Some more helpful tips...

Well, I want to talk some more about gluten...

Gluten is tinier than microscopic, so it can into the smallest scratches in plastic, metal and glass and in places that you've never thought of, like between the tines of your forks, in the beaters on your mixers and on wooden utensils.  Contrary to popular belief it is NOT like a germ that can be killed off with heat or chemicals.  So dishwashers aren't any more effective in cleaning dishware than handwashing is in this case.  That is why I STRONGLY recommend having a separate set of pots, pans, storage containers, cooking utensils, silverware, anything that contacts your food, especially if you are cooking your food in it.   As long as counters are not badly scratched, they can be cleaned well, and be safe.  I also use a glass cutting board and cooling racks if I am not certain about the counter I am using or if it is a shared space.  I have one counter that is used for cooling foods and I use cooling racks for all the gluten free cookies and the counter itself for non-gluten free cookies.  We use a lot of wax and parchment paper and scrub everything very well.

When it comes to cooking and baking both GF and non-GF foods, I also do NOT cook both on the same day at the same time.  Ideally, I get to cook GF foods on one day, and non-GF foods on another.  If not, then I prepare the GF foods first, and the non-GF foods last.  You also have to be extremely careful when preparing non-GF foods that you do NOT let the ingredients get co-mingled.  For example:  Be very careful NOT to let your wheat flour go fluffing up into the air and then land all over GF foods and spaces.  And after you prepare non-GF foods, clean all surfaces whether you used them or not to avoid cross-contamination.

That is why when some products and restaurants have GF foods offered, you still have to be extremely careful b/c if a restaurant fixes a salad for a non-GF diner, and tosses on some croutons and a couple fall into the lettuce or on the counter, and then your salad is made next out of the same lettuce or your meal is prepared on the counter and it isn't cleaned well in between, then you've been exposed to gluten.  When a food producer uses their production lines to produce a non-GF product and then prepares a "gluten-free" product, there's cross-contamination again.  There are safe cleaning and manufacturing guidelines, and a lot of the companies that produce both GF and non-GF items practice them, but some do not.  That is why I spend a lot of time on the phone with companies trying to learn what their guidelines are, and if they change regularly.  And in the end, they are still just guidelines, not laws...

The last thing for tonight is that you must be aware of gluten hidden in things you never dreamed of it being in. Gluten is used as a binder in almost everything out there, like coffee filters, tea bags, paper towels, paper plates, tissues, etc.  We don't use coffee filters, but Celestial Seasonings have a great line of affordable and GF teas, and we use Bounty Paper towels.

Hope everyone is well, and healing!  As always, I welcome questions and comments anytime!!  Have a great evening...