April 24, 2025 • 21 mins
If you're just starting your gluten-free journey—or even if you’ve been on it for a while—chances are, you’ve made a few mistakes. I know I have.
From trusting the wrong labels, to getting glutened at restaurants, to thinking I could "wing it" without a plan… I've learned a lot the hard way.
In this episode, I’m sharing the top mistakes I made when going gluten-free, what I wish I had known sooner, and how you can avoid the same bumps in the road.
Save money, and no more guessing for dinner! Use code GFE to get 20% off annual membership at thedinnerdaily.com. Plan meals for less than $4/month and save money at the grocery store!
Come join us in our free Facebook Community, The Gluten Free Engineer.
It’s a space where you can connect with others living gluten-free, ask questions, swap tips and recipes, and get support from people who truly get it. Whether you’re newly diagnosed or a seasoned gluten-free pro, you’ll feel right at home.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Carrie Saunders (00:00):
Quick reminder before we get started on this
episode this podcast is based onmy personal experiences and
isn't medical advice.
If you've just started yourgluten-free journey, or even if
you've been at it for a while,chances are you've made a few
mistakes.
I know I have, from trustingthe wrong labels to getting
gluten at restaurants tothinking I could wing it without
(00:20):
a plan.
I've learned a lot the hard way.
In this episode, I'm sharingthe top mistakes I made when
going gluten-free, what I wish Ihad known sooner and how you
can avoid the same bumps in theroad.
Welcome to the Gluten-FreeEngineer Podcast.
I'm your host, k Saunders.
In 2011, I was diagnosed withceliac disease a moment that
(00:41):
changed everything, but I wasdetermined not to let it hold me
back.
With my two engineering degrees, I set out to reverse engineer
the gluten-free lifestyle,breaking down recipes, safety
tips, travel hacks andeverything in between to rebuild
a life I love.
Whether you have celiac disease, gluten intolerance or simply
choose to live gluten-free, thispodcast is for you.
(01:02):
Join me each week as wesimplify the gluten-free
lifestyle, make it fun and provethat you don't have to miss out
on anything.
Welcome back to the show.
Today, we're talking about thetop mistakes I made when going
gluten-free to help you avoidthem.
The first area I want to touchon is that thinking gluten-free
the words on a label alwaysmeans that it's safe, and this
(01:24):
was one of my first mistakes Imade was that, believing if
something was labeledgluten-free it was actually safe
and automatically safe.
What I found, though, is thatnot all products labeled
gluten-free are certified ormade in a dedicated facility,
and I learned this actually witha really delicious pre-packaged
cookie that touted it wasgluten-free on the front.
(01:46):
What I found was, as I waseating this cookie I think it
might have taken the second timeI ate it for me to realize what
was going on I was realizing Iwasn't feeling good, so, like
the detective I am being anengineer I looked at the back of
the label and was like oh, itsays made in a facility that
also processes wheat.
So this was not certifiedgluten-free, it just had no
(02:08):
gluten ingredients.
So if you're celiac or highlygluten sensitive, you're going
to want to avoid anything thatsays made in a facility that
also processes wheat, and thisis something that I feel like is
something that needs to changeout there in the world.
Honestly, you don't labelsomething peanut free or milk
free or any of the otherallergens which I know.
(02:30):
Gluten's not technically anallergen, but it really affects
our body in a very severe waywhen you have celiac or highly
sensitive to it, and theyshouldn't be allowed to just
write gluten-free on there.
I always felt that it was notethical or right for somebody to
put gluten-free on a label whenit really wasn't technically
gluten-free.
(02:50):
First off, learn to read thefine print and make sure that it
doesn't say main facility withwheat if you're a sensitive or
if you're a celiac, because itcan cause issues.
Sometimes you might not noticeit Because sometimes that might
not have gottencross-contaminated.
Sometimes it might be a reallyactually big deal.
So always look for certifiedgluten-free products if you know
(03:12):
that you are celiac or you knowthat you're highly sensitive,
if you're gluten intolerant.
Another mistake I have made istrusting restaurants too easily.
It's really easy to assume thata gluten-free menu equals
gluten-free safety in arestaurant and that is just
absolutely far from the case.
What I learned is that not allstaff are trained in
(03:32):
cross-contamination, so youdon't know if they are going to
be good with handling your food,even if they have things marked
gluten-free and even if theyhave a separate gluten-free menu
.
Always make sure that you askthe server.
Then, if you're not comfortablewith the server's answer on how
well the kitchen does, then askto speak to the chef or a
(03:53):
manager.
It is not something that's youknow out of the blue to them.
They are used to people comingin with allergies.
They shouldn't have any problemtrying to accommodate you if
possible.
You shouldn't just assume it'llbe fine.
