Family

[MistyRG]

I am sorry if this has been asked. I skimmed but didn't find an answer.

Does your family go gluten free (or mostly) as well?

I have 3 out of 5 positive labs and see the gastroenterologist in a couple weeks. I am just trying to figure out how this will all fit into my life!!!

My husband will probably be difficult. I don't know if he will give up his white bread and pasta!!! My 5 kids . . . well, they will eat what I make them!!

I am just wondering if there is a possibility of contamination with cooking utensils, pots & pans, dishes, etc? If he doesn't join in, will we need a second kitchen??

[Lisa]

I am sorry if this has been asked. I skimmed but didn't find an answer.

Does your family go gluten free (or mostly) as well?

I have 3 out of 5 positive labs and see the gastroenterologist in a couple weeks. I am just trying to figure out how this will all fit into my life!!!

My husband will probably be difficult. I don't know if he will give up his white bread and pasta!!! My 5 kids . . . well, they will eat what I make them!!

I am just wondering if there is a possibility of contamination with cooking utensils, pots & pans, dishes, etc? If he doesn't join in, will we need a second kitchen??

My kids are grown, so it's just me and the old man. I cook totally gluten free and he's quiet happy with that. He does enjoy his bread, cheese and wine before dinner for his "chill-time". And when we dine out, he goes for the "real" pasta first. Can't blame the poor guy.

I substitute pasta, bread (for croutons and bread crumbs - don't like sandwiches) and boxed sweets like Betty Crocker Brownies and Chocolate Chip Cookies....that's about it. Oh, and Van's Waffles.

I do keep my granddaughter often and she has some gluten snacks, but I am switching her over to gluten free. I get lots of kisses.

Once you get use to cooking naturally gluten free, they will find that it's not bad at all! Even good! And healthier! Keep it simple and with summer veggies coming, it shouldn't be a problem.

Use some common sense with your cooking stuff. Scratch teflon, needs to be replaced anyway. A separate toaster is a good idea and maybe a new cutting board.

But, do check your meds, vitamins, shampoo for gluten.

I know it's very easy to get overwhelmed. And it will take time to get it all figured out. This is a great place to read and ask.

Welcome to the Club! And your road to recovery!

[Mom23boys]

Between a variety of tests, all 5 of us show some wheat/gluten allergy/sensitivity/intolerance (among other things). So we all are now wheat/gluten free. It's a little strange but at least it is easy.

[1974girl]

I cook gluten free dinners for everyone but my husband eats gluten for breakfast (Nutrigrains or something) and then he can eat out for lunch if he wants bread. Only one daughter is 100% gluten free. The rest of us are not. I do have 2 toasters though. My nutritionist (who also has celiac herself!) told me that hot water and soap will remove gluten and so I didn't buy 2 sets of pans,utensils. I did buy new blender, toaster, and muffin tins.

[beachbirdie]

I am sorry if this has been asked. I skimmed but didn't find an answer.

Does your family go gluten free (or mostly) as well?

I have 3 out of 5 positive labs and see the gastroenterologist in a couple weeks. I am just trying to figure out how this will all fit into my life!!!

My husband will probably be difficult. I don't know if he will give up his white bread and pasta!!! My 5 kids . . . well, they will eat what I make them!!

I am just wondering if there is a possibility of contamination with cooking utensils, pots & pans, dishes, etc? If he doesn't join in, will we need a second kitchen??

My family has been experimenting for a while, and my husband is the challenging one! My kids are adults, and two of them live away from home. The two still at home are very happy to be gluten-free for many reasons. One of the other two is gluten free and probably celiac, the last one doesn't even try but will eat gluten free when she comes to visit.

I am just getting back to it (was wheat free for some time, started eating it for testing) and my husband wants some of his gluten things. I think we can accommodate him. He can keep his gluten stuff in his own special place in the kitchen, and since I'm not super sensitive I'll make him his flour tortillas once in a while. I am still struggling, though, to get him to understand that he cannot put a crumb-covered knife back into the mayonnaise jar or butter dish. There are a number of things he is not liking about having the rest of us be gluten-free

There's not a good substitute for white (we call it "plastic" ) bread, but there are plenty of great gluten-free pastas out there! If you want to window shop, you can go to that giant internet emporium that sells everything (but is banned here) and look up Schar, Bionature, Tinkyada, and Mrs. Leeper's (or, simply, "gluten free pasta"). Lots of different shapes of pasta made from corn, rice, soy, potato. My husband even accepts those and doesn't much know the difference.

Schar makes great cookies and crackers too!

My husband loves quick-bread treats with his afternoon coffee, there are lots of gluten-free recipes and mixes for that kind of thing.

It's a learning experience, but little by little it will become less overwhelming.

[mboebel]

My husband eats what I make (always gluten free fare), and if he cooks, he cooks gluten-free. He does still drink glutenous beer & if I'm making pasta, he has bread with it. For his work lunches, he brings a loaf of "regular bread" to work to make sandwiches if there are no leftovers to be had, or will have pretzels or granola bars.

[IrishHeart]

Hubs went totally gluten-free with me about a month after my DX.

