Easy Steps To Set Up A Safe Gluten-Free Kitchen- Guide and Tips

In this article, dietitian Tiffany Torok, MA, RDN, discusses Easy Steps to Set Up a Safe Gluten-Free Kitchen. Suppose you or a family member have Celiac or Gluten Intolerance. This informative article will walk you through the steps of starting a gluten-free kitchen, whether you live alone or share your kitchen with family members.

When I was first diagnosed with celiac disease, not only was I confused about what to eat, but I was also confused about what I was supposed to keep or toss in my kitchen. Current research only confuses things more. While the research may still be trying to define what quantifies and qualifies as safe for cross-contact for those of us with celiac disease or severe non-celiac gluten sensitivity, given that the only treatment for managing our condition is strict adherence to a gluten-free diet, the burden falls on us to protect ourselves from getting sick. Our kitchen should be the safest place for us to eat.

Even though getting in right away to see a registered dietitian may not be available to everyone who gets diagnosed with a condition that requires strict adherence to a gluten-free diet, some steps can be taken at home to avoid cross-contact with gluten, even if you are sharing a kitchen with others who are still gluten eaters. 

Navigating a New Gluten-Free Normal

I encourage my patients and their families to find the best substitutions for the gluten-containing foods they used to love. That way, when they are craving something, instead of “cheating,” they can indulge that craving with a safe gluten-free option and move on from it.

For me, learning how to cook gluten-free foods helped me to move on from my grief over my celiac disease and what I was missing out on. It allowed me to feel safe and confident in what I was putting into my body.

For families who are navigating this new normal, it helps to make a plan before going to the store, identify their favorite foods to eat together, and make those foods gluten-free for everyone to enjoy so the family member who needs to eat gluten-free can feel included and as normal as possible while adjusting to this enormous change. 

Why It’s So Important To Keep a Safe Gluten-Free Kitchen and Why Cheating is NOT an Option

Two recent studies, one from the UK and one from Brazil, show how gluten-free food can be contaminated with wheat flour if prepared simultaneously in the same kitchen (Miller, Mcgough, & Urwin, 2016) (Farage et. al., 2018).

This is of enormous concern to people with both celiac and gluten intolerance because the amount of gluten that it takes to elicit an autoimmune response is so small, with only 10-50 mg/day of gluten being able to cause damage to the lining of the small intestine in people with celiac disease. Although a recent study disputes that it is necessary to use separate utensils when preparing gluten-free and containing foods, it fails to account for typical living situations that are not sterile nor subject to repeated exposure (Studerus et al. (2018).

Only We Can Keep Our Diet Free of Gluten

It is essential to remember that the treatment burden for these diseases falls on those living with the conditions and those we entrust to prepare food for us, which takes trust. In other words, we can only keep ourselves safe and our diet free of gluten.

• Provide all the food yourself – this can be difficult and expensive and isn’t an option for everyone.
• Limit who brings food to a few trusted family members or friends whom you can entrust to prepare safe, gluten-free foods but still have the whole celebration be gluten-free.
• Allow a mix of gluten-containing foods prepared by guests who are not gluten-free savvy and place them separately from the gluten-free items made by either you or trusted friends and family, clearly labeled, with their utensils, at the end of where food will be served and make sure you inform your guests not to use the serving utensils for anything else.

Keeping a Safe Gluten-Free Kitchen Step-by-Step

Refrigerator

When you are diagnosed, go through your refrigerator and throw out items that could have come into cross-contact with containing foods such as jams, butter, mayo, etc., if you are planning on making the entire kitchen gluten-free, or label them as gluten-containing if having a shared kitchen. Also, clean your refrigerator with hot, soapy water. If you are going to have a shared kitchen, dedicate a fridge shelf as gluten-free.

Toaster

When you are newly diagnosed with celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity, purchasing a dedicated gluten-free, separate toaster is essential. There will be no way to safely clean a toaster of all gluten-containing food particles in a previously used toaster. Toaster bags are available on the market, but I recommend saving your money and using those for vacations only. While a recent research study tried to replicate cross-contact in a shared toaster and was unable to determine the threshold for what was considered safe, what they failed to do was follow families who used a shared toaster day in and day out and then test the individuals who have celiac disease for evidence of disease activity (Weisbrod, et. al., 2020).

This is your chance to buy that fun, bright-colored toaster you have always wanted and declare it yours!

Counters

It is good practice to clean kitchen counters after every use with hot, soapy water and a kitchen sponge. This is especially important for a shared kitchen to avoid gluten exposure from cross-contamination. You can purchase sponges in bulk from big box stores.

Pots and Pans

Stainless steel and other pots and pans without accumulated gluten contamination can be washed in hot, soapy water and used to cook gluten-free items such as gluten-free pasta and other foods. Most people do not have to purchase new ones when newly diagnosed.