It's not necessarily fine.
I have made this mistake manytimes, thinking, oh, it'll be
(04:14):
fine, or you know, I think, well, I don't want to be a bother.
I don't want to be, you know,that person.
But what I found is, well, myhealth is a bit more important
than being that person.
I need to stand up for myselfand what's safe for me, just
like anybody else would, ifsomething that they eat wouldn't
be safe for them.
So don't look at yourself as aburden.
(04:35):
These people are there to serveyou.
That's their job, that's whatthey love to do, and they want
to have satisfied customers.
They want you to come back, sothey're going to want to try to
make it right for you and do agood job.
Now there have been times that Ihave gone to a restaurant and
they have said, no, you probablyshouldn't eat anything here,
(04:56):
and I was so grateful.
So if you are a server or achef actually listening to this
too, please don't feel badsaying that, especially if
somebody has celiac disease orhigh gluten intolerance.
We really appreciate yourhonesty so that we know that we
shouldn't eat anything there.
I would rather be hungry,honestly, and be inconvenienced
(05:19):
for a few hours until I couldget something else to eat than
to get sick, to get migraines,to feel like I have the flu and
to have stomach issues and allthe things that go with getting
gluten on my end.
And so some tips you can do isask.
You know if they have Frenchfries.
Ask if you have a dedicatedfryer.
Also ask and make sure thattheir fries aren't coated with
(05:41):
wheat.
Sometimes fries are coated withwheat to make them extra crispy
.
You can also ask how do youprevent cross contact in your
kitchen?
Do you have a separate area toprepare my gluten-free food?
You can ask, like I said, tospeak with a manager or chef.
You might also want to ask say,you're getting a gluten-free
burger with a gluten-free bunyou want?
(06:02):
You're going to want to ask doyou toast the bun?
If so, where do you toast it?
One of the restaurants that Ilove around here.
I was getting sick occasionallyfrom it and we finally figured
out via me asking the waitresshey, do you guys toast your buns
in the same place that youtoast regular gluten buns?
And her eyes like went so wideopen because it dawned on her
(06:27):
that I was getting sick from thecross contact on the griddle
where they were toasting my bun,because they were toasting in
the same place.
So we just opted not to toastmy buns from there on and I was
fine.
So don't feel like you're aburden and don't feel like it's
an inconvenience.
It's more of an inconvenienceto you to get gluten than it is
(06:48):
to ask a few questions of themand get some honest answers.
So make sure that you're askingthose questions in restaurants
and even if it's a restaurantyou've been to multiple times,
don't feel bad double checking.
Hey, I want to make sure thatthis dish is gluten free.
We have a great restaurant herein Athens, ohio, that I love to
frequent.
They serve the best Turkish rubon a flat iron steak.
(07:12):
If you know me, you know whichrestaurant I'm talking about,
and they have a rice pilaf side.
Many times rice pilaf haslittle pieces of wheat grain in
it.
It has little.
I can't remember the technicalterm for the little pieces of
pasta, but there's little pastain it.
Well, this one doesn't do that,thankfully, so I can eat it,
but it doesn't hurt for me tocheck occasionally.
(07:34):
And then another mistake that Ihave made in the past is keeping
gluten in the house, I wouldn'tsay without boundaries, but
without everybody in the housecompletely understanding the
boundaries of what we can andcannot do with gluten in the
house.
When we have gluten in thehouse and you're celiac or
highly sensitive, it is reallyeasy to get cross-contaminated
(07:57):
from crumbs, accidental mix-ups,it can be really easy to get
those crumbs from.
You know, let's say you'redoing a peanut butter toast.
You know you dip your knife inthe peanut butter, you spread it
on your toast, you dip it backin the peanut butter to get more
because you didn't get enoughthe first time.
Or right there, you just putsome of those crumbs on that
toast back in the peanut butterdish.
(08:18):
Now if somebody does that withgluten toast, you're putting
gluten right back in the peanutbutter not dish but in the
peanut butter jar.
And the same thing goes forbutter.
I have gotten sick in the pastfrom butter dishes, from jelly
jars, from peanut butter jars.
I have even gotten sick fromwhen my youngest was little.
(08:38):
We didn't know he was celiacyet and needed to be gluten free
, and we would have regularpizza in our house.
Well, he was not very old so hedidn't have really good skills
at making sure his hands weren'tmessy, and so whenever we'd
have pizza in the house and hewould go open the fridge and get
a leftover slice of pizza, hewouldn't touch the handles of
(08:58):
the fridge.
And I would come along laterand get some of that piece of
grease on my hand and let's sayI had some crackers or some
chips, something that you wouldeat with your fingers.
I would then get gluten from itand we realized that this was
happening.
