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?

5 Ways to Throw An Allergy Safe Birthday Party

by Jenny Irvine // June 17, 2014 // No Comments

gluten free, allergies, gfree, food, family, birthday, celebrations, graduation

Photo Credit; 74 lime lane

My little guy’s 4th birthday was just last week and I’m happy to report he recently has made great strides in the food sensitivity department. He has been taken off his gluten free diet (well, kind of) we don’t eat a ton of it anyways because of our other children but he has also been able to consume small amounts of dairy- whoohoo praising God for small strides in the right direction. We celebrate the big and small things around here.

I did however, find myself in a bit of a party planning hick-up as I planned for his upcoming birthday party. How do I even begin to plan for all these allergy sensitive kids?

Chances are pretty good whether you are hosting a kids birthday party or back yard BBQ for friends, and family- you will now days likely be serving a guest or two with a food related allergy or intolerance.

Is it our heavily processed food diets? The pollution? Or better medical advances – who knows? It is what it is. “According to a study released in 2013 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, food allergies among children increased approximately 50% between 1997 and 2011.”

5 Ways To Throw An Allergy Safe Birthday Party

Provide the food menu to guests in advance -when sending out the invitations put the main menu right on there. Now days, that is as important as having the address location of the party. Let mom or dad decide for themselves if little Johnny is going to need an alternative snack, main coarse, or dessert.

Save every food label and clearly label everything– whether your setting out crackers, chips, or dip–save all labels. This just makes life a whole lot easier there is no questioning or second guessing “what” is in a particular dish. Also, when serving up all those fun finger foods, main dishes, and desserts it’s especially helpful to label them with cute little tags notifying reading guests what exactly is on that fancy platter.

Show respect to your allergy sensitive guests without making a scene– it is always a kind gesture to greet all the guests as they arrive- a warm greeting, a word of thanks for coming, and a brief instruction of where “safe” foods are located is especially helpful and very well received without making a huge scene and embarrassing your guest.

Snack and finger food control – be mindful of what snacks you are serving and where they are located. If you have gluten sensitive or celiac guests attending it maybe best to leave their snacks in a completely different location (i.e indoors) . This includes goodie bags- kids love that special treat at the end of the party-but, why not make it a container of bubbles, a set of sidewalk chalk, or crayons and coloring book instead of that traditional candy bag- I personally can not stand candy treats- they have literally been ban from our house (I know-I’m so mean) but honestly the crying over what the kids can and can’t have is torture on the entire family–it’s totally not worth the hassle. I will gladly wear the “mean mom” card for this one.

Accept help– instead if stressing over serving all the “right” foods if an allergy sensitive child’s parent offers to help with something- accept the offer. Save yourself the hassle of making sure it is all “right”. They are offering to see that your child has a successful party and that their child’s needs are efficiently met. They aren’t offering to be nosey or over step their boundaries- they truly want to help. So, accept it but don’t abuse it.

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.