How careful do we need to be?

[Guest guest]

I started a GF diet with my son without any resources or information

and the internet and e-mail lists were my only source of info. Lists

like this one are invaluable for people with no support groups to turn

to! Granted, each person has their own opinion and interpretation of

things... so please take that into account whenever you " hear " anything

on these forums.

When I first started out, I had little comprehension of what avoiding

gluten would take. I also had little comprehension of what ingesting

gluten really meant to my gluten intolerant child. I have since some to

the conclusion that gluten=poison to the gluten sensitive person. It's

like arsenic poisoning... a lot all at once and you're sick and could

die immediately or a little bit every once and a while and your body

begins to fail and you die from it eventually. Either way, it's bad for

you.

When I think of it in these terms it makes it almost imperative to keep

things separate and uncontaminated. When we were a " split " home (some

eating gluten while others not) I bought some neon stickers and I

placed these on the gluten free items in my home. I had 2 jars of

peanut butter and 2 containers of margarine, because my husband could

not learn to NOT double dip. If you are able to keep everyone from

keeping crumbs out of these containers.. then you can get a way with

having just one... but, depending on the ages and stages of people in

your household, this may be hard to do. The toaster is a problematic

area, since you definitely cannot keep it clean from crumbs. The pots

and pans... that is up to you... I've 'heard' that teflon coatings can

absorb gluten? some have bought new pots for cooking gluten free

pastas... I have no idea if this is true or not and have NOT seen any

proof of this... I figure that if I wash everything real good in hot in

the dishwasher.. it should be fine. That being said, I have 2 pots and

I delegated one to gluten pastas and one to GF, I chose not to buy a

new one. I have 2 strainers as well... I also throw a neon sticker on

the boxes or bags of mainstream/store bought stuff so that anyone who

comes over knows what the kids can and can't eat.

Over the past few months, we have been slowly phasing out gluten from

the house. My husband doesn't mind not eating it here at home and we

have begun to adopt a GF household for the benefit of us all. I have

been reading enough information to encourage me to do it for us all.

Keeping a GF house is much easier, especially with a 2 yo who just

doesn't understand why he can't have what Daddy's having. My husband

has treats that he can eat when the kids are in bed and that he takes

to work...

I know it seems so overwhelming especially when we are so used to

eating gluten laden foods. It can be very costly when you try to

replace gluten with GF substitutes...It's cheaper and easier to just

change the way you've been eating.. we don't have to have bread,

cookies, pancakes, cakes...

Good luck and I hope others chime in on what they've done that has

worked for them. Then, as always, you'll have a lot to sift through and

ultimately come up with conclusions and solutions that will work for

you. I wish it were more cut and dry, more black and white... but it's

not...

I am NOT a doctor, nor do I play one on t.v.! I am just a mother of

a gluten intolerant child who has read and chatted with others in the

same boat. Please feel free to challenge me or point me towards any

research and information, I'm always searching!

Priscilla Graham

" Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like

shoveling the walk before it stops snowing. " --Phyllis Diller

SAHM to 3 beautiful boys and one adorable girl

- 6

- 4 (Gluten Free since 11/03)

- 2

Abigail - 6 months

My hands are full, but my heart is not!

> We just had our son diagnosed with CD.  He has had 2 strongly positive

> blood tests but his biopsy only showed damage and inflamation from a

> very severe gluten allergy so far...  We think that just means we

> cought it before it could cause any worse damage...

>

> Anyway I am being tested and we are trying to decide if we will test

> our 1 year old daughter also since she has similar symptoms. 

>

> I am at a loss though.  I keep reading and trying to figure out what I

> am doing.  I have bought all this special gluten free food and am

> trying to be careful but at the same time I just have such a hard time

> grasping the concept of things like cross contamination???  My husband

> and my family think it's insane when I said that I was told to buy new

> things like a new toaster and new collander for his GF food only...

> And the idea of having multiple items of like Peanut butter and Jelly

> just makes my husband convinced I am loosing my mind...

>

> I just dont know how serious I have to be about that stuff and what I

> can let slide.  We are really very tight on money and this special

> food is really killing us, I dont know how I will afford to buy so

> many new kitchen things if it is really necessary to get them.

>

> Any help would be greatly appreciated.. 

>

> Thank you,

> , waiting on test results...

> (5-23-01), diagnosed with CD.

> Emma (7-17-03), yet to be tested.

[Guest guest]

I bought a new toaster for about $8 at K Mart (it doesn't have to be fancy!). On my baking stones, I use parchment paper, in addition to cleaning them in painfully hot water. That was something I couldn't bear to replace, as the stones are rather expensive!