So if you can't have a strictlygluten-free kitchen, then I
would highly recommend you havespecific areas, designated areas
(09:19):
.
If you have little ones thatdon't quite understand the
protocols, then it might be agood idea to keep the gluten
containing items out of theirreach so that they aren't
randomly sprinkling it acrossyour kitchen like we had in our
house.
You can also create gluten-free,safe zones for gluten-free
foods, so specific areas in yourkitchen that only has
(09:39):
gluten-free foods in it.
You can also use color codedutensils or labels and set some
household rules.
It is for the safety ofeverybody.
We want to make sure thatyou're safe in your own kitchen.
You shouldn't fear eating inyour own house like I did.
It's just not.
It's not something that's goodfor your mental health.
(10:00):
To be honest with you, itcauses a lot of stress, not only
on you but also on your lovedones when you don't feel well.
So having these rules set asideif you have a mixed kitchen is
very important.
We now have a dedicatedgluten-free house, so that's not
an issue for us anymore, butbefore we found out that the
other children had it as well,it was an issue.
(10:21):
So you know, set those rules ifyou need to.
If you have to have a mixedhouse and make sure that you're
safe, it's okay to think and tolook out for yourself.
Now, another tip is it wasreally easy in the beginning to
ignore non-food gluten sources.
It's not something you thinkabout right away, so not
(10:42):
realizing that gluten could behiding in your lip balm, in your
supplements, especially inPlay-Doh.
Play-doh the brand name useswheat, or in medications,
shampoos, lotions.
Even if you eat clean, youcould potentially be either
putting stuff on your body thathas gluten and while that's not
(11:04):
directly ingesting it, manytimes that can still become
ingested Because, think about itmany times you'll, you know,
wash your hands and then maybeyou put some lotion on, or maybe
even the soap has gluten in it.
Well, let's say, you wash yourhands and you put lotion on
afterwards, because your handsget dry after you wash your
hands, like mine do.
Well, you just put lotion onyour hands.
(11:24):
Well, but your hands are cleanin your mind.
But then you decide to eat somegluten-free pretzels or some
gluten-free crackers.
Well, that lotion is going toget transferred to that food.
So when you eat it, if yourceliac are really sensitive,
you're going to get a little bitof gluten.
Exposure from that Lip balmobviously is a little bit more
obvious, because you're going tolick it off your lips.
Play-doh gets under yourfingernails, you know, in the
(11:47):
cracks of your hands it getseverywhere.
Medications that is one thatjust drives me absolutely
bonkers Whenever I have to beput on a new medicine for some
reason which, thankfully, I'mnot really on any medicine but
you know, occasionally I mighthave to need an antibiotic or
something like that.
It is so hard to find medicinesthat are gluten-free many times
(12:07):
, or it's hard for thepharmacist to know for sure
because they're not required tolabel them.
The pharmaceuticals are notrequired to label what starch
binder is in it.
So making sure you double checkwith your pharmacist my
pharmacist has gotten reallygood at looking through any
medicines I need to take and I'mactually also allergic to
polyethylene glycol, whichactually doubly affects my
(12:30):
ability to take medicines.
So making sure that anythingyou put on your body or in your
body is gluten-free is also veryimportant.
And there's also like a littlestory here Whenever COVID hit,
you know, obviously once theywent back to school, all our
school system put in.
You know all the handsanitizers everywhere to help
(12:52):
kill germs and things like that.
So I was very thankful Ourassistant band director at the
time I mean he knew both banddirectors knew our kids had
celiac.
But our assistant band directorhad found out because had found
out that the hand sanitizerthey were currently using had
wheat in it or had gluten in it.
I can't remember which form ofgluten, but it had gluten in it.
(13:13):
He found that out via anelementary school kid severely
reacted to the hand sanitizerand he was so kind to inform my
children to not use the school'shand sanitizer because he
didn't know which version of thehand sanitizer was in the
school system.
So it's wonderful to create asystem of people like that that
(13:34):
are also looking out for you andwho would have thought that
there would have been gluten inhand sanitizer.
How unnecessary I feel like thatis.
You know it should be mostlyjust alcohol and some sort of
gel system.
They must've used it as athickening agent, probably to
make it cheaper.
But even something as simple ashand sanitizer.
Honestly, when I go out to um,out and about, I bring my own
(13:57):
hand sanitizer rather than usingthe soaps in public bathrooms
because I don't know what's inthem.
I'm also sensitive to soy andthat's also a very common
ingredient in soaps and in handwell, not really in hand
sanitizers, but in soap.
So I always bring my own handsanitizer because I don't want
to be at a restaurant, wash myhands and then go eat my food
and have gluten on my hands andthat's how I get sick.
(14:18):
So I bring my own handsanitizer with me.
