SALT LAKE CITY, UT (Good Things Utah) –  Emma Drennan joined our GTU hosts to give us the perfect gluten-free school lunch tips!

Drennan starts by explaining that to be successful in creating a gluten-free school lunch you have to start with a plan. Choose a lunch box, decide how much mom/dad get to choose and how much your child gets to choose, then pick a day each week when you prepare/make snacks. 

Her next tip explains how to coordinate with the school nurse. You know your child better than anyone else, therefore, sending an email before the school year starts and talking to their teachers make a huge difference. By communicating this with the staff members at your child’s school they can log all your notes and the child’s needs to ensure their safety. 

Drennan’s third tip is to be flexible. Kids can taste change, and they will refuse to eat certain foods. Be patient as your child takes time to adjust to this change, and be flexible with the foods you provide for them. It might take time for them to move through the emotions of having an autoimmune disease.

The final tip she shares with us is to save room for fun. Surprise your child with a treat every once in a while, or bring them home to eat their favorite meal. It would be fun to coordinate with their teacher to bring a treat everyone can enjoy. 

During Drennan’s interview, she also shared a Gluten-free Banana Bread Muffin recipe with our viewers.

Ingredients:

  • 1 C butter, softened
  • 1 C granulated sugar
  • 1 C brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 TBSP chia seeds
  • 1 TBSP water
  • 4 large ripe bananas, mashed
  • 6 TBSP sour cream I prefer Daisy light sour cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp sea salt I use Anasazi Salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
  • 4 C gluten free flour I use my flour blend recipe, but use what you have
  • granulated sugar for sprinkling on top of muffin batter once in the muffin tin

Directions:

  1. Gather your muffin tin and put liners in the tin. If you have a silicone muffin tin, then you don’t need liners.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. In a Bosch Mixer, add the softened butter and both sugars and cream together.
  3. Add eggs and chia seed/water combo to mixer and mix until combined. Pause if needed and scrape down sides, then mix again just until combined.
  4.  Add mashed bananas, sour cream, and vanilla to batter until combined. You don’t want to over mix muffin batter, so only mix until combined.
  5.  Add flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and xanthan gum to batter and mix until just combined-don’t over mix! Over mixing causes air pockets to form in the batter, and we don’t want that.