Actually Delicious Gluten-Free Brownies

Okay, so in the last while I have developed a very low tolerance for gluten. Also, I love chocolate-- By love I mean a love that burns with the heat of a thousand suns. That much. This lovely and strange recipe combines the best of both worlds. 

I tried to do some variations to make them a little more calorie friendly, however, they tasted like crap. So, stick to the recipe.

 Here it is:

Gluten-Free Brownie Town

In a blender combine:

1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)

3 Eggs

2T Oil (I used canola)

1/4C+2T Cocoa powder

1 pinch of salt (I used Sea)

1t Vanilla extract

3/4C Sugar--DO NOT USE SPLENDA

3T Ground flax seed (Or omit this and add an extra T of oil)

1t Instant coffee (optional-I did not use this)

 Here are all of the lovely layers pre-blend.

 This is what it will look like. Just like good ol' gluten-full brownies. 

 Pour the blender contents into an 8x8 pan that has been lined w/ foil and sprayed with nonstick spray. Sprinkle the top with 1/2 C Chocolate Chips (Maybe more :))

 One of the great things about this recipe is the amount of dishes you'll have upon completion.

 Bake at 350 for about 23-30 min--depending on your oven temp and elevation etc. When the top is dry and the sides pull away from the pan, they're done. Try really hard not to overcook these.

This is the final, delicious, product.

The texture is a little different, but it is a really great substitute for brownies. 

Let me know if you try this and what your thoughts are. I am going to go make some...then proceed to eat at least 1/3 of the pan. Don't tell anyone.

Indulge Me...

Hello Readers of this here blog. See how I capitalized the word "Reader"? That's because you're important. Keep on reading important person. Maybe you'll be inspired.

Let me start off by saying I want to be healthy, and dang it I'm trying. I am hoping that by changing my eating habits I can feel better and in the process, change my circle shaped body into a curvy line instead. I have have spent the past couple of months battling illness. No matter what I did, I couldn't seem to feel any better. I tried everything. The last thing I tried, which in retrospect should have been my first, was to change my diet. By change, I don't mean watch my calories and stop eating fast food. Change for me, came in the form of cutting out gluten and dairy products almost completely. Some of you might be thinking "Whoa, that's nuts!" Maybe it is, but let me tell you, I feel FANTASTIC. I am on day 5 of practicing basically a vegetarian, gluten-free diet. Is it hard? Yes. Do you have any idea how many things are NOT gluten-free? Let me put it this way, even McDonalds french fries contain traces of gluten. So, yeah. It has been fairly easy for me to stick to it and not even be tempted because I feel great and don't want to jeopardize that. That just shows you how BAD I felt before. 

Anyways, this post might be a little boring. Sorry for that. Sometimes I am lazy and want to eat stuff that is quick and easy. I just felt like sharing some of the things I have been eating this week. I wanted to show how easy it is to omit the aforementioned items and still eat delicious, healthy stuff. 

For example, my lunch on Tuesday was oven roasted broccoli and red peppers, a little scoop of leftover spanish rice rolled up into a lightly fried corn tortilla. It was so tasty I had the same thing for dinner. 

This is my new favorite snack. Apples are in season right now so they are cheap and oh so tasty! I also have always loved raw almonds so I usually cut up my apple and munch on an almond in-between bites.

Sweet potato fries!! Slice a sweet potato, spritz with cooking spray, sprinkle with sea salt, bake, eat! I also dipped some in a little sugar-free maple syrup and WOW. You definitely should try it.

 

So there you go. Things I eat. Delicious things. Healthy things. 

For those who doubt their own ability eat this way, let me tell you I have lost 3 lbs this week already. How's that for motivation?

Coming soon, as promised, gluten-free brownies. 

Almost Vegan Banana Bread Muffins

Alright people, I am not a Vegan. However, I realize it may seem that way due to the fact that I posted a Vegan recipe last week and I am right now. This is purely coincidence. I love cheese, milk and on occasion, an egg white omelet. I don't think I could ever give those things up. Ever. So, anyways here is the recipe: 

Preheat oven to 325. 

