My sister was recently diagnosed with celiac, too. It makes things pretty challenging.

When the diagnosis came in, we went into purging mode. First, we had to get rid of all porous cookware and implements. This included any plastics with scratches, wooden spoons, spatulas, boards, my entire cast iron collection :-( toasters, electric griddles, skillets, mixers, blenders, towels, potholders, washcloths...pretty much everything that was not smooth glass or non-porous metal. Friends and relatives got all of this. Second, we got some boxes, and put all of our food in them, including dry, frozen, and canned food and all boxes and containers, even non-food like ziplock bags and similar supplies which had contact with airbourne flour, and gave it all to my son and some neighbors. Third, We removed all remaining plates, bowls, flatware, etc and ran them through the dishwasher. Fourth, we washed all the walls, counters, floor, cabinet interiors refrigerator, stove, microwave, upgraded our home air filter...It's a little scary to go from 'equipped' to virtually nothing edible. I'll detail our recovery on another post.

Our recovery to everyday level was slow, tedious, and expensive, and our emergency preparations seriously lagged, as we had to learn how to rebuild our kitchen and home pantry supply first. Trips to the grocery store that would normally take an hour, would now take three. Each and every label had to be read for allergin disclaimers, or crypto glutinous ingredients like malt, or dextrose, yeast, 'broth', starch, hydrolyzed protein and on and on. From scrutinizing labels, we learned some interesting things, like Walmarts Organic Mixed Berry Jam not only contains wheat, it has anchovies....yum. We also learned that some fresh chickens contain 15% 'broth', which is just starchy water placed there for the sole purpose of charging chicken prices for water. Lastly, we learned that most gluten free processed food is a slippery tasteless abomination at 4X the price of it's normal counterpart. So to conclude, we have learned what we can eat (I say 'we' because I cannot bring any gluten into the house for myself). We have refilled our pantry and freezer with safe canned and frozen vegetables, canned and frozen meat and fish, Bush's beans in many varieties, rice and corn based safe products, and fresh fruit and vegetables. We have even found a few brands of rice pasta noodles that are marginally edible. Over the course of the year as funds permitted, I replaced all of my essential cast iron pieces, and learned to make some old favorites with strange flours and ingredients. Our kitchen food supply is back to a new normal, and our emergency food supply has recovered to about three weeks worth and now revolves around dry beans, dry rice, canned beans (Bush's is gluten free, many others are not), canned meat and fish, Hormel chili, veggies especially tomatoes, canned or asceptic pak rice, potatoes, and wild rice. It has gotten easier, but we can never let down our guard. I think we're OK now.

Yeah, it doesn't take much of a trace to do serious harm.

Good to have you back, Byrd_Huntr, and thank you very much for sharing that. Good stuff to know.

Byrd-Hunter,

Wow, I understand what you've been (and are) going through. Congratulations on finding out what it was and being able to address it so completely.

My daughter in law was diagnosed Celiac some time back and it was a real learning experience for all of us (large family gatherings needing special menu items prepared in a separate area from anything else being a prime example). The pantry at their house contains a lot of foods that are expensive and do not taste at all familiar. We were all shocked at some of what (like you) our son told us that they had to do (changing cookware, tossing pantry, deep cleaning etc.)

Fortunately my grandson does not seem to have the issue and he is able to visit me and eat, but I do make sure that he has a complete change of clothes to go back home with so that I can ensure that he does not inadvertently bring any allergens back to his Mom.

Dining out with her is also an adventure, there are few restaurants that really seem to have a grip on the seriousness of Celiac.

In our experience Chik Filet is generally pretty good about handling requests for special orders for her, but it is still hard to ensure that packaging / handling does not cross contaminate items.

We've noticed in the south Fla area that more stores are starting to stock specialty food items for Celiac sufferers, however as you've already commented, pricing and taste remain more than slightly problematic.

Best wishes to your family,

Regards,
Comanche7

Thank you for your kind words. It's readily apparent that you understand the physical and social impacts that this issue has on a person, a family, and their circle of friends, and you all are cooperating and coping.

The reason I bring all this up on a prepping website is that it raises some important issues:

1. How do you prep for large scale emergencies when the most common household foodstuffs and commercial emergency food like Mountain House, Wise, and Mainstay are not an option?

2. What have food industry mega corps like Monsanto and ADM and their geneticists done to our food supply? Is this the reason for an upswing in fatal peanut allergies and an estimated 3 million people with celiac and another 9 million gluten intolerant?

3. If it weren't for gov't mandated allergin labeling, we wouldn't know the extent of cross-contamination of our food, at least for the required allergins. What about other allergins and contaminants?

4. If the food industry cannot keep anchovies and wheat out of organic berry jam, or other organic contaminants out of frozen fruit or green beans, how can they keep viruses, chemical contaminants, and rat feces out of it?

Byrd-Hunter,

Something else that I've thought of to help my family is to purchase a Harvest Right Freeze Dryer. [standard disclaimer, I have no relationship with the company aside from being a potential customer].

Yes, these units are rather expensive (many of us would need to use their time payment plan) AND these units DO HAVE a few "quirks" that the operator needs to be aware of prior to purchase / use (examples - vacuum pump oil changes, minor maintenance etc. -- do a google search of "HARVEST RIGHT FREEZE DRYER ISSUES" for a better understanding.

Harvest Right was quick to respond and communicate informatively with me regarding answers that I specifically asked as a result of my research. They do seem to be proactively improving their product and I believe that in the long run, they may be an answer to helping my family to be prepared with familiar, home cooked meals using KNOWN products and sources that can be tolerated by our resident Celiac, with meals that she oversees and prepared herself.

Having these prepackaged freeze dried meals of her own creation available to take on trips and just in general to have a fast meal by adding water and heating will be of great benefit. Obviously these units can help many others with the more mundane aspects of being prepared as well and it would be nice to have foods properly prepared without all the additives etc. available for long term storage when properly packaged with oxygen removers, mylar bags and vacuum sealing or placing in cans or jars.

I've asked my son to research his insurance company to see if there is any possibility of re-numeration for such a purchase since this is obviously a well documented health issue. We'll see how that goes and my gut tells me that it will still wind up being a personal purchase.

Like any other specialized tool or piece of equipment, the operator needs to carefully follow the operating instructions for proper use and safety. At several thousand dollars per unit, they are out of reach of many, but they certainly seem to have their use. I look forward to getting it when the time comes that I can make my last payment.

This post is NOT MEANT in a negative manner towards Harvest Right, they've produced a product that the market is sadly lacking in such equipment for home use, and in certain cases may be very beneficial health wise for those with medical issues we've discussed. Just wanted to share info that I researched and your mileage may vary.

Regards,
Comanche7

Thank you for that...It would be a nice addition to our arsenal. We have a dehydrator, so we can dry meat for later use, but it would be nice to have more options for every day use and for prepping.

I used to keep a dozen or so cans of the B4 Canned Poundcake handy back in the days when C-rats were still available. No doubt it would have only been a trivial pleasure. But then, that was back in the 70's. . .

Granted, it was not a prudent choice, but they were in the car kit.