How do I know what tools you need in your gluten-free, dairy-free kitchen?
We were unexpectedly forced to have a gluten-free, dairy-free kitchen.
My oldest son was sick from the start. From the unexpected C-section, to the drastic weight loss, to the constant, full-body rash, and chronic respiratory infections… he struggled.
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We spent so much time and money trying to alleviate his suffering. It’s a very long story, full of ups and downs, that I will tell one day. However, for today, I’m talking about one of the things we learned, is that he had to become gluten and dairy free.
I was always the one that… shall we say… lacked domestic skills. My house was clean, but that had more to do with OCD than any domestic bone in my body.
But that’s the funny thing about having kids. Before you know it, you’re forced into challenges you never expected. For me, one of those challenges was figuring out not only how to be passable in the kitchen… but to be proficient in a gluten-free, dairy-free kitchen.
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For a rookie like me, this was terrifying. But soon, I found out this was not only necessary for my son… but for me. I was diagnosed with hashimotos a few months after my oldest son was born. This is another long story that I will post about soon, but for today’s post…. this meant that I, also, had to become gluten free and dairy free.
And we were surprised again, when my second son turned 1, and we found out he also could not eat dairy.
I don’t know why I was surprised at this point. I actually think the most surprising thing is that my daughter (our youngest) has no food allergies at all.
Whether I liked it or not… things were about to get real in the kitchen, and I had no choice but to figure. It. Out.
The Tools You Need In Your Gluten-free, Dairy-Free Kitchen
I found out through trial and error that there are some things that you just need in your kitchen when you find out you have to eat gluten free and dairy free. I struggled my way through, and decided it wasn’t worth the struggle just trying to “make it work” with the basic supplies I had before.
The whole point of blogging on topics like this is to try and make it easier for the people who come after us with the same issues. I want to help you as you adjust to having a gluten-free, dairy-free kitchen. Here’s the list of tools that helped me make the switch to the gluten-free, dairy-free kitchen.
I use this thing every day. Sometimes I just use the blender, sometimes I just use the food processor, and some days I just use the smoothie cups. But, honestly… Most days I use at least 2 of the three.
The blender is powerful and efficient. Before the Ninja, I was using a regular blender that I bought for like $40 bucks. I look back now and think WHAT A WASTE OF TIME. The Ninja can do anything.
Most mornings, I have a smoothie for breakfast. For this, I use the individual smoothie cups. I make my family a big breakfast based on eggs from our pastured hens, but for some reason, I love a smoothie in the morning. Since I’m just making a smoothie for one, the smoothie cups are so much more convenient. Especially if you’re like me and dislike doing more dishes than you have to. There’s a post coming soon with my favorite breakfast smoothie recipes! Subscribe now so that you can get the recipes sent straight to your inbox.
The food processor attachment is also amazing. I do all sorts of things with the food processor, including shredding garden veggies for preserving, making almond butter, making relish, soups… the list is endless.
The Ninja kitchen system is definitely a purchase that has made life in my gluten and dairy free kitchen MUCH easier.
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The instant pot is absolutely amazing for so many things. For a gal like me who often forgets to take meat out of the freezer to thaw… it’s a life saver. Or perhaps it’s enabling my bad habits. Whatever. It’s probably best not to think too deeply about such matters.
There’s pretty much nothing you can’t do with the instant pot.
Another one of my personal favorites with an instant pot is making bone broth. When my son was constantly sick, I basically had a bone broth factory in my garage. I was using 4 crock-pots at a time.
I would do beef bones for 2 days, and I would do chicken bones for 24 hours…. and I never stopped. My son could really only tolerate broth, and we were eating it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It was absolutely constant. And exhausting.
The instant pot changed that whole scenario. Now when I make chicken bone broth, it takes 2 hours. 2 hours, people! That’s a major improvement over 1-2 days. And I’ve read research that states that when you make bone broth in an instant pot, the histamine content is lower. This is good, because so many people with “leaky gut” have a histamine sensitivity.
Scroll to the bottom of the page to find access to a free printable for my go-to bone broth recipe.
Another great thing to use the instant pot for in your dairy-free, gluten-free kitchen is coconut yogurt. Click this link to find a great recipe from The Primal Desire.
Because of this, I was always scared to use sharp knives. However, one day, after trying to cut open a particularly stubborn cabbage with my dull knives, I was DONE. I was tired of being mad at cabbage, and I knew it wasn’t the cabbage… it was my knives. And really, it wasn’t my knives fault. It was my fault for being so stubborn and cheap.
You know what I discovered when I switched to good knives? Less cuts. Less band-aids. And less of
If you’re looking for a more budget knife set than what I linked above, I’ve been told that the Chicago Cutlery knives are also a great product at a great value.
If you’re truly going to thrive in your gluten-free, dairy-free kitchen, stop slicing yourself open with dull knives. Invest in some good ones, and save a thumb.
4) A Toaster that is just for gluten-free goodies
This one took us a while to figure out for some reason. Maybe you’re all smarter than me, but I realized that my expensive, gluten-free bread was being contaminated with gluten in the toaster.
My husband was still eating wheat bread, and we were toasting all our bread in the toaster like it was no big-deal, and all was merry and bright.
But no. You need a toaster that has not been exposed to gluten. You need this so that you do not gluten yourself or anyone else in your family that shouldn’t be glutened.
And don’t waste your time with a 2-slicer if your gluten-free, dairy-free kitchen is feeding a family. You know you need the 4-slicer.
There’s 2 reasons for this.
- Gluten-free, dairy-free food is expensive.
- Store bought gluten and dairy free food is full of all sorts of junk that you and your family do not need in your bodies.
So bake you will. I was using a hand mixer for a long time, and baking was my nemesis. If you know me well, you know that baking is still not my favorite activity, but I get it done.
The kitchen aid mixers are amazing, and come in so many colors, so you’ll find the one that suits your dairy-free, gluten-free kitchen perfectly.
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Those are the major tools you need to add to your gluten-free, dairy-free kitchen.
If you’ve read this far, I want to reward you with a special gift! Fill in the form below, and you’ll get access to my tried-and-true bone broth recipe, nicely formatted to be printed and added to your recipe book.
Need more gluten-free tips? Check out this post I wrote on all-natural makeup… it’s gluten-free!
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