So you know, even considerdoing something like that if
your celiac are super sensitive.
Now another mistake that youmight make and this is something
that's pretty easy to makeearly on, especially when you're
not as versed at gluten-freecooking yet is relying too much
on packaged gluten-free foods.
Those packaged gluten-freefoods can be very expensive.
(14:41):
They're highly processedgluten-free alternatives.
They're not very healthy for us.
They can make you feel tiredand bloated and they might still
make you feel unwell becausethey might have extra sugar in
them or they might have extrasalt or extra preservatives or
anything like extra in it, justto help its shelf stability.
So build your meals aroundnaturally gluten-free whole
(15:04):
foods like fruits, vegetables,meats, legumes, if you tolerate
them rice, vegetables, potatoes,eggs, things like that Then you
can incorporate those.
I sometimes go a little too farand incorporate those a little
(15:24):
too much, because I missed somuch of that when I first went
gluten-free because I wasn'tvery versed in gluten-free
baking at first.
So sometimes I go a littleoverboard by making all the fun
goodies gluten-free and takingthe challenge on.
I love the challenge of makingsomething gluten-free and it
doesn't taste or have thetexture of gluten-free stuff.
(15:45):
It has more of the texture ofthe gluten food.
So I love that challenge.
So sometimes I go a little toofar and make too many yummies
and carb-heavy things.
But when you're starting out,use naturally gluten-free whole
foods.
It's going to save you a lot ofmoney and you're going to be
healthier.
It's just really, in general,much better for everybody in
this world is to eat whole foods.
(16:06):
So do that so you can saveyourself some money.
So that can be an easy trap tofall in, which is just replacing
things with a prepackagedgluten-free food.
So do your best to eat yourwhole foods instead.
And then another mistake that Ihave made over the early years
was not planning ahead, like notplanning ahead, assuming that
you can figure it out as you go,when you're on the go, whether
(16:29):
it's to a family member's house,whether it's on vacation or an
event.
So being stuck in an event withno safe food and you're hungry,
you're anxious, you know youdon't want to be in that
situation, and then you makesome mistakes that you know
probably might get you gluten,but you're so hungry you go
ahead and eat them.
(16:49):
So always plan ahead.
I mean, I know it seemsinconvenient, but I feel like
it's more inconvenient to feelsick for a few days than to.
You know, take 15 minutes andplan ahead what you're going to
do at that event.
Or you know, if you're going onvacation, maybe it takes you a
little bit more, like a half anhour, to plan.
But planning ahead is reallykey to one being healthy and
(17:12):
being less stressed and happierand really enjoying yourself at
that event, at that vacation, atthat family thing that you're
going to.
You want to bring the joy backinto your life and not be
stressed about whether you'regoing to be able to eat there.
So take the time to plan aheadthere.
You know, early on I didn't.
I regretted it pretty quicklyand that was a pretty quick
(17:34):
lesson I learned pretty fast.
Um, but that's still somethingyou need to think of and plan
ahead.
The gluten find me gluten-freeapp is really great for that,
and we actually have a specialcode or are going to re-engineer
listeners where you can get $5off your yearly subscription.
So look that up on your websiteif you would like to do that.
But it is a really helpful app.
(17:55):
We've been using it for many,many, many years and it helps us
when we are traveling to feel alot safer.
I don't think we've ever gottensick eating off a restaurant
from that app whenever it wasmarked as celiac safe.
Not all the restaurants onthere are marked as celiac safe.
Not all the restaurants onthere are marked as celiac safe
and they do.
You know.
Note that.
So look for that if you needceliac safe or not, you know.
(18:18):
If you're not that sensitive,you can just eat at one of the
gluten-free restaurants listed,but if you're, you know, celiac
or highly sensitive, then thatceliac safe mark is really key
there.
So, in general, everyone makesmistakes when going gluten-free.
It's unfortunately part of thejourney, but hopefully this
episode helps you make lessmistakes than I did when I
started going gluten-free.
(18:39):
But you want to learn from yourmistakes and share your
mistakes with other people whoneed to be gluten-free as well.
It makes it easier for othersand the biggest wins come from
knowledge, preparation andself-compassion.
So be compassionate withyourself.
Give yourself the grace thatyou need to and can plan ahead
and that that is okay and thatyou're going to work to not make
(19:02):
any of these mistakes thatwe've talked about on the
podcast episode so that we canhave a healthier, fuller, more
fun life being gluten-free,because it is possible.
Thank you for listening to thisepisode of the Gluten-Free
Engineer.
If you found value in thisstory, please share it with
someone who might needencouragement on their own
gluten-free journey.
(19:22):
For more tips, recipes,resources and even links to my
YouTube channel, head on over totheglutenfreeengineercom.
