiac but she we are learning that she is pretty sensitive to gluten.

We have two toasters and separate peanut butters, etc. Everything I cook is gluten-free and that's what we eat. The exception is breakfast before school and lunches. I pack a gluten lunch for my son and gluten-free for my daughter. However, my neighbor accidentally packed her son, who has Celiac, a gluten sandwich that was for another child. He got really sick so I always remember that story!

One day, I think my house will be entirely gluten free.

To the OP, great question!

[dilettantesteph]

Different celiacs react to different levels of gluten contamination. If your celiac is sensitive to higher levels, a shared household should work fine. If your celiac reacts to very low levels, he might continue to show symptoms unless you go to a gluten free household. My son and I are sensitive to very low levels. We tried for a year to make a shared household work, and couldn't. We do much better with a gluten free household.

[JonnyD]

We have a shared house. Our house is full of gluten products. Most dinners are gluten free. We have shared cookware (with some dedicated gluten-free ones too) and it hasn't been a problem. I must react to a higher level of CC. But, I do wash my hands all the time and my wife is good when gluten-free preparing meals. A total gluten-free house just wouldn't work for us right now. For the most part, I'm just really careful when it comes to eating at home.

[kb27]

Thanks for all the responses!

You have brought up a lot of good points I hadn't thought of ("gluten police", accidents with condiments, etc.).

[pricklypear1971]

Another thing to consider is adults are generally better at cleaning up, being careful about cc.

My son will eat crackers, crumbs all over the place (and in my bed)...and they were GOLDFISH crackers....

Adults would generally act with more care.

But kids may sneak the gluteny food or eat without checking (not that adults don't....).

[Bubba's Mom]

We have a shared household, because I'm the only one that has to be gluten-free.

I have a seperate toaster, cutting board, cast iron pans, and we have 2 can openers(different colors).

We have one cast iron griddle for the gluten eaters. We share stainless steel pans which are rinsed right after use then washed in the dishwasher.

We have no gluten flour in the house, but do have gluten breads, crackers, cereals, and snacks. I have a seperate cabinet with items that are gluten-free so they aren't gobbled up leaving me nothing to eat.

When I found the orange dust from gluten containing cheese curls on the Tv remote, I got a seperate one for me only. I also had to wash my computer keyboard, and anyone using it knows thay must wash their hands first and not eat while at my desk.

After finding residue on some of the dishes coming out of the dishwasher I now hand wash my set aside plates, bowls, and cups, and silverware just to be on the safe side.

At first I cooked both regular and gluten-free pasta, but absent mindedly stirred the pot with the same spoon while they were cooking once, and it was a hassle straining them at around the same time, AND as the guys ladeled the sauce on theirs it would touch the pasta. Then the sauce became contaminated. We switched to all meals being cooked gluten-free.

Most gluten containing food comes from cans or is in the form of frozen meals to help prevent cc.

Our dogs are gluten-free because they lick themselves and the leather furniture, and drool, and handling their water bowl was unsafe for me. Likewise, playing ball with them having gluten in their mouths was unsafe. Their coats and skin itching has improved.

My 30 something year old son still lets then lick his bowls after eating gluten pasta and such, even though he's been told not to, so I'm careful to not let them lick me at all.

[domesticactivist]

We went 100% gluten free for our son. A year later I started a gluten challenge and had some gluten in the house. I glutened him at least twice, despite knowing all the tricks on how to be super careful. I recommend a safe haven at home, especially if she goes to school. PM me if you want more details.

[mushroom]

Completely gluten free (except for once a year when we host the neighbourhood get together - they bring their food on their plates and take it home again. Hubs decided it would be easier and had some GI issues of his own (not that he considered them gluten issues, mind you.) But when he cheated with sourdough french bread he developed DH and found out hisi problem was gluten too

[kitgordon]

I am celiac; husband and son are not. We have some gluten food in the house - bread, cereal, cookies. That is kept in a separate cabinet. All shared meals are gluten free, as I am the cook and I won't cook food I can't eat. If I had a child who needed to be gluten-free, I think we would all be. Easier and safer that way. I am not super sensitive, so it works for us, but I certainly won't have regular flour in the house, as it is impossible to contain.

[Germaine]

My 8-yr-old was recently diagnosed with celiac via blood test, pending biopsy. We are planning to go gluten-free after that. My husband and I both assumed that the entire house would go gluten-free, but I keep reading about people with "split" kitchens and ways to keep gluten-free food separate from gluten food.

If only one person in the family has celiac, did you make the entire house gluten-free? Or do you just cook separate foods? Why did you choose one approach over the other?

Good question. My 5 y.o. daughter is Gluten Intolerant. No biopsy, just inconclusive blood work so we went gluten-free and she is much better. We are a family of seven, so the cost of going whole house gluten-free is daunting. I did it in the beginning to make sure that there were no problems between siblings having "normal" food and only one having to have gluten-free food. That was four months ago and now I've gotten so good at cooking gluten-free that we all enjoy it. I bake my own bread and baked goods and for things that are costly, like hot dog and hamburger buns, I give my daughter gluten-free and everyone else regular buns...unless they prefer gluten-free. However, all meals are gluten-free. One menu only. Hope this helps.

[faithforlife]

We're gluten-free at home for simplicity and to teach everyone the diet since celiac is genetic anyway. It would be a shame not to teach my kids the rigidity of the diet since they or their kids could develop it. Out of the house only 2 out of 7 consume gluten. We based that decision on genetic testing and symptoms. I tried a mixed kitchen for awhile but shopping n planing n cooking n cleaning for 7 people 2 ways was overwhelming!