Father’s Day is the perfect time to pull out the grill and enjoy a great meal together. Gluten free Father’s Day menu hits that big and hearty craving. And even though there’s no wheat, we’ve not left out the bread from this inspirational menu. Add a little garlic butter to your favorite gluten free rolls or bread (we haven’t found anything Schar we don’t like) and enjoy a feast!

The garlic marinated steak with blue cheese crumbles will have you ready for an afternoon of family fun honoring dad. Make sure you get the recipe!

Get our garlic steak recipe!

Are you new to planning gatherings that include either an element of gluten free or are entirely gluten free ? We’ve got you covered with tips for gluten free gatherings!

 

Are you new to planning gatherings that include either an element of gluten free or are entirely gluten free ? We’ve got you covered with tips for gluten free gatherings! 

Happy celebrating!

 

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 January is a month where we try to catch our breath after an often busy holiday season. We also turn our thoughts to what is upcoming in the new year, pulling out our calendars and starting to write in those big events.

Plus, there are 7 activities that we incorporate into our calendars that help us ditch the stress that can happen due to lack of planning well. After all, it’s easy to schedule events like vacations, milestone birthdays, and upcoming weddings, but what about other gatherings and activities that you may want to make time for?

It’s important to put those in the calendar as well.

Let’s explore 7 activities you might not automatically think to put in your calendar at the beginning of the year:

1. Set social gatherings.

Do you want to make more time to have friends over? Look at your schedule and jot in times periodically. You could even create a set time to gather with old or new friends once a month or every other month. Think about your dreams for the next year in terms of your social life, celebrations, and friendship and take action on them by putting them on your calendar. It’s a good opportunity to think of celebrating personal or family goals you have reached with your family or friends.

2. Time to plan upcoming gatherings.

Once you have your gatherings penciled in, do yourself a favor and bookmark time to plan and prepare for them. This includes activities such as designing your menu, decorations (if needed), and other special touches.

3. Shopping for supplies and cooking.

Maybe some of this can be folded into your regular routine, but there may be some extra trips needed, whether for food, decor, or even a spiffy new outfit. You may also need to plan to spend a little more time in the kitchen unless you are having the event catered or picking up pre-made food.

4. Pre-prep, cleaning, and set up.

Give yourself enough time to pre-prep and prep for your event, do whatever cleaning is needed, and set up. Do these in advance. You want enough time buffer before the start of the event to help avoid being stressed and rushing to get things ready right up until guests arrive. And, if you are planning a sit down meal, take a look at these 7 strategies for elevating your table.

5. Clean up and unwind.

After a gathering, set aside time to put your space back to rights. Plus, give yourself some downtime before jumping into something else, especially if you are the type of person who needs time to yourself.

Trust me, we love gatherings…and we also realize they require an investment of oneself.  This is something we learned the hard way, but it really does make a difference to give yourself the chance to rest after expending so much energy. 

6. Events you want to attend in your hometown.

There may some really great events in the city where you live. For instance, in Knoxville, Dogwood Arts puts on several events throughout the year. The Chalk Walk is a favorite with many. And people flock to the featured gardens that open to the public during specific times in April as part of Dogwood Art’s celebration of the area’s natural beauty.

So don’t be shy about checking your local calendar. There may just be some things you want to add in your calendar.

7. Educational or creative classes.

These may not be events you plan or host; they can be workshops you attend to build your own skills. One of our friends, who is a fabulous hostess, enjoys taking a variety of cooking classes to increase her repertoire and skill set.

Adding these 7 events and related activities will better enable you to estimate the time you need to invest in them. In addition, it will prioritize those events that are important to you so you have time to prepare for them and enjoy them.

As humans, it’s easy to either overestimate or underestimate the time needed to do something. Because we don’t all complete things at the same pace, there’s not a one size fits all equation. When you break an event or project down into individual steps, you will gain a clearer understanding of how much time it will require from you.

In turn, you can schedule your time more effectively, which means you can ditch the stress that comes from forgetting an event or not allowing yourself enough time to prepare for it! 

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Watch how to make it here!

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     As we look forward to Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year, our preparations for family parties level up. There are so many moments about these next few months that make it a special time of year. Whether planning a holiday party energizes you or gives you jitters, there are several keys to include in your event planning for a smoother planning process.