It's your one-stop hub to makegluten-free living simple, fun
and full of flavor.
And don't forget to subscribeso you never miss out on an
episode and we will see you nextweek.
The Gluten-Free Engineerpodcast is for informational and
(19:47):
entertainment purposes only.
I share my personal experiencesand stories about living with
celiac disease and navigating agluten-free lifestyle.
This podcast does not provide amedical advice.
Always consult with a qualifiedhealthcare professional for
medical questions, concerns oradvice specific to your health.
Quick reminder before we get started on this
episode this podcast is based onmy personal experiences and
isn't medical advice.
If you've just started yourgluten-free journey, or even if
you've been at it for a while,chances are you've made a few
mistakes.
I know I have, from trustingthe wrong labels to getting
gluten at restaurants tothinking I could wing it without
(00:20):
a plan.
I've learned a lot the hard way.
In this episode, I'm sharingthe top mistakes I made when
going gluten-free, what I wish Ihad known sooner and how you
can avoid the same bumps in theroad.
Welcome to the Gluten-FreeEngineer Podcast.
I'm your host, k Saunders.
In 2011, I was diagnosed withceliac disease a moment that
(00:41):
changed everything, but I wasdetermined not to let it hold me
back.
With my two engineering degrees, I set out to reverse engineer
the gluten-free lifestyle,breaking down recipes, safety
tips, travel hacks andeverything in between to rebuild
a life I love.
Whether you have celiac disease, gluten intolerance or simply
choose to live gluten-free, thispodcast is for you.
(01:02):
Join me each week as wesimplify the gluten-free
lifestyle, make it fun and provethat you don't have to miss out
on anything.
Welcome back to the show.
Today, we're talking about thetop mistakes I made when going
gluten-free to help you avoidthem.
The first area I want to touchon is that thinking gluten-free
the words on a label alwaysmeans that it's safe, and this
(01:24):
was one of my first mistakes Imade was that, believing if
something was labeledgluten-free it was actually safe
and automatically safe.
What I found, though, is thatnot all products labeled
gluten-free are certified ormade in a dedicated facility,
and I learned this actually witha really delicious pre-packaged
cookie that touted it wasgluten-free on the front.
(01:46):
What I found was, as I waseating this cookie I think it
might have taken the second timeI ate it for me to realize what
was going on I was realizing Iwasn't feeling good, so, like
the detective I am being anengineer I looked at the back of
the label and was like oh, itsays made in a facility that
also processes wheat.
So this was not certifiedgluten-free, it just had no
(02:08):
gluten ingredients.
So if you're celiac or highlygluten sensitive, you're going
to want to avoid anything thatsays made in a facility that
also processes wheat, and thisis something that I feel like is
something that needs to changeout there in the world.
Honestly, you don't labelsomething peanut free or milk
free or any of the otherallergens which I know.
(02:30):
Gluten's not technically anallergen, but it really affects
our body in a very severe waywhen you have celiac or highly
sensitive to it, and theyshouldn't be allowed to just
write gluten-free on there.
I always felt that it was notethical or right for somebody to
put gluten-free on a label whenit really wasn't technically
gluten-free.
(02:50):
First off, learn to read thefine print and make sure that it
doesn't say main facility withwheat if you're a sensitive or
if you're a celiac, because itcan cause issues.
Sometimes you might not noticeit Because sometimes that might
not have gottencross-contaminated.
Sometimes it might be a reallyactually big deal.
So always look for certifiedgluten-free products if you know
(03:12):
that you are celiac or you knowthat you're highly sensitive,
if you're gluten intolerant.
Another mistake I have made istrusting restaurants too easily.
It's really easy to assume thata gluten-free menu equals
gluten-free safety in arestaurant and that is just
absolutely far from the case.
What I learned is that not allstaff are trained in
(03:32):
cross-contamination, so youdon't know if they are going to
be good with handling your food,even if they have things marked
gluten-free and even if theyhave a separate gluten-free menu
.
Always make sure that you askthe server.
Then, if you're not comfortablewith the server's answer on how
well the kitchen does, then askto speak to the chef or a
(03:53):
manager.
It is not something that's youknow out of the blue to them.
They are used to people comingin with allergies.
They shouldn't have any problemtrying to accommodate you if
possible.
You shouldn't just assume it'llbe fine.
It's not necessarily fine.
I have made this mistake manytimes, thinking, oh, it'll be
(04:14):
fine, or you know, I think, well, I don't want to be a bother.
I don't want to be, you know,that person.
But what I found is, well, myhealth is a bit more important
than being that person.
I need to stand up for myselfand what's safe for me, just
like anybody else would, ifsomething that they eat wouldn't
be safe for them.
So don't look at yourself as aburden.
(04:35):
These people are there to serveyou.
