Following a gluten free diet and preparing gluten free meals might sound tricky to someone who is newly diagnosed with celiac disease.

Most people don’t realize they have the disease so it’s quite a shock to discover you have an illness and the only way to treat it and feel better is to completely revise the way you eat.

That’s a lot to take in for one doctor’s visit.

The term “gluten free” describes those foods or recipes that do not use wheat, barley, flour, or any hidden forms of gluten, such as artificial flavorings. The gluten found in these foods is a protein that can damage the intestines of someone with celiac disease. Common symptoms include severe discomfort and nausea after eating something with one of the offending ingredients.

Once you get used to identifying which ingredients will make you sick, you need to start learning how to cook your own meals. Your days of quick frozen dinners are gone because of all the artificial ingredients, fillers, and preservatives used in most frozen meals. Is it really worth the risk to your health to even take a few bites of a potentially harmful frozen food?

Gluten free recipes and cookbooks are fairly common place but you’ll also need to follow some good common sense cooking tips, especially if you live with other people who eat unsafe foods which contain gluten. The risk of cross contamination is high but also avoidable, so share these tips with anyone who shares your kitchen.

Cross contamination simply means contaminating the gluten free food with some harmful gluten which could cause illness. Usually you won’t discover cross contamination until the celiac patient has eaten some of the food and feels ill, at which point all you can do is wait for the nausea to wear off. With the risk of feeling sick looming at every meal, it’s very important to avoid cross contamination at all costs.

When foods become cross contaminated, it’s not usually done maliciously. People who are used to cooking in a certain way don’t think about the risks. Something as simple as using the same spoon to serve the gluten free pasta and also serve the unsafe pasta can cause cross contamination. Once the spoon goes from the unsafe pasta to the gluten free, you run the risk of severe illness.

To help avoid cross contamination, here are some tips:

If you live with your family, encourage them to eat the same gluten free meals you’re eating. You might have some resistance, especially from picky children, but it will make meal preparation much easier.

If you live with a roommate who won’t eat gluten free, try preparing your meals at different times. Simple things like using the same utensils or even using the same knife and cutting board to cut different breads can cause cross contamination.

Invest in separate cookware to be used specifically for gluten free cooking. Label the handles or keep them in a separate part of the kitchen from other cookware that is not specifically gluten free. The same goes for food storage containers.

With some extra caution in the kitchen, preparing gluten free meals is quite easy and safe. You can still make cooking a fun family activity by teaching your family the basics of safe, gluten free cooking.

Tags: gluten free foods, gluten free recipes