Whole House Gluten-Free?

Really?! Does the whole house really need to be gluten-free? I’m sorry to tell you but if you are living with a Celiac then the answer is YES!

But we don’t all have to eat gluten-free…

My boys and I are may not be able to eat gluten but my husband and daughter still can.  As difficult as it was for the boys and me to give up gluten I think it can be even harder for someone who doesn’t get sick to give it up.  Thankfully my husband realized on his own that every time he brought gluten into the house I would get sick.  He was the one who eventually decided that the whole house needed to be gluten-free.  In fact now, he gets mad at me because sometimes I still let people bring gluten in, inevitably making me sick.  

I’ve lived with Celiac for so many years that I tend to not even realize I am affected until he brings it to my attention. He can see it in my face before my belly starts to hurt.  We agreed that I would try to not let other people bring it into the house and he would get his ‘gluten fix’ at lunchtime, away from home.  My daughter gets her fix when she goes to her cousins’ or her friends’ houses.  We have an understanding that they will wash their hands with soap and water before returning to our house.

What does it mean to make the whole house gluten-free?

Making our entire house gluten-free meant several things.  First, I had to get rid of my old bread maker, cutting boards, pots and pans, & anything I couldn’t stick in the dishwasher or wash thoroughly with soap.  I replaced it with stuff that had never touched regular flour.  Obviously I had to get rid of all the food containing gluten in my house, and there was a lot of it! But you can read more about that in my post about sensitivity.

Second, it meant that I had to come up with recipes that didn’t taste like they were gluten free…dry, crumbly, tastes kinda funny…that sort of thing!  I had to be reasonable and not make my husband and daughter suffer with horrible tasting gluten-free food at home. Honestly, I didn’t want to suffer through that either! The key is finding and using the right ingredients, you can find those on my shopping guide page. 

Third, I had to have a plan for when we have people over! When we have parties we clean & decorate the garage or the back yard so if anyone brings gluten it can stay outside. This helps us avoid that awkward conversation of asking them to keep their food outside while everything else is in the house. Although, I must say, my friends and family that know I have this disease have been VERY accommodating and supportive! Thank you!

It’s not the end of the world, I promise!

I thought it was the end of the world, I’ll be honest! I LOVED making food for my family! My kids and their friends will attest that I am always trying to shove food down their throats! Not really, but you know what I mean. I love it when my kids bring their friends to our house and they eat my food! It’s the quickest way to my heart… besides being a good kid. All joking aside, there is definitely an adjustment period, but you will get through it!

After my diagnosis the first thing I was most sad about “never having again” was my grandma’s amazing chocolate chip cookies.  My family loved them and I loved baking them for my family.  It only seemed appropriate that this was the first recipe I altered, click here for the best gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, no one will know they are gluten-free!

There are lots of super yummy, normal tasting food recipes I want to share with you.  Subscribe to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email or check out my Instagram page @makeitglutenfreewithme 🙂