<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
 
Karen Bulmer wrote:
 
>I have 2 celiacs, myself and youngest son, and 3 non-celiacs, my husband
>and 2 other children in the family.
 
We are very similar.  We have two celiac children, and one non-celiac
child.  My wife and I are both non-celiacs.
 
>I still make all the stuff I used to make, scalloped potatoes, schitzel,
>beef stroganoff, hamburgers, meatloafs, lasagna, ie, gluteny foods but
>without the gluten.  I concocted recipes to come up with the same thing
>but with non-gluten ingredients.
 
We (er, mostly my wife) do the same.
 
>If we have soup and sandwiches, spaghetti, etc. I make two sets, one for
>the celiacs and one for the nons.
 
Now this is where we tend to differ.  Simply due to cost, we buy regular
bread for the three non-celiacs.  And we still buy non-GF cereals for the
three of us, due to cost.  But everything else in the house is gluten-
free.
 
>Many times my husband decides he doesn't like what we are eating and makes
>something of his own, which creates havoc...
 
I guess I'm too lazy to do that.  Actually, I have never felt like I was
"missing out" by eating mostly gluten-free even though as a non-celiac I
wouldn't have to.
 
>How do mixed families organize their meal times, eating arrangements,
>cooking arrangements?
 
This is our routine:
   Breakfast--generally cold cereal.  The non-celiacs eat cereals with
      gluten, because it is cheaper.  However, if we cook breakfast
      we make it all GF except for the toast.  If a special flavored
      GF bread (zucchini, etc.) has been baked, we all eat that.
 
   Lunch--if we have sandwiches, then the non-celiacs use regular bread.
      anything else (soup, etc.) is GF, including the crackers.
 
   Dinner--unless we eat at a restaurant, dinner is always GF.  It's
      much easier that way.  That means GF pasta, GF pizza, etc.
 
I really don't find it a hardship to eat gluten-free.  Our non-celiac
son doesn't mind either, and always wants a taste of any new GF bread
recipe.  He'd probably eat GF bread all the time if we'd let him.
 
I suspect part of the problem is psychological.  If you blindfold
someone, give them a class of lemonade, and then tell them it is milk,
they are likely to taste the lemonade and immediately think they are
drinking spoiled milk.  They will think it tastes bad because it is
not what they expected or are used to when they drink milk.  However,
if they were expecting lemonade, they would like it.  I believe such
is often the case with GF foods, particularly breads and pastas.  I
honestly enjoy the flavor of GF bread.  It is a DIFFERENT flavor than
wheat bread, but a good flavor none-the-less.  If you expect to find
GF foods that taste the same as their wheat-based counterparts, you
will often be disappointed.  But if you simply expect GF food to taste
good, then you will often succeed.  It's just a matter of perspective.
 
Jim Lyles ........ <[log in to unmask]> ........ Holly, Michigan, USA