My household has become gluten free. It's a lot easier to do it this way. My little gluten intolerant is only 4, and he just doesn't understand. I have since also discovered that I can't handle it, either. Long story short, I spent too much money on these things at first. Now I know to buy the rice flour, sweet rice and tapioca flours all at the Asian market (they cost about 75 cents for a bag that would cost $4 at the health food store!). I've also learned to trust people on their bread recipes. If someone tells you that a recipe works, trust them! I kept trying to stubbornly create my own recipes, and I wasted way too many supplies!

Our house is basically low-carb. We eat tons of fruits and veggies, and rarely have bread products with dinner. I make my own tortillas for mexican (they are easy and cheap). You'll learn, don't worry. I think we all spend too much money at first. Then we relax, and give our kids less junk food, which is a good idea all around!

Becki

How careful do we need to be?

I started a GF diet with my son without any resources or information and the internet and e-mail lists were my only source of info. Lists like this one are invaluable for people with no support groups to turn to! Granted, each person has their own opinion and interpretation of things... so please take that into account whenever you "hear" anything on these forums.When I first started out, I had little comprehension of what avoiding gluten would take. I also had little comprehension of what ingesting gluten really meant to my gluten intolerant child. I have since some to the conclusion that gluten=poison to the gluten sensitive person. It's like arsenic poisoning... a lot all at once and you're sick and could die immediately or a little bit every once and a while and your body begins to fail and you die from it eventually. Either way, it's bad for you. When I think of it in these terms it makes it almost imperative to keep things separate and uncontaminated. When we were a "split" home (some eating gluten while others not) I bought some neon stickers and I placed these on the gluten free items in my home. I had 2 jars of peanut butter and 2 containers of margarine, because my husband could not learn to NOT double dip. If you are able to keep everyone from keeping crumbs out of these containers.. then you can get a way with having just one... but, depending on the ages and stages of people in your household, this may be hard to do. The toaster is a problematic area, since you definitely cannot keep it clean from crumbs. The pots and pans... that is up to you... I've 'heard' that teflon coatings can absorb gluten? some have bought new pots for cooking gluten free pastas... I have no idea if this is true or not and have NOT seen any proof of this... I figure that if I wash everything real good in hot in the dishwasher.. it should be fine. That being said, I have 2 pots and I delegated one to gluten pastas and one to GF, I chose not to buy a new one. I have 2 strainers as well... I also throw a neon sticker on the boxes or bags of mainstream/store bought stuff so that anyone who comes over knows what the kids can and can't eat.Over the past few months, we have been slowly phasing out gluten from the house. My husband doesn't mind not eating it here at home and we have begun to adopt a GF household for the benefit of us all. I have been reading enough information to encourage me to do it for us all. Keeping a GF house is much easier, especially with a 2 yo who just doesn't understand why he can't have what Daddy's having. My husband has treats that he can eat when the kids are in bed and that he takes to work...I know it seems so overwhelming especially when we are so used to eating gluten laden foods. It can be very costly when you try to replace gluten with GF substitutes...It's cheaper and easier to just change the way you've been eating.. we don't have to have bread, cookies, pancakes, cakes... Good luck and I hope others chime in on what they've done that has worked for them. Then, as always, you'll have a lot to sift through and ultimately come up with conclusions and solutions that will work for you. I wish it were more cut and dry, more black and white... but it's not... :)I am NOT a doctor, nor do I play one on t.v.! I am just a mother of a gluten intolerant child who has read and chatted with others in the same boat. Please feel free to challenge me or point me towards any research and information, I'm always searching!Priscilla Graham :)"Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing." --Phyllis DillerSAHM to 3 beautiful boys and one adorable girl - 6 - 4 (Gluten Free since 11/03) - 2Abigail - 6 monthsMy hands are full, but my heart is not!

We just had our son diagnosed with CD. He has had 2 strongly positiveblood tests but his biopsy only showed damage and inflamation from avery severe gluten allergy so far... We think that just means wecought it before it could cause any worse damage...Anyway I am being tested and we are trying to decide if we will testour 1 year old daughter also since she has similar symptoms. I am at a loss though. I keep reading and trying to figure out what Iam doing. I have bought all this special gluten free food and amtrying to be careful but at the same time I just have such a hard timegrasping the concept of things like cross contamination??? My husbandand my family think it's insane when I said that I was told to buy newthings like a new toaster and new collander for his GF food only...And the idea of having multiple items of like Peanut butter and Jellyjust makes my husband convinced I am loosing my mind...I just dont know how serious I have to be about that stuff and what Ican let slide. We are really very tight on money and this specialfood is really killing us, I dont know how I will afford to buy somany new kitchen things if it is really necessary to get them.Any help would be greatly appreciated.. Thank you, , waiting on test results... (5-23-01), diagnosed with CD.Emma (7-17-03), yet to be tested.

[Guest guest]

I bought a new toaster for about $8 at K Mart (it doesn't have to be fancy!). On my baking stones, I use parchment paper, in addition to cleaning them in painfully hot water. That was something I couldn't bear to replace, as the stones are rather expensive!

