Eliminating Gluten... Starting with Your kitchen

I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease on a morning before work. I felt so lost and confused on what I could and couldn’t eat and I had to go straight to work. I remember having a drug rep lunch that day and I had a sandwich and removed the bun, and I didn’t understand why I was so sick the rest of the day at work? Boy did I have SO much to learn! Getting rid of gluten is hard enough, I didn't know anything about cross contaimination at that time....

That weekend I went to the library, rented over ten books and decided the first place to go gluten free was my kitchen…. 

I started in my pantry.

-          Out went pretty much my entire pantry, it was bare! Pastas, bread crumbs, cereals, crackers, granola bars, flour, etc.

-          Then onto my spice cabinet where I went through and got rid of all of the pre-mixed spice packages including taco seasonings, onion soup packet mixes, etc.

-          Refrigerator- all my marinades, dressings, BBQ sauces 

That was the easy part! Then came all the scrubbing & cleaning! And scrubbing again!  

Eliminating gluten is more than just eliminating gluten foods….  Like I said earlier Cross Contamination is equally important to eliminate and understand.  

-          All shared condiments must be avoided. (ex. Mayo, peanut butter, jams, etc)  

o    Either have duplicate containers for the celiac person or make sure the non-celiacs always dip the container each time with a clean knife. Brandon and I find it easier to have separate condiments.

-          If you are going to have something with gluten in it; it is better to put the “Gluten containing foods” on the bottom shelf of the pantry or refrigerator. That way if the gluten free crumbs fall it will be onto the gluten containing food and not the other way around.

-          Buy a new toaster for gluten free bread and products only.

-          Buy new Tupperware. Plastic can scratch easily and then scratches can harbor minute amounts of gluten no matter how carefully you scrub! I replaced all my Tupperware and it is used specifically for gluten free goods. Anything with gluten in it must go into a glass container.

-          Clean out your oven!

-          Replace your plastic cutting boards, plastic spatulas, and colander.

 

 

The amount of gluten that can make you sick is microscopic, and gluten seems to have a way of spreading itself around. Remember, gluten is a protein- and gluey proteins are almost impossible to eradicate because they are sticky. There’s a reason that wheat is used in wallpaper paste, adhesives, and drywall compound!  (glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com)

 

A great resouce that I would recommend to anyone going gluten free or for anyone trying to understand the gluten free world,  is Elisabeth Hesselbeck's The G Free Diet, a gluten free survival guide.

 

Thanks for reading!