5 tips to take stress out of holiday event planning:

1. Sketch an overview first. To be able to research well, you’ll need to know what type of holiday party you want to design and choose its scale. Are you thinking of a Thanksgiving dinner with both your families and all the cousins coming into town? This type of event may be planned as a family reunion that has activities over two or three days. Are you planning Christmas activities for your immediate family only? Do you want to host a New Year’s party for a large group of people? Once you know these details, think through the logistics of the event such as people coming in from out of town, dietary needs, and space to accommodate everyone. Make sure to look up any vendors you might want or hunt for good deals on items for the event. Don’t forget to look up what local events may be going on so you can be aware of any fun activities you might want to include in the itinerary. For Knoxville based events, Visit Knoxville is a great resource. Plus, this will help you plan for extra traffic if there are big events going on. Start early to help prevent feeling stressed by a time crunch at the end.
2. Hire a personal chef or have the event at a conference center. This may be one of the easiest ways to decrease the amount of preparation and stress. If it’s an event held in a home, a personal chef will provide a home cooked flair without the shopping, cooking, and cleanup. Sounds like a dream? What’s even better is the reasonable cost. Make sure to interview the chef about how he or she handles cooking and baking gluten-free to make sure that the proper procedures are in place. You could also have it catered. If you plan to go out, look at conference centers. Many times the room is a small rental, or free with a certain amount of meals. Linens and simple decor are typically provided and the atmosphere is more private than a restaurant (unless you can reserve a room).
3. Re-purpose your items. Be creative in the use of items you already own. Match them to the scale and ambience you envision for your holiday party. It helps to pull in neutral pieces as a base and then add festiveness through special items and decor.
   
4. Decide activities in advance and notify guests/attendees on what to expect. Communication is key. Brainstorm activities that will nurture relationship and help break the ice between people who may not see each other often. If any activities require tickets, secure those as early as you can. This may give you early bird pricing and it also saves your spot. That’s especially important if you have a large group. Speaking of groups, check to see if there is a special group rate. It also helps to think through how to facilitate activity transitions smoothly so you can keep everyone on the same page and enjoying the time together. While you are thinking of fun things to do, consider small ways you can help your guests to feel welcome when they arrive and throughout the time together. This may be a simple touch like a coffee bar for guests to help themselves to a hot drink or a basket of toiletries for overnight guests who may have forgotten something. 
   
5. Know when to delegate. You may be spearheading planning a holiday party, but that doesn’t mean you have to do it all yourself. Bring in others and let their talents shine as you all work together. You can also hire an event planner to bring it all together smoothly and coordinate the event.
   
   

Most of all, do all your planning with the purpose of the event in mind. It will clarify what decisions you need to make along the way. This in turn, will help the purpose of the event to shine through to those present. Happy planning!

Kate and Cheryl

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This year we are doing something different. We are taking our gluten-free Easter menu and cooking at our friends home. Sadly, we are still dealing with house issues – ya’ll it’s been over 18 months of dealing with this stuff and we are just now coming to the place of sharing about it here, but more about that later. No matter what is going on, we can still celebrate Jesus and enjoy family and friends. Right?!

We were out and about with a good friend of ours, and asked if we could come over on Sunday after church to join in for a family style lunch. They were all for it, so we asked to include another friend of ours who usually spends holidays with us. Since this family doesn’t cook, it is the perfect time for me to roll up my sleeves for our gluten-free Easter menu and prepare all of our favorites.

Easter gluten-free Menu

What’s on our Easter gluten-free menu? I’m so glad you asked! It’s all of our favs, made gluten free, of course!

Making it gluten-free

Looks like a typical holiday menu, doesn’t it? It is, but I’ve made gluten-free substitutions so everything I make is deliciously gluten-free. For example, I substitute my homemade gluten-free condensed soup for the variety with wheat. I also use gluten-free French fried onions. And I personally add a teaspoon of coconut aminos to make it extra yummy.

If you don’t want to make your own gluten-free soup mix, look for gluten-free options in your grocery stores or online. You’d be surprised at what you can find that’s gluten-free these days. I’m still a made-from-scratch kind of gal, but if you want to streamline the process and make things simple, there are pre-mad options available.

Don’t forget to check to see if you have any local gluten-free bakeries. If so, you can probably pick up a great dessert and rolls. Also, check in the gluten-free aisles, (remember the frozen section, too!), for the ever-expanding options.

A recipe for you

For those of you who like to cook, here’s my recipe for my gluten-free green bean casserole. It’s so yummy!

Until next time, happy cooking, ya’ll! Remember, it’s your occasion. Make it Always Yours! (And gluten-free!)

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