That's their job, that's whatthey love to do, and they want
to have satisfied customers.
They want you to come back, sothey're going to want to try to
make it right for you and do agood job.
Now there have been times that Ihave gone to a restaurant and
they have said, no, you probablyshouldn't eat anything here,
(04:56):
and I was so grateful.
So if you are a server or achef actually listening to this
too, please don't feel badsaying that, especially if
somebody has celiac disease orhigh gluten intolerance.
We really appreciate yourhonesty so that we know that we
shouldn't eat anything there.
I would rather be hungry,honestly, and be inconvenienced
(05:19):
for a few hours until I couldget something else to eat than
to get sick, to get migraines,to feel like I have the flu and
to have stomach issues and allthe things that go with getting
gluten on my end.
And so some tips you can do isask.
You know if they have Frenchfries.
Ask if you have a dedicatedfryer.
Also ask and make sure thattheir fries aren't coated with
(05:41):
wheat.
Sometimes fries are coated withwheat to make them extra crispy
.
You can also ask how do youprevent cross contact in your
kitchen?
Do you have a separate area toprepare my gluten-free food?
You can ask, like I said, tospeak with a manager or chef.
You might also want to ask say,you're getting a gluten-free
burger with a gluten-free bunyou want?
(06:02):
You're going to want to ask doyou toast the bun?
If so, where do you toast it?
One of the restaurants that Ilove around here.
I was getting sick occasionallyfrom it and we finally figured
out via me asking the waitresshey, do you guys toast your buns
in the same place that youtoast regular gluten buns?
And her eyes like went so wideopen because it dawned on her
(06:27):
that I was getting sick from thecross contact on the griddle
where they were toasting my bun,because they were toasting in
the same place.
So we just opted not to toastmy buns from there on and I was
fine.
So don't feel like you're aburden and don't feel like it's
an inconvenience.
It's more of an inconvenienceto you to get gluten than it is
(06:48):
to ask a few questions of themand get some honest answers.
So make sure that you're askingthose questions in restaurants
and even if it's a restaurantyou've been to multiple times,
don't feel bad double checking.
Hey, I want to make sure thatthis dish is gluten free.
We have a great restaurant herein Athens, ohio, that I love to
frequent.
They serve the best Turkish rubon a flat iron steak.
(07:12):
If you know me, you know whichrestaurant I'm talking about,
and they have a rice pilaf side.
Many times rice pilaf haslittle pieces of wheat grain in
it.
It has little.
I can't remember the technicalterm for the little pieces of
pasta, but there's little pastain it.
Well, this one doesn't do that,thankfully, so I can eat it,
but it doesn't hurt for me tocheck occasionally.
(07:34):
And then another mistake that Ihave made in the past is keeping
gluten in the house, I wouldn'tsay without boundaries, but
without everybody in the housecompletely understanding the
boundaries of what we can andcannot do with gluten in the
house.
When we have gluten in thehouse and you're celiac or
highly sensitive, it is reallyeasy to get cross-contaminated
(07:57):
from crumbs, accidental mix-ups,it can be really easy to get
those crumbs from.
You know, let's say you'redoing a peanut butter toast.
You know you dip your knife inthe peanut butter, you spread it
on your toast, you dip it backin the peanut butter to get more
because you didn't get enoughthe first time.
Or right there, you just putsome of those crumbs on that
toast back in the peanut butterdish.
(08:18):
Now if somebody does that withgluten toast, you're putting
gluten right back in the peanutbutter not dish but in the
peanut butter jar.
And the same thing goes forbutter.
I have gotten sick in the pastfrom butter dishes, from jelly
jars, from peanut butter jars.
I have even gotten sick fromwhen my youngest was little.
(08:38):
We didn't know he was celiacyet and needed to be gluten free
, and we would have regularpizza in our house.
Well, he was not very old so hedidn't have really good skills
at making sure his hands weren'tmessy, and so whenever we'd
have pizza in the house and hewould go open the fridge and get
a leftover slice of pizza, hewouldn't touch the handles of
(08:58):
the fridge.
And I would come along laterand get some of that piece of
grease on my hand and let's sayI had some crackers or some
chips, something that you wouldeat with your fingers.
I would then get gluten from itand we realized that this was
happening.
So if you can't have a strictlygluten-free kitchen, then I
would highly recommend you havespecific areas, designated areas
(09:19):
.
If you have little ones thatdon't quite understand the
protocols, then it might be agood idea to keep the gluten
containing items out of theirreach so that they aren't
randomly sprinkling it acrossyour kitchen like we had in our
house.
You can also create gluten-free,safe zones for gluten-free
foods, so specific areas in yourkitchen that only has
(09:39):
gluten-free foods in it.
