If you, or someone in your home needs to live gluten free, there are some things that you need to learn.
1. The safest practice is to have the entire family eat gluten free at home.
2. Purge your home of anything containing gluten.
Here is a list of foods to avoid:
Abyssinian Hard (Wheat triticum durum)
Alcohol
Amp-Isostearoyl Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein
Barley Grass
Barley Hordeum vulgare
Barley Malt
Beer (unless certified gluten free)
Bleached Flour
Blue Cheese
Bran
Bread Flour
Brewers Yeast
Brown Flour
Bulgur (Bulgar Wheat/Nuts)
Bulgur Wheat
Cereal Binding
Chilton
Club Wheat
Common Wheat
Couscous
Dextrimaltose
Disodium Wheatgermamido Peg-2 Sulfosuccinate
Durum wheat
Edible Starch
Einkorn
Emmer
Farina
Farina Graham
Filler
Flour (normally this is wheat flour)
Fu (dried wheat gluten)
Germ
Graham Flour
Granary Flour
Groats (barley, wheat)
Hard Wheat
Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein
Hydrolyzed Wheat Gluten
Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein
Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein Pg-Propyl Silanetriol
Hydrolyzed Wheat Starch
Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein
Kamut (Pasta wheat)
Malt
Malt Extract
Malt Syrup
Malt Flavoring
Malt Vinegar
Macha Wheat
Matzo Semolina
Mir
Oats (Unless certified gluten free)
Oriental Wheat
Pasta
Pearl Barley
Persian Wheat
Poulard Wheat
Polish Wheat
Rice Malt
Rye
Seitan
Semolina
Semolina
Shot Wheat
Small Spelt
Spelt
Spirits
Sprouted Wheat or Barley
Stearyldimoniumhydroxypropyl Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein
Strong Flour
Suet in Packets
Tabbouleh
Teriyaki Sauce
Textured Vegetable Protein – TVP
Timopheevi Wheat
Triticale X triticosecale
Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Flour Lipids
Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Extract
Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Oil
Udon (wheat noodles)
Unbleached Flour
Vavilovi Wheat
Vegetable Starch
Wheat, Abyssinian Hard triticum durum
Wheat Amino Acids
Wheat Bran Extract
Wheat, Bulgur
Wheat Durum
Wheat Germ Extract
Wheat Germ Glycerides
Wheat Germ Oil
Wheat Germamidopropyldimonium Hydroxypropyl Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein
Wheat Grass (can contain seeds)
Wheat Nuts
Wheat Protein
Wheat Triticum aestivum
Wheat Triticum Monococcum
Wheat (Triticum Vulgare) Bran Extract
Whole-Meal Flour
Wild Einkorn (Triticum boeotictim)
Wild Emmer (Triticum dicoccoides)
Other ingredients that you should question:
Artificial Colour
Broths
Caramel Colour
Colouring
Condiments (ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, salad dressings etc.)
Dextrins
Flavourings
Food Starch
Glucose Syrup
Gravy cubes
Ground Spices
Hydrolized Plant Proteins
Maltodextrin
Maltose
Miso
Modified Food Starch
MSG (I avoid this like the plague – it is poison to everyone)
Mustard Powder
Natural Flavouring
Soba Noodles
Soy Sauce
Spice Combinations (Steak spice, 5-spice Italian seasoning etc.)
Starch
Steak Sauce
Stock Cubes
Soups
Vitamins
Wheat Starch
Worchestershire Sauce
I typed this list and put it on recipe cards that I keep in my purse for when I go shopping. When I see an ingredient I am not sure of, I check my cards.
3. If you are going to make your own gluten free foods, you will need to keep the following ingredients in your pantry;
Almond meal
Arrowroot flour
Brown rice flour
Coconut flour
Corn meal
Corn starch
Dry milk powder
Egg replacer
Flax flour
Garbanzo bean flour
Gelatine
Guar gum
Millet flour
Potato flour
Potato starch
Quinoa
Sorghum flour
Tapioca flour
White Vinegar
White rice flour
Yeast
I purchase most of these items in bulk and keep them in air-tight containers. (Be sure to label them clearly)
Containers can be obtained at your local dollar store. I use empty coffee containers.
Throughout this blog, you will find recipes for spice combinations, sauces, condiments etc.
It is imperative that you check the labels on any food you purchase every time you purchase it. Be very careful to read the entire label. I have found some products that have gluten free on the front label and on the back it said processed in a facility that processes wheat.
*Manufacturers can change an ingredient without you realizing. For example, I had been purchasing a soup that I had found in the Natural products isle and quite enjoyed it. The last time I wanted to purchase it, I looked at the ingredients list and discovered that they had added TVP (textured vegetable protein).
*You should also be aware that there is gluten hiding in other places such as Rice and Soy beverages, Lotions, creams and cosmetics, shampoos, body wash, dish detergents, laundry soaps, toothpaste and mouthwash, some rice papers and the list goes on.
There are those who will tell you that gluten cannot be absorbed through the skin but from my personal experience, I can assure you that it can.
Don’t let these lists scare you. Once you have purged your home, you will begin to bring in the “safe” foods, ingredients and products and then it is all easy.
4. Once you have gotten rid of the gluten, you need to look at your appliances, and gadgets.
Get rid of your wooden spoons, rolling pin etc. and replace them with new.
You will need to get rid of your toaster/toaster oven too. It only takes about 20 ppm of gluten to affect your body. Cross-contamination is almost guaranteed if the toaster etc. has EVER come into contact with wheat, rye or barley (As well as non-certified oats)
When I was first diagnosed, I was totally overwhelmed and I tried to make my gluten free foods in the same kitchen, with the same implements and appliances as my boyfriend’s gluten containing foods. I still had gastric issues.
I finally figured out how to cook gluten free foods that taste like the foods we were used to before diagnosis and out home became totally gluten free.
You have the advantage having all of my successful recipes right here in one place and free of charge.
If you are having difficulty, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will do what I can to help. I also suggest that you check out the following:
http://www.allergies-r-us.net
http://www.glutenfreefaces.com
http://www.celiac.com
and join a support group such as The Canadian Celiac Association (If you are Canadian) There are such groups all over the world, just Google Celiac support.
Remember: You are not on a gluten free diet – you live gluten free 