My household has become gluten free. It's a lot easier to do it this way. My little gluten intolerant is only 4, and he just doesn't understand. I have since also discovered that I can't handle it, either. Long story short, I spent too much money on these things at first. Now I know to buy the rice flour, sweet rice and tapioca flours all at the Asian market (they cost about 75 cents for a bag that would cost $4 at the health food store!). I've also learned to trust people on their bread recipes. If someone tells you that a recipe works, trust them! I kept trying to stubbornly create my own recipes, and I wasted way too many supplies!

Our house is basically low-carb. We eat tons of fruits and veggies, and rarely have bread products with dinner. I make my own tortillas for mexican (they are easy and cheap). You'll learn, don't worry. I think we all spend too much money at first. Then we relax, and give our kids less junk food, which is a good idea all around!

Becki

How careful do we need to be?

I started a GF diet with my son without any resources or information and the internet and e-mail lists were my only source of info. Lists like this one are invaluable for people with no support groups to turn to! Granted, each person has their own opinion and interpretation of things... so please take that into account whenever you "hear" anything on these forums.When I first started out, I had little comprehension of what avoiding gluten would take. I also had little comprehension of what ingesting gluten really meant to my gluten intolerant child. I have since some to the conclusion that gluten=poison to the gluten sensitive person. It's like arsenic poisoning... a lot all at once and you're sick and could die immediately or a little bit every once and a while and your body begins to fail and you die from it eventually. Either way, it's bad for you. When I think of it in these terms it makes it almost imperative to keep things separate and uncontaminated. When we were a "split" home (some eating gluten while others not) I bought some neon stickers and I placed these on the gluten free items in my home. I had 2 jars of peanut butter and 2 containers of margarine, because my husband could not learn to NOT double dip. If you are able to keep everyone from keeping crumbs out of these containers.. then you can get a way with having just one... but, depending on the ages and stages of people in your household, this may be hard to do. The toaster is a problematic area, since you definitely cannot keep it clean from crumbs. The pots and pans... that is up to you... I've 'heard' that teflon coatings can absorb gluten? some have bought new pots for cooking gluten free pastas... I have no idea if this is true or not and have NOT seen any proof of this... I figure that if I wash everything real good in hot in the dishwasher.. it should be fine. That being said, I have 2 pots and I delegated one to gluten pastas and one to GF, I chose not to buy a new one. I have 2 strainers as well... I also throw a neon sticker on the boxes or bags of mainstream/store bought stuff so that anyone who comes over knows what the kids can and can't eat.Over the past few months, we have been slowly phasing out gluten from the house. My husband doesn't mind not eating it here at home and we have begun to adopt a GF household for the benefit of us all. I have been reading enough information to encourage me to do it for us all. Keeping a GF house is much easier, especially with a 2 yo who just doesn't understand why he can't have what Daddy's having. My husband has treats that he can eat when the kids are in bed and that he takes to work...I know it seems so overwhelming especially when we are so used to eating gluten laden foods. It can be very costly when you try to replace gluten with GF substitutes...It's cheaper and easier to just change the way you've been eating.. we don't have to have bread, cookies, pancakes, cakes... Good luck and I hope others chime in on what they've done that has worked for them. Then, as always, you'll have a lot to sift through and ultimately come up with conclusions and solutions that will work for you. I wish it were more cut and dry, more black and white... but it's not... :)I am NOT a doctor, nor do I play one on t.v.! I am just a mother of a gluten intolerant child who has read and chatted with others in the same boat. Please feel free to challenge me or point me towards any research and information, I'm always searching!Priscilla Graham :)"Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing." --Phyllis DillerSAHM to 3 beautiful boys and one adorable girl - 6 - 4 (Gluten Free since 11/03) - 2Abigail - 6 monthsMy hands are full, but my heart is not!

We just had our son diagnosed with CD. He has had 2 strongly positiveblood tests but his biopsy only showed damage and inflamation from avery severe gluten allergy so far... We think that just means wecought it before it could cause any worse damage...Anyway I am being tested and we are trying to decide if we will testour 1 year old daughter also since she has similar symptoms. I am at a loss though. I keep reading and trying to figure out what Iam doing. I have bought all this special gluten free food and amtrying to be careful but at the same time I just have such a hard timegrasping the concept of things like cross contamination??? My husbandand my family think it's insane when I said that I was told to buy newthings like a new toaster and new collander for his GF food only...And the idea of having multiple items of like Peanut butter and Jellyjust makes my husband convinced I am loosing my mind...I just dont know how serious I have to be about that stuff and what Ican let slide. We are really very tight on money and this specialfood is really killing us, I dont know how I will afford to buy somany new kitchen things if it is really necessary to get them.Any help would be greatly appreciated.. Thank you, , waiting on test results... (5-23-01), diagnosed with CD.Emma (7-17-03), yet to be tested.