You can also use color codedutensils or labels and set some
household rules.
It is for the safety ofeverybody.
We want to make sure thatyou're safe in your own kitchen.
You shouldn't fear eating inyour own house like I did.
It's just not.
It's not something that's goodfor your mental health.
(10:00):
To be honest with you, itcauses a lot of stress, not only
on you but also on your lovedones when you don't feel well.
So having these rules set asideif you have a mixed kitchen is
very important.
We now have a dedicatedgluten-free house, so that's not
an issue for us anymore, butbefore we found out that the
other children had it as well,it was an issue.
(10:21):
So you know, set those rules ifyou need to.
If you have to have a mixedhouse and make sure that you're
safe, it's okay to think and tolook out for yourself.
Now, another tip is it wasreally easy in the beginning to
ignore non-food gluten sources.
It's not something you thinkabout right away, so not
(10:42):
realizing that gluten could behiding in your lip balm, in your
supplements, especially inPlay-Doh.
Play-doh the brand name useswheat, or in medications,
shampoos, lotions.
Even if you eat clean, youcould potentially be either
putting stuff on your body thathas gluten and while that's not
(11:04):
directly ingesting it, manytimes that can still become
ingested Because, think about itmany times you'll, you know,
wash your hands and then maybeyou put some lotion on, or maybe
even the soap has gluten in it.
Well, let's say, you wash yourhands and you put lotion on
afterwards, because your handsget dry after you wash your
hands, like mine do.
Well, you just put lotion onyour hands.
(11:24):
Well, but your hands are cleanin your mind.
But then you decide to eat somegluten-free pretzels or some
gluten-free crackers.
Well, that lotion is going toget transferred to that food.
So when you eat it, if yourceliac are really sensitive,
you're going to get a little bitof gluten.
Exposure from that Lip balmobviously is a little bit more
obvious, because you're going tolick it off your lips.
Play-doh gets under yourfingernails, you know, in the
(11:47):
cracks of your hands it getseverywhere.
Medications that is one thatjust drives me absolutely
bonkers Whenever I have to beput on a new medicine for some
reason which, thankfully, I'mnot really on any medicine but
you know, occasionally I mighthave to need an antibiotic or
something like that.
It is so hard to find medicinesthat are gluten-free many times
(12:07):
, or it's hard for thepharmacist to know for sure
because they're not required tolabel them.
The pharmaceuticals are notrequired to label what starch
binder is in it.
So making sure you double checkwith your pharmacist my
pharmacist has gotten reallygood at looking through any
medicines I need to take and I'mactually also allergic to
polyethylene glycol, whichactually doubly affects my
(12:30):
ability to take medicines.
So making sure that anythingyou put on your body or in your
body is gluten-free is also veryimportant.
And there's also like a littlestory here Whenever COVID hit,
you know, obviously once theywent back to school, all our
school system put in.
You know all the handsanitizers everywhere to help
(12:52):
kill germs and things like that.
So I was very thankful Ourassistant band director at the
time I mean he knew both banddirectors knew our kids had
celiac.
But our assistant band directorhad found out because had found
out that the hand sanitizerthey were currently using had
wheat in it or had gluten in it.
I can't remember which form ofgluten, but it had gluten in it.
(13:13):
He found that out via anelementary school kid severely
reacted to the hand sanitizerand he was so kind to inform my
children to not use the school'shand sanitizer because he
didn't know which version of thehand sanitizer was in the
school system.
So it's wonderful to create asystem of people like that that
(13:34):
are also looking out for you andwho would have thought that
there would have been gluten inhand sanitizer.
How unnecessary I feel like thatis.
You know it should be mostlyjust alcohol and some sort of
gel system.
They must've used it as athickening agent, probably to
make it cheaper.
But even something as simple ashand sanitizer.
Honestly, when I go out to um,out and about, I bring my own
(13:57):
hand sanitizer rather than usingthe soaps in public bathrooms
because I don't know what's inthem.
I'm also sensitive to soy andthat's also a very common
ingredient in soaps and in handwell, not really in hand
sanitizers, but in soap.
So I always bring my own handsanitizer because I don't want
to be at a restaurant, wash myhands and then go eat my food
and have gluten on my hands andthat's how I get sick.
(14:18):
So I bring my own handsanitizer with me.
So you know, even considerdoing something like that if
your celiac are super sensitive.
Now another mistake that youmight make and this is something
that's pretty easy to makeearly on, especially when you're
not as versed at gluten-freecooking yet is relying too much
on packaged gluten-free foods.
Those packaged gluten-freefoods can be very expensive.
(14:41):
They're highly processedgluten-free alternatives.
They're not very healthy for us.
They can make you feel tiredand bloated and they might still
make you feel unwell becausethey might have extra sugar in
them or they might have extrasalt or extra preservatives or
anything like extra in it, justto help its shelf stability.
