October 17, 2011

Preparing Your Kitchen... the Refrigerator

Preparing your kitchen is important. I have already covered how to prepare your pantry and now I am going to cover how to prepare your refrigerator. I know these things may seem so simple and petty but you are preparing your kitchen to make life easier when you return from the most difficult grocery trip you have ever experienced! Trust me, you want everything organized and done before you even make your grocery list!

When you are preparing your refrigerator, there's no need to clean it out and separate everything unless you just absolutely want to. On the other hand, you may need to if you want to clean your shelves, but remember, these things are refrigerated for a reason! Don't leave them out for too long! While you are going through your refrigerator, those of you that are energy conscious may cringe because there will be a lot of opening and closing and maybe even leaving the door open. It's ok, I promise, because this is a one time thing!

Here is what you need before you even open your refrigerator: A sharpie, a piece of paper and a writing utensil. The sharpie is so you can write "Gluten" on jars and the paper and writing utensil are so you can make your grocery list as you go.

As you open your refrigerator, look at the items and think, has anyone double dipped in this container? If they have, then that item could be contaminated. Anything in a jar or tub, mayonnaise, mustard, jam, jelly, butter, etc. You need to now take your sharpie and write "Gluten" on them, or an "X". Whatever works for you is what you need to do. As you place "Gluten" or "X" on these things, you need to write it down on your grocery list. There is no need to throw anything away unless everyone in your family is going completely gluten free.

Just like suggested with your pantry, you need to try to keep gluten free things in the same area or on the same shelf. In the refrigerator it is a little bit different. It's mainly so that you do not get items mixed up and grab the incorrect mayonnaise jar when making a gluten free sandwich. If you use the incorrect jar, it's called cross contamination. Cross contamination will be covered in it's own post because it is nearly as dangerous as eating a sandwich on regular wheat bread.

The refrigerator was a pretty easy task!! Just a little time consuming!! Next stop... The Grocery Store!

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