I'm Rebecca Smith writer of Glutarama, a recipe blog that also documents life's little dramas when you have two children affected by Type 1 Diabetes, Coeliac Disease and Autism.
The blog started in 2015 but Glutarama as you see it now was born in the summer of 2016. Originally, before blogging, I worked for local government but juggling a demanding job and seeing the increasing needs of my children meant something had to give, and it wasn't going to be my children!
The majority of my website is dedicated to delicious free from recipes; gluten free, dairy free and in many cases vegan too. I love to experiment with new ingredients but my main aim is to keep things simple, as my motto says - 'life's a drama, gluten free doesn't have to be'.
Catering for a Coeliac daughter and an Autistic son can be challenging at the best of times and meal preparation is key to my sanity.
Try as I may I cannot always cater for everyone's needs, dietary requirements and refusal to eat certain foods. An example of this is batch cooking my son's favourite dinner; chilli con carne or lasagne and portioning it up to freeze for a later date is time saving. It's also perfect for those days when, all of a sudden, the rules change and nothing but chilli for three days straight will do!
With my daughter's Coeliac Disease and Diabetes we find days out a challenge, not only finding somewhere to eat but making sure we have delicious and nutritious snacks to maintain blood sugar levels. I've always got my trusty pack up handy so nobody has to go hungry.
It used to be difficult finding the appropriate containers when portioning out leftovers and I'd often end up with an array of random take-away tubs and ceramic dishes wrapped in tin foil, which completely irritates my need for order! Another issue I've had in the past when I've batch cooked frozen meals, is when I've come to reheat them. Often I'd find the food burnt by frost and my son swore he could tell if a meal had been frozen and reheated.
I've been using Igluu Meal Prep containers for two years now and wouldn't be without them. They stack away neatly (I'm a neat freak), hold the perfect portion size and keep foods separate and fresh so there's no seepage or cross over smells (an important issue for my son).
Cross contamination is something that you always need to consider too, particularly for families who suffer with allergies, intolerances and autoimmune conditions. Having a system of meal prepping in advance is one of the safest ways to create meals for your family without risk of cross contamination.
I can spend a morning prepping gluten free meals for my daughter in a solely gluten free environment. On a different day I can prep meals for myself that are dairy, egg and potato free whilst knowing there is no risk of cross contamination. This method of meal prep is time-saving, stress relieving and cost effective, it's a bit of a no-brainer really.
From a practical point of view, I love Igluu because they're neat and tidy storage containers that stack in my fridge and freezer. I like the fact that you can get different style compartments so I can prep a whole meal. A fab example is the triple compartment containers.
These are perfect for chilli, rice and a slice of garlic bread. I also love the fact that smells and flavours don't seep into each separate compartment and that they are easy to microwave and chuck in the dishwasher. As well as making meals in a more systematic, safe way, I'm now also saving money thanks to meal prepping and, more importantly, meal times are less stressful as I know I will have something my children will eat on standby.
