Quick and Easy Gluten Free Banana Bread Recipe

by Jenny Irvine // March 24, 2016 // 1 Comment

Stress no more.. here is a Quick and Easy Gluten Free Banana Bread Recipe that will have your family asking for more.

Whether you are new to the gluten free world or been around for awhile like myself {5 years and counting for our family} – you likely have discovered one thing along the way; ‘things just don’t taste the same.’

Gluten free breads can often times be dry {to the point of choking..}, spongy, or so incredibly heavy you could surely use them to anchor a boat.

Quick and Easy Gluten Free Banana Bread

This recipe is actually so easy I recently made it with our two youngest sons for our weekly wednesday ‘kids in the kitchen’ time. We are always looking for hands on learning opportunities and what better place to do that than in the kitchen?

Gluten-Free; 10 Ways to Prevent Cross Contamination

by Jenny Irvine // May 14, 2014 // No Comments

Photo Credit; Stockvault

Probably one of the hardest things about maintaining a gluten-free lifestyle isn’t eating the “different” foods per-say- it is actually keeping a cross-contamination friendly atmosphere. This is especially important for those with Celiac Disease since the tiniest crumb can lay someone flat on their back for days. However, it is important to note this isn’t necessarily the case for all gluten sensitive individuals but, regardless I feel it is still important non-the less to know just how to eliminate these potential risk factors for their consumption safety.

Gluten-Free; 10 Ways to Prevent Cross Contamination

Label everything the black sharpie marker is your friend.
Freeze Gluten-Free flours in sealed bags/containers. It is important to make sure that these bags and containers seal tightly to eliminate any glutinous flour dust or potential food crumbs that may be lingering in the fridge or freezer. We store all of our gluten free flours in the freezer to help maintain their freshness.
Store gluten-free items on the top shelf of the fridge, freezer, and pantry to best eliminate the potential waterfall of crumbs that so often likes to trickle down to the bottom shelves. We have designated gluten free shelves and cupboards in our home especially since our GF consumers are only 5, 3, and 1 – I need them to “know” where their safe food is and how to find it if mom is not around.
Buy a new toaster or at a minimum use a different assigned gluten-free slot if cross contamination issues are not as severe. The two left slots of our toaster are designated “gluten-free“. Only gluten-free items get toasted in there and we frequently clean the entire toaster of remaining left over crumbs.
Never use a pan, skillet, or grill that has been used to prepare non gluten free meals. All pots, pans, grills, and utensils must be washed thoroughly before cooking gluten-free meals. One of the easiest ways to identify GF cooking utensils, flour sifters, and cutting boards is to have an entirely new set in a different color- or, at a minimum label the handles to eliminate any potential confusion. Gluten is tricky and those tiny food particles can hide in the most unlikely of places.
NO double dipping- ever. This includes butter, peanut butter, jams, jellies, dips, mayonnaise, and other condiments. The knife, spoon, or any other utensil used to spread, dollop, or sample should never meet the jar or container twice. This is a huge potential cross-contamination mishap.
There is no such thing as safely removing croutons from a salad, bun from a burger, or cracker crumbs that once had a place on the plate. The residual crumbs can still cause big problems. The only thing that is safe is for the two to never meet.
Hand washing and changing gloves are a must when handling gluten-free food. Restaurants, school cafeterias, camps, and family gatherings often have non gluten free food near by as a necessary precaution before handling the gluten-free food good hygiene should always be practiced.
Aluminum foil and disposable serving items – I just love the stuff. Ok, so cooking on aluminum is not my “ideal” or preferred way of cooking but it is a sure fire way to keep my kids safe and make for an easy clean up. Yes, I could go buy new cookie sheets, muffin tins, and the like but for now the disposable lining products have been a life saver. Of course makes sure the tray has been thoroughly cleaned prior to use but then proceed to line it with foil to help further protect against any remaining sticky gluten particles. Paper plates although not the most Eco-friendly certainly can help eliminate the risks of lingering crumbs.
Cook and serve your gluten-free guests first. My daughter (Crafty-bee) absolutely loves this – she thinks it is great that she always gets served before anyone else- it doesn’t matter whether it is a birthday, family gathering, or just everyday meals. The best and seriously the easiest way to prevent gluten cross-contamination issues is make the gluten-free meal and then get rid of it as soon as possible. The shorter the food remains on the counter the less likely other non-safe lingering gluten crumbs have to contaminate the dish.

How do you keep your gluten-free kitchen safe? I love hearing from you and read every comment. Your words encourage me as I hope mine do the same for you. Some of these tips may seem like a no brainer- while, others might seem almost impossible to wrap your head around. Once you get in a routine, label everything, and have your food storage under control rest assured your cooking, baking, and entertaining life will be as easy as it once was- like anything new there is simply a learning curve.

Behind The Scenes; Parenting Food Sensitive Kids

by Jenny Irvine // May 13, 2014 // No Comments

I sit here another night-another belly ache. What caused it this time? I replay the events of the day. What did he eat? What did she touch? What could possibly be the problem this time?

He lays quiet in my arms but simultaneously fidgets here and there. She lays next to me in bed scratching and ferociously kicking her feet. With an occasional arched back and an out cry of pain from him or a murmur from her. I want to give them comfort, but how? I bounce, pat, swaddle, and sing sweet nothings in their tiny ears.

This is the life of a mother with a child who has various food intolerance’s. You feed them and ‘think‘ your doing it right, but then one wrong move- bam, your back in that dark place. Just you and them. Hoping and praying for answers, cures, relief, and normalcy. What the heck is normal anyways? I seem to have forgotten what that is somewhere between baby one and four.

Life spins by and tomorrow will bring a new slate. The night will ‘cure‘ the problem-while, coffee and Jesus will sustain me through my day. Although, the nights events will continue to haunt me throughout the day-“what did I do?” “What could I have done differently?” The truth is-likely nothing.

Who would have thought-food, the vary thing that fuels our bodies could be such a headache. If we put the wrong gas in our vehicle we’re not going to get vary far-now, are we? Similarly, when we eat processed foods that were never ‘made’ to fuel our bodies in such a fashion we our limiting our capacity to fully live. Our ability to move, function, and process information clearly can all become severely altered as a direct result from our ‘fuel‘ intake.

However, what if your doing it right? You are choosing the ‘right‘ foods, eating a clean, well balanced diet?

Unfortunately, there are a lot of factors to take into account genetics, pollution, nationality, and living conditions just to name a few. We can choose to be healthy, raise healthy families, and hope for the best-but, at the end of the day we are left with just that; hope.

Sitting in a quiet house at night one can’t help but reflect and find hope in all that surrounds them. A chance to live fully, humbly, honestly, and purely. Despite, the cards not always being stacked up the way we might haven envisioned- it’s a ‘full house‘ –full of hope.