The Shared Kitchen - Part 1

This is my first post in a series of how to create a shared kitchen for people on the gluten-free diet. A shared kitchen means that you have gluten-free people and non-GF people in the same household.

Also, leave a comment and let me know if you have any questions about this, or anything gluten-related that I can address in future blog entries. I’d love to help.

If you’re just getting started on the gluten-free diet, a kitchen makeover is essential. In the best case scenario, my advice would be to have a gluten-free household at least for a few months in order to help in the recovery of the person recovering from gluten-induced health problems. But that isn’t always possible.

If you have decided to have a shared kitchen, or having a completely GF kitchen just isn’t possible, there are some ways to make it work.

You will need:

- Safe ingredients and a safe place to store them.

- Safe cookware, bakeware and cooking utensils, and a safe place to store them.

- Safe cleaning items and a safe place to store them.

I guess the best place to start is an explanation of WHY all of this is necessary. The short answer is that gluten is sticky. It sticks to and in everything. Remember making paste out of flour and water in elementary school? Well, it’s the gluten that makes makes it stick.

Since gluten causes an autoimmune reaction (not an allergic reaction) in people who are intolerant to it, as soon as even a tiny amount of gluten enters your system that reaction starts. It’s more comparable to food poisoning than it is to an allergic reaction, because your immune system incorrectly thinks that gluten is a toxin and will do everything it can to get it out of your system.

It is very important for someone on the gluten-free diet to have complete understanding and cooperation when it comes to their food and food preparation. If not, their recovery will be slow and they may develop worsening symptoms or other related health problems.