We did a major clean out of all the flours, cookware, bakeware and donated our bread machine, etc.

This was not easy as we had perfected our homemade pizza crust and artisan breads. Bummer.

He felt it was insane for us to have 2 toasters, 2 mayos, 2 Peanut butters, 2 cutting boards, etc. I was very ill at the time and in severe muscle/joint pain so he would watch me make his sandwich, clean up, then make mine. He said as a chemist and someone who worked in labs for years, he was worried about the CC issues.

I did not ask him to do this; he insisted.

It does make things easier, for sure, although many people live quite well with gluten eaters and have no problems as a result.

He took it upon himself to learn how to make gluten-free bread. He was our bread man before all this, so learning how to do this was a labor of love. It took 6 months, (he had a few clunkers ) but now, it is the perfect loaf.

When a man gives up his beloved Guiness, well, that's true love, baby.

He recently made a batch of gluten-free beer.

Even when we are out somewhere, I tell him, "Go for it!" but he says he thinks he is better off without it. We have meals at a gluten-free cafe nearby several times a week and our friends have learned how to cook gluten-free for me. I was deeply touched by that!

I am eternally grateful that he did this for me--as I was not able to handle even simple tasks back then and now, I can handle the cooking again and it is easy to create gourmet meals once more.

He tells people he eats very well and does not miss gluten at all.

I am a lucky girl.

Meant to add: My 85- year- old Mom went gluten-free a few months after my DX when she read what I sent her and she realized she had issues herself. When she visits, we make apple pie or blueberry buckle together, just like the "old days", only now it is gluten-free.

I imagine dealing with kiddos is another issue, but in the long run, YOU are the cook and YOU rule the roost, yes?

If Momma does not feel well due to possible continual cross-contamination, how will that be beneficial to your recovery?

[pricklypear1971]

There are lots threads on here about this...

But I think different things work for different families.

It's hard to contain gluteny kids - they touch everything. My son is just now "getting it" after 1 year. The only time he gets gluten in the house is if they give candy at school, or my FIL gives him something he brings home (I did confiscate the Alien Play-Dough stuff), or I buy him Klondike bars that aren't gluten-free. I'd never buy him cookies or crackers. Candy is easier to clean up. Ok, I did buy him gluteny Pringles...he was confined to his room (room is a disaster zone anyway, you'd need a body suit and steel boots). He brought home birthday cake from his friend's party - crumbs everywhere - I flipped out. That's when he finally started to realize I meant it about containing his gluten.

Hubs gets beer and Klondike bars...other than that we keep it gluten-free.

We tried keeping gluten bread but it was such a cc nightmare - crumbs, me panicking - that hubs said "forget it". Tried pasta but again, I was a PITA about overseeing the cleanup and cc in the sauce and we settled in Schar pasta.

Hubs and Kid get plenty if gluten when they are out of the house. Kid is showing signs of an issue so his days may be numbered.

When my parents visited both my mom and I told my Dad to keep gluten outside. He was fine with that - he stopped at a bakery but ate it before he got back. He could have taken it on the patio - I would have been fine with that.

[MitziG]

The reality is, if you have celiac, one or more of your kids either has it too, or will get it down the road. After both kids and myself were dx, it was just easier to be a gluten free house. In the beginning I had regular bread and a few gluteny items for dh, but after he saw how sick our daughter (who is VERY sensitive to tiny bits of cross contamination) would get from "mystery gluten" that she didn't eat, we decided the issue was cc, so we got rid of all of it. He eats gluten when he goes out, but he has noticed he has more regular bm then he had before, and that he feels kind of icky now after he eats it. I suspect almost everyone has varying degrees of gluten intolerance, and they don't realize that it makes them feel bad until they stop eating it. If you don't maake a big deal out of it, and just slowly stop buying the gluten stuff and cook "real" food, your hubs may not even notice or care. Other than the bread, he will notcie that...but it may not be a deal breaker! I would definitely recommend you get all of the kids tested asap, whether they have obvious symptoms or not though.

[Metoo]

We were fairly gluten free...then I decided to relax about it a little bit. I have 2 young kids, that I am going to try and get tested at their next doctor appointment in a couple of months...so I want them eating gluten. So I decided to let some gluten bread back into the house.

it was a mistake. Apparently now I react to cross contamination, because my husband made the boys peanut butter & jelly on gluten bread....and didn't use plates. When I got home there was an explosion of bread crumbs all over our counter. So I carefully cleaned it up like normal, washing my hands 100 times, threw the dishrag immediately in the laundry basket. Well...it got me, somehow I got glutened cleaning up the mess. So....no more gluten bread for us.

I am still letting them eat 'packaged' gluten items like granola bars, pretzels (although my kids make a huge mess for some reason with these so, we are not buying them anymore once they are gone).

Its definitly a difficult line to draw. As soon as I get the kids tested though, we are going more strict gluten free again (besides beer for him). After the last bread explosion, I realize its more of a problem than I realized.

And...your husband will probably lighten up about it. Mine is alright with it now...but I can't use a lot of gluten free replacements or he notices. Sticking to rice, corn pasta (he can't stand the rice pasta) and meats...the normal things that are gluten free he doesn't complain one bit.

