Kitchen Tip Tuesday: Gluten Free Baking Tips

I'm still getting used to gluten-free baking.  After pulling my one million flours out of the freezer, it takes quite some time to measure them all out.  Gluten-free chocolate chip cookies are amazing though and totally worth it!

To minimize the mess and save time, if I know we like a certain recipe, I mix two batches of the flours at once.  In the photo above, I have one batch of chocolate chip cookies started in the bowl and another in the container with the blue lid.  I store the extra mixes in the refrigerator.  Having the dry ingredients ready to go makes baking much easier the next time.

Another time saver is to freeze some of the cookie dough in little scoops all ready to bake.  My only problem with this is that we eat them straight out of the freezer before I can bake them!  I also keep gluten-free bread in the freezer and just toast a few pieces at a time as we need them.

Thanks to The Healthy Gluten-Free Life for the above tips, and for the amazing chocolate chip cookie recipe!  Do you have any gluten-free baking tips to share?  Linked to Kitchen Tip Tuesday.

Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Guacamole Salad

This is such a simple idea, but I had never tried guacamole on salad before.  Delicious!

I love ranch.  Creamy, dairy-filled, can't eat it right now because I'm dairy free, ranch.  Italian dressing is okay, but sometimes I prefer something not so oily.  Surprisingly, the guacamole actually satisfied my creamy craving and was perfect on this salad.  The recipe is simple:

lettuce
bacon
tomatoes
guacamole
salsa
Pile on a plate and eat!

Easy Bacon:
Bake in a broiling pan at 400 for 20-25 minutes.  (Line the bottom of the pan with foil to catch the drips.)

Guacamole: (recipe from a friend who got it here)
2 avocados
2 Tbs lemon juice (or 1Tbs lime juice and 1 Tbs lemon juice)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin

Teaching Better Table Manners

I say the same three or four things over and over and over and over again each meal.

"Sit down."
"Take a bite."
"Lean forward."
repeat ad nauseam and occasionally throw in:
"No singing at the table, you're supposed to be eating."

One day I decided to put five pennies in front of each child's place.  I asked them what sort of things I have to tell them at the table.  They easily chanted off everything I repeat over and over at each meal, proving that they are listening to me, just not obeying all the time.  I told them that if I had to tell them something like that, I would remove a penny.  At the end of the meal, whatever pennies they had left would be theirs to keep.

We've done this a couple different times and had good success with it.  Tonight Lucy ate her meal in record time and cleared her plate and cup without being told!  (She's usually the one I have to remind to "Take a bite.")  Who knew would only take 15 cents for three better behaved children at the table?  If they get tired of the pennies, maybe I'll use chocolate chips occasionally.  This is actually a great motivator for me to keep my mouth shut too and not just repeat my phrases unless really necessary, because then I have to take a penny from them.

Do you have any fun ideas for encouraging better behavior?  We need to work on our bedtime routine and behavior too...

Learning To Ride A Bike

Lucy and Julia learned to ride their bikes today.  In an hour.  

They have had these bikes for two years now and have been riding with training wheels on.  We also have a Strider balance bike that they have both spent quite a bit of time riding.  I am absolutely convinced that it helped them learn to ride their bikes.  We were literally outside for only an hour today and both girls could get started, ride down the driveway, and stop without any help!  

Julia (4) has been asking for us to take her training wheels off.  Here Ross is giving her a pep talk.

He helped her up and down the driveway a few times.  Then, while he was busy doing something else, she got tired of waiting and tried it by herself!  Soon both girls were riding amazingly well without any help.  It was clear that riding the Strider really did teach them balance.  We only had one small crash into the lavender bush.

Lucy (almost 7) was nervous at first, but did great!

I'm so proud of them!  I can't believe that they both grew up so much today, so fast.

Esther (2) is just learning to ride the Strider this year.  By the end of summer, I'm sure she'll be zipping around on it in no time at all!  (And yes, we need to get more helmets.  We've outgrown them.  They were riding on the driveway.)

I already loved our Strider balance bike and today proved how awesome it is!  Check out my review and video clips of them just starting out.  Way to go, girls!