GF Banana bread

About four years ago we found out that Dan was a Celiac. This means he is not supposed to eat any Gluten. Its not life and death its more like he gets sick and has aches and pains throughout his body. It stinks! Since he has been gluten free he has had less pain and feels much better. I have been experimenting with recipes and have found some ways around this obstacle. I am the wife and mother that  makes as much food as possible for my family in hopes of raising healthier children and being healthier myself. At first I was discouraged because I make everything out of whole wheat that I grind myself. After a while i started facing this new challenge with hope of continuing to make food for my family.
 Something I want everyone to now that I learned through baking Gluten Free is you can almost always use a traditional recipe and tweak it a little to make it gluten free. This discovery has totally helped me, like a lot! this is how I would do it... Say a regular recipe calls for two cups of flour and all the other ingredients are the basics like salt and baking soda, all you need to do is replace the regular flour with a mixture of Gluten free all purpose flour and almond flour. the gluten free flour is not always the best on its own but when you add the almond flour to it the quality is the best! I use this trick for cookies and breads and Dan is able to enjoy home baked goods just like everyone else.
Here is a recipe I use that I changed the flour out of and it is awesome! I hope those of you that struggle finding GF things to eat can enjoy this recipe.
P.S. My kiddos that are not GF love to eat all the GF recipes too!


Gluten Free Banana Bread

Dry ingredients
1 cup Gluten Free all  Purpose flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Wet ingredients
1 egg
3/4 cup sugar
3 mashed ripe bananas (or whatever you have)
1/4 cup olive oil

Combine dry ingredients ,then set aside. In a separate bowl combine the wet ingredients then mix with the dry ingredients. Place batter into a greased bread pan and bake at 350 degrees for 50 min or until done.

Tile in the Laundry Room

Here are some pics of the Laundry room floor update we did the two weeks before Christmas.  We put in this dark grey slate tile from Lowes and used a light grey thin grout.  We absolutely love it! The previous flooring was linoleum that was seriously outdated. In the process I decided to repaint while the flooring was torn up. We now would like to paint the cabinets and replace the counter top. When updating a home on a budget and the labor has to work a lot( the hubs) we take baby steps. This past year my old Washer and dryer broke down during Tax season which meant time for new ones. This floor, new paint, and the new washer and dryer go perfectly together.

Such great words of advice. Just thought I would share.

This past week my kiddos have been on Spring Break and I had a great time taking each one out on a mommy and me date each day. As I send time with each one individually I realize how blessed I am to have these sweet children in my life. I know God has a plan for Families and that they are such a huge part of our happiness. Cant wait for another school break when I can do this awesome tradition again.

I was scrolling through Pinterest lately and came across this quote. It really stood out to me today.Our children need us to show them, by example, how we should treat others. I appreciate reminders like this to keep me focused on what is important.

I have been studying the Family Proclamation lately and have really found peace to know that we have direction and purpose here on earth. I am thankful for the modern day Prophets that help us know for sure our purpose in life.

"WE, THE FIRST PRESIDENCY and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children. ALL HUMAN BEINGS—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose." The Family Proclamation to the World

I haven't posted in a long while but totally feel that there are important things that need to have our (my) attention more often. This is our family! I have been thinking about this and have found that as we give our families more attention and less time to our to do lists or our technology we can build our families up in a way that is pleasing to our Heavenly Father. Here is a quote that touched me today... Marriage Is Essential To His Eternal Plan Elder David A. Bednar Ensign, Jun 2006, 82-87 "In “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” the First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles proclaim “that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.” 2 This keynote sentence of the proclamation teaches us much about the doctrinal significance of marriage and emphasizes the primacy of marriage and family in the Father’s plan. Righteous marriage is a commandment and an essential step in the process of creating a loving family relationship that can be perpetuated beyond the grave." What stood out to me is "the family is central" seriously, the family is huge and we need to remember to treat as such. I truly love my family and hope we can all pay a little extra attention to our families in the days that follow.