1C. Sugar

1/4C. Butter flavored Crisco

1/2 C. unsweetened applesauce

1 1/2 C. mashed bananas

2T. Milled Flax Seed

6T. water

2t. vanilla extract

2C. unbleached AP flour

1 1/2t. baking powder

1t. baking soda

1/2t. salt

1C. Dark Chocolate Chips <------- THIS IS THE NON-VEGAN INGREDIENT

 

~Cream the shortening and sugar. Add the applesauce, bananas, flax, water, and vanilla. Mix until combined.

In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients. Add to wet and mix until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. It should look something like this:

 I like to use an ice cream scoop so the final products are uniform in size.

 Bake them for about 22 minutes, depending on your oven temperature.

Then take them out and eat them. Who cares if they're cooled off or not.  

You're Welcome.

Meat Schmeat

So here I am, starting another blog when I can't even seem to post on my other. Let me defend my choice by saying THIS ONE IS DIFFERENT. This one is all about FOOD. Not just any food, but my food. I like to treat my pantry like a basket on the Food Network show, Chopped. I pride myself in my ability to make food out of random things I have on hand and a little creative inspiration.

Something I want to do that will make this different than a regular "Hey check out my food!" blog, is I am trying to use little to no meat. (Go ahead Wyoming readers, let out that loud gasp you're holding back). I don't like meat. Sorry folks, but I don't. On occasion I will have a bite of something meaty, or throw some in a dish, but for the most part I just want veggies and carbs. I do however, like seafood. SO if I use a protein that isn't meat, beans, or nuts, it will be fish or shrimp. What I am trying to do here is limit my options in order to expand my ability. Make sense?
If anything, this will just be a good way for me to keep track of my made-up recipes so I can make them again.

To start things off, I would like to share with y'all what I made for dinner. Drumroll please....

It is Vegan, it is tasty, it's a curry mouth party I like to call:

Random Indian Bulgar Pile of Yum.

Creative title, right? Here goes:

First I sliced an acorn squash, cleaned out the seeds and guts, sprayed the slices with some Olive Oil Pam, and sprinkled them with some curry powder. In to the oven they went, 375 degrees, for 30-40min. I know my slices aren't uniform, but give me a break, Acorn Squash is hard to freakin cut!

 Next, I prepared some bulgar wheat. I use the cheater 'quick cook' bulgar. That way, I don't have to plan ahead too much if I don't want to. There are a bunch of health benefits to bulgar like low-fat, whole grain, blah blah you know the drill. Anyways, I just follow the package directions for this one. 2C water to 1C wheat. Boil, simmer, and viola!

 OOh, don't forget to season it a little. I used a dash of EVOO (Which by the way I use in pretty much everything) and then a pinch of sea salt.

 This is my EVOO of choice. Don't have a Trader Joe's? Too bad for you, because it is amazing. Seriously. Pretty much everything in this meal was purchased there.

 This is what it looks like when it is all done: a big pot of brown cooked wheat that slightly resembles ground meat.

 Then, into my heated skillet went some more olive oil. Gotta get in all of those monounsaturated fatty acids!!

 Then I looked in my fridge for some stuff. I found Onion, Cabbage, and some Grape Tomatoes. I sweat the onions first with 2 cloves of crushed garlic, then added some Julianned cabbage. In case you don't know what Julianne is, besides a nice name, it looks like this:

 In went the tomatoes and I cooked it down a little.

 I then sprinkled a little curry powder (1t ) and a few generous dashes of Goya hot sauce in my pan of random.

 In went scoops of cooked Bulgar.

 I am going to guesstimate 2 cups. Who needs to measure anyways?

By the time I got all of this done, the squash was nice and tender and starting to brown a little on the edges. I just love oven roasted veggies. All of