Living Gluten Free is hard enough to do, without a hack or two to get you through!
A great find at Target today! I was so excited to find how big the Teal Pumpkin Project has grown since last year. The idea is that people who have allergy friendly treats to offer for Halloween will have a teal pumpkin on display so people with allergy issues know safe places to stop and trick-or-treat. Watch this short video on our YouTube channel.
Not 5 days ago I posted about the importance of labels and gluten-free certification in my blog post To be or not to be Certified Gluten-Free. What does that mean? (That’s our question.)
When I was surfing the internet for new gluten-free information I ran across several headlines about Jamie Oliver and his company labeling items GF that are not necessarily gluten free. Here’s a family friendly article I found during my search Jamie Oliver, celebrity chef Grub Street article
It is astounding to me that the Gluten Free certification label was treated like the gluten containing donut you were just handed at brunch!
My family loved watching Jamie Oliver on his Food Revolution show. He would go to school cafeterias and help the cooks serve healthier options for lunch that kids would actually eat. Being a teacher I enjoyed seeing healthy fresh options be devoured instead of scorned. I could not believe what I have read on several different sites. The TMZ article I read was particularly harsh-but not necessarily family friendly. If you read the article by Grub Street it talks about how callously Jamie Oliver and his company are treating the GF logo-here’s a side-by-side comparison from that same article.
It just further emphasizes several of the hacks I’ve shared already. Be your own advocate, know and read labels and if you are unsure-ask! Be sure to leave a comment below about what you think about this news. Watch what you eat and keep your gluten-free hacks close! Here are some family favorite certified gluten-free items we have in our cupboard.
Krusteaz Gluten Free Brownie Mix
Krusteaz Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffin Mix
Pamela’s Gluten-Free Pancake and Baking Mix
Namaste Gluten-Free Perfect Flour Blend
Most people don’t realize one of the major sources of cross-contamination in their kitchen is their toaster! Think about it, if you are moving your kitchen over from 100% gluten to gluten free there are so many things you have to buy-food, baking utensils, who wants to, or has the money to buy a new toaster? Or if you live in the real world, like we do, the majority of the family is not gluten free, but I am. And quite honestly it is just too expensive to buy gluten free for everyone, I’ve tried and the kids don’t mind it, but it’s just not affordable. So you could do several things;
I don’t know about you, but those don’t really work for me! So one day while I was exploring ways to get one of my favorite gluten free brands online (otherwise I had to drive 1/2 an hour away to get it) I discovered these! I have to say it was one of the most liberating days in my gluten free journey!
Toaster Bags! I had never heard of them before! It was amazing! I can still use a toaster that all those other gluten eaters around me use, but I won’t get sick!!!! So here’s some of my favorite features about them!
I pack my bread for my sandwich in it for work and sandwich fixings separately. I put my tuna melt together at work, put it back in the toaster bag and use the toaster at work. Voila-I have a safe for me sandwich, the mess is contained and the bag can be thrown in the dishwasher and used again!
Here is a link for the toaster bags that I use. The bags are good for roughly 50 uses, or when you start to notice excessive wear.
I love this hack, it has made my gluten free life so much easier!
One of the great things about becoming gluten free is the discovery of your favorite new gluten free bread. (I understand that if you didn’t have to live gluten free you wouldn’t have to find a “favorite new gluten free bread”, but the fun is in the discovery.). The bread that you can make sandwiches with, and take for lunch to work or school so you almost feel normal. Something to toast for breakfast or make garlic bread with on Italian dinner night.
I have discovered my new favorite several times since I’ve been diagnosed with Celiac Disease. Each time there have been very similar downsides to my the new favorite. I have found that most gluten free breads either dry out quickly or can mold just as quickly. It is so frustrating to spend extra money to eat gluten free just to throw it away. It has caused me years of trying to figure out a solution. Some breads freeze well, but then you have to think ahead to thaw it out. Another problem with freezing besides planning ahead is that unless it’s completely thawed out the bread breaks apart and is no longer big enough for your sandwiches.
So I came up with an idea that I am completely excited about and I can’t believe it took me so long to think of! It’s so simple it’s ridiculous. My gluten free hack for dealing with gluten free bread is to package serving sizes in ziplock bags. What I love about this is when I need bread for my lunch I just grab a ziplock baggie out, throw it my lunch box with my sandwich fixings and make my sandwich at work.
I’m sure you probably already came up with this hack- but just in case you didn’t…
And yes- my new favorite is Franz gluten free bread! 😊
Here is a quick list of some baking tips I’ve learned throughout the last several years.
So there are my quick gluten free baking tips. Hope they help!
Gluten Free Life Hacks 