So build your meals aroundnaturally gluten-free whole
(15:04):
foods like fruits, vegetables,meats, legumes, if you tolerate
them rice, vegetables, potatoes,eggs, things like that Then you
can incorporate those.
I sometimes go a little too farand incorporate those a little
(15:24):
too much, because I missed somuch of that when I first went
gluten-free because I wasn'tvery versed in gluten-free
baking at first.
So sometimes I go a littleoverboard by making all the fun
goodies gluten-free and takingthe challenge on.
I love the challenge of makingsomething gluten-free and it
doesn't taste or have thetexture of gluten-free stuff.
(15:45):
It has more of the texture ofthe gluten food.
So I love that challenge.
So sometimes I go a little toofar and make too many yummies
and carb-heavy things.
But when you're starting out,use naturally gluten-free whole
foods.
It's going to save you a lot ofmoney and you're going to be
healthier.
It's just really, in general,much better for everybody in
this world is to eat whole foods.
(16:06):
So do that so you can saveyourself some money.
So that can be an easy trap tofall in, which is just replacing
things with a prepackagedgluten-free food.
So do your best to eat yourwhole foods instead.
And then another mistake that Ihave made over the early years
was not planning ahead, like notplanning ahead, assuming that
you can figure it out as you go,when you're on the go, whether
(16:29):
it's to a family member's house,whether it's on vacation or an
event.
So being stuck in an event withno safe food and you're hungry,
you're anxious, you know youdon't want to be in that
situation, and then you makesome mistakes that you know
probably might get you gluten,but you're so hungry you go
ahead and eat them.
(16:49):
So always plan ahead.
I mean, I know it seemsinconvenient, but I feel like
it's more inconvenient to feelsick for a few days than to.
You know, take 15 minutes andplan ahead what you're going to
do at that event.
Or you know, if you're going onvacation, maybe it takes you a
little bit more, like a half anhour, to plan.
But planning ahead is reallykey to one being healthy and
(17:12):
being less stressed and happierand really enjoying yourself at
that event, at that vacation, atthat family thing that you're
going to.
You want to bring the joy backinto your life and not be
stressed about whether you'regoing to be able to eat there.
So take the time to plan aheadthere.
You know, early on I didn't.
I regretted it pretty quicklyand that was a pretty quick
(17:34):
lesson I learned pretty fast.
Um, but that's still somethingyou need to think of and plan
ahead.
The gluten find me gluten-freeapp is really great for that,
and we actually have a specialcode or are going to re-engineer
listeners where you can get $5off your yearly subscription.
So look that up on your websiteif you would like to do that.
But it is a really helpful app.
(17:55):
We've been using it for many,many, many years and it helps us
when we are traveling to feel alot safer.
I don't think we've ever gottensick eating off a restaurant
from that app whenever it wasmarked as celiac safe.
Not all the restaurants onthere are marked as celiac safe.
Not all the restaurants onthere are marked as celiac safe
and they do.
You know.
Note that.
So look for that if you needceliac safe or not, you know.
(18:18):
If you're not that sensitive,you can just eat at one of the
gluten-free restaurants listed,but if you're, you know, celiac
or highly sensitive, then thatceliac safe mark is really key
there.
So, in general, everyone makesmistakes when going gluten-free.
It's unfortunately part of thejourney, but hopefully this
episode helps you make lessmistakes than I did when I
started going gluten-free.
(18:39):
But you want to learn from yourmistakes and share your
mistakes with other people whoneed to be gluten-free as well.
It makes it easier for othersand the biggest wins come from
knowledge, preparation andself-compassion.
So be compassionate withyourself.
Give yourself the grace thatyou need to and can plan ahead
and that that is okay and thatyou're going to work to not make
(19:02):
any of these mistakes thatwe've talked about on the
podcast episode so that we canhave a healthier, fuller, more
fun life being gluten-free,because it is possible.
Thank you for listening to thisepisode of the Gluten-Free
Engineer.
If you found value in thisstory, please share it with
someone who might needencouragement on their own
gluten-free journey.
(19:22):
For more tips, recipes,resources and even links to my
YouTube channel, head on over totheglutenfreeengineercom.
It's your one-stop hub to makegluten-free living simple, fun
and full of flavor.
And don't forget to subscribeso you never miss out on an
episode and we will see you nextweek.
The Gluten-Free Engineerpodcast is for informational and
(19:47):
entertainment purposes only.
I share my personal experiencesand stories about living with
celiac disease and navigating agluten-free lifestyle.
This podcast does not provide amedical advice.
Always consult with a qualifiedhealthcare professional for
medical questions, concerns oradvice specific to your health.
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