[Mom-of-Two]

My hubby went gluten-free when I had my endoscopy and began the diet I never asked him to, it was just something that made sense to us. He has automimmune because he has psoriasis and joint pain from that (psoriatic arthritis) and his rhemutologist actually suggested eating less/no grains to him as a treatment plan to decrease inflammation. So it all timed well, and it just made more sense as a whole. (he also read the book Wheat Belly which SOLD him despite my diagnosis) He is very respectful of the strictness I need to have, if we eat out he eats gluten-free but not free of contamination- he eats fries for example which are gluten-free but share a frier with gluten, but no bread, pasta, etc for him in the last 4 months right along with me. He prefers his burgers w.o bun now!

Our kids (4 and 7) have been eating normal diets, I have one pasta pan that is marked with a sharpie, and a pasta utensil that I use to make their pasta, kept separate. That is the only cooking item that gets gluten, and is never used for anything but their pasta. All of our pans are stainless steel and we got a good cleaner/scrubber and cleaned them all to a sparkling finish, then dishwashed on a sanitary cycle, we felt confident with that. We got new cutting boards and cooking utensils (needed them anyway!), we do not do gluten-free bread or waffles, so no need for toaster. I got new cookie sheets since that's a lot of flour been on them, our waffle iron was again scrubbed and dishwashed, a few times. We also have a safe stainless stell collander that I will use for gluten-free pasta or anything I need to rinse and drain gluten-free. I have a separate pasta strainer for their noodles, in a space of its own.

We have a counter where I do my 7 year old's sandwiches for lunch, or other gluteny things- my kids actually like gluten-free pretzels more, and snack on fruit, cheese, yogurt, popcorn, etc that are gluten-free anyway. So not a ton of gluten around.

As I posted on another section, my 7 year old just tested positive on her celiac labwork, and has her scope on Wednesday, so I am guessing a gluten-free household is in the works! My 4 year old just had his labs drawn today, and we will see his results in 5 days as well.

It is difficult- my 7 year old is actually very accepting, and eats a MUCH wider variety of foods including meats and whole foods, rice and beans, eggs etc. and I think will like gluten-free pasta. The problem with my youngest at this age is he is picky, he will not touch ANY meat (had iron draws today also), no rice, no eggs, etc and I worry GREATLY about his eating and nutrition without pasta and cereal, etc. But, we will cross that bridge when it comes!

[dani nero]

Sadly not one member of my family is flexible to eating gluten-free.. They are even shunning the possibility. My parents are coming to visit soon and I'm still not sure how that's going to go.. If they'll choose to be a pain about it or actually give up their precious gluten at home. My husband eats gluten-free at home because I told him I would not live in the same house with him otherwise. It's my right to feel safe and comfortable in my own home after all. It would have been nicer if he had done it by choice :-P

[T.H.]

Myself, the kids, and hubby are all gluten free right now.

Me and child 1 are celiac, child two has turned out to be gluten intolerant, and hubby is just kind. :-)

When we first tried a mixed household - yeah, kids plus gluten is a real nightmare. I ended up feeling like the gluten Nazi, because otherwise, the kids would forget and touch gluten and then touch my food. My daughter was getting sick constantly herself just from handling gluten food and then touching her lips or her own food.

That said - if you are positive, you may want to look at testing all the kids, symptoms or not. There's a 1 in 22 chance that your kids, your siblings, or your parents have celiac disease (any relative 1 degree separated). And experts that I respect are encouraging retesting every few years for any relatives that test negative, because the disease can trigger at any age.

My father tested positive and we weren't aware that anyone else should be tested. No one got tested for 8 years, and then myself, my daughter, and my brother all tested positive, but we all have permanent problems from the long period we went undiagnosed. :-(

[MistyRG]

Thank you for all the replies.

My father died from non-Hodgkins Lymphoma 11 years ago. I have wondered since this came up if he was just undiagnosed Celiac. :sigh:

My daughter has stomach issues. She was put back on zantac (had reflux as a baby) just last month. She also gets mouth ulcers all the time. My oldest son has a lot of ulcers and rushes to the bathroom after every meal. I am very anxious to get them tested . . . as well as the younger 3.

My husband is clearly not as accepting or kind as others on here!! He first said that he has never heard of Celiac disease before. Uhhh . . . okay . . . that means nothing to me!!! LOL Then when I asked if he would be okay going gluten free, he said that I could just make 2 meals every night. No thank you . . . I have 5 kids and a busy household to keep up with. I am NOT making separate meals!!! The kids will go mostly gluten free with me. I figure if I do it now, they won't even notice!!! He said he would make his own meals then. We'll see how long that lasts!!! He can keep bread and stuff at work for sandwiches. I really don't see the big deal. We aren't HUGE pasta/bread eaters anyway. I did make rice noodles the other day (daughter picked them out because they were purple!!!), and the kids all ate them without noticing a difference. So the other changes we have to make should be less noticeable. I don't know . . . I guess we'll see how this all plays out!!!

I think we should get a smaller second kitchen built on for him. Or maybe park the camper in the backyard, and he can cook and store his meals in there!!!!