Nutella Brownie Bites

It's been a while since I have shared a recipe, so I thought I would share this one here. I found the base recipe for this on pinterest (One of my new addictions!) and then added my own twist to it. Here's the recipe!

Ingredients:
1 Cup Nutella
10 tbsp Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup Chopped Macadamia Nuts
Sea Salt

Pre-heat the oven to 350. Combine the Nutella, Flour, and Eggs in a bowl and mix together well. Distribute the batter evenly among muffin tins. I use mini muffin tins, as I like mine bite sized, but I have been informed that they work well in regular muffin sizes as well. Sprinkle the top of these brownie bites with the macadamia nuts and a pinch of sea salt. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick can be entered in and pulled out clean. Let cool and enjoy!

I made these last week and they were to die for! The pinch of sea salt on top gave these brownie bites a fantastic flavor. They are a lot lower in sugar than the commonly used gluten free peanut butter cookies and they are super simple to make. If you are an avid eater of Nutella, you probably have all the ingredients in your house already!

Enjoy!

Quinoa: The Miracle Grain

Hello again!! As I has mentioned in a previous post, I underwent some surgery this past spring. The surgery confined me to a wheelchair for about 6 weeks, and despite my best efforts I gained some wheelchair weight. I have been attempting to lose some weight by exercise, but with my Physical Therapy limitations, I have only been able to do so much. So I turned to my diet.

I noticed that I was eating a lot of rice and other grains, so my first inclination was to work on that. With much research I found that Quinoa is a fantastic gluten free alternative! Although many consider it a gain, it is actually more considered a vegetable. It's high in fiber, so a little goes a long way, and it's a complete protein.

Quinoa has a rather mild flavor, so you can really flavor it however you would like. My favorite way is to saute some onions and garlic in a pan, add the quinoa and some broth and let simmer. Then you can add anything from chicken to black beans to it. Remember to spice your quinoa when you add the broth. Otherwise it would not absorb the flavor as well.

The ratio of liquid to quinoa, much like rice, is 1 cup quinoa to every 2 cups of liquid. Quinoa is easy to find as most grocery stores, and is an easy grain to make for any meal. It even reheats in leftovers very well!

I hope you explore the benefits of quinoa. It's quite tasty, and has great health benefits!

Long Time, No Post

Hello everyone! I'm sorry I have been MIA for a while. I had to undergo some surgery this year that really threw off my entire spring semester, and some things had to take a back seat to my schooling. But I am back now, and just in time for Celiac Awareness month!

I hope that in my absence, you have been exploring new gluten free restaurants and food items. I know I have found some fantastic things lately that I can't wait to share with you all. I also have some non-celiac but still gluten-free things to share, as my mother has been diagnosed with a gluten-intolerance, but does not have celiac disease. I have learned a lot about that kind of situation and I found a lot of it helped in my diet choice as well.

Please send me an email if you have discovered a new gluten free product or restaurant that you would like to share. Remember to wear green for Celiac Awareness!!