you need a alcahol, viniger, alcahol, viniger, cleaning to get MOST (not all) of the gluten off, so defintly need own stuff (bad keybard=bad spelling.)

I made the mistake of having a birthday party for my boyfriends daughter who was 13. I told everyone just to come and don’t bring anything that everything was all set. The family came in bearing scads of food that was GF. Then came the crackers and bread bowl etc… Needless to say- I was sick for almost two weeks. I made it about an hour into the party before my face turned bright red and I felt about 105 degrees and started to power down. Then came the stomach and the bathroom cues. Someone probably dipped a cracker in my spinach artichoke dip. They all got to see firsthand what gluten poisoning looks like & why i bring my own food to the family meals. i used it as an opportunity to educate. You wouldn’t bring peanut butter cookies to a childs birthday that is allergic to peanuts- please don’t bring it in my home.

I thought asking my family to go GF would be a big hardship for them all. They have many opportunities to eat out, at school, at work the gluten if they choose. I also had to learn to cook and stand up for my health. This is a journey to health and life and living and functioning in a world where so much can make you ill. Blessings.

Great reminder with the toothbrush!!

I would not have thought we should check to see if someone “dry washed” their hair with wheat flours either. Or should we be concerned if someone hugs us when they’ve used wheat based deodorant? It’s not just in our kitchen and it may just be that wheat manufacturers will be finding more lame ideas for the flours that they aren’t selling so much of anymore, LOL. Check out another use for wheat that we don’t think normally of: http://www.alibaba.com/wheat-straw-particle-board-manufacturers.html

A serious YES to both questions. Your extended family needs to be much more mindful and if they won’t be, you need to bring your own food.

I was diagnosed with Celiac almost 2 years ago. My husbands family is not that understanding of my gluten issues, and we get together with them quite often. When we are invited for dinner they rarely provide a gluten free option even though they know I have Celiac. I feel like an idiot always having to ask or hover and read labels of everything they cook. My one relative just said “oh can’t you pick it out”, and another had croutons on a salad that could have easily left off. I don’t expect the whole meal to be gluten free however, a dish or two would be nice. I know it can be hard because gluten seems to be everything. My one relative is a vegetarian and I always make sure she has a veggie option when she eats at our place. Should I expect people to be mindful or just bring my own food or for go dinner invites?

If that plastic colander was ever used for draining wheat pasta or any other food with gluten (and chances are this happened multiple times if it ever did at all) it should not be used for GF food prep. Too many little nooks and crannies where starch/gluten can get stuck. It’s tough to clean but can release later into your food when you definitely don’t want it to. I would advise a new, dedicated colander for GF food prep. Same thing with cutting boards as you say, too. If food with gluten was cut on it (again, prob many times), the gluten can persist in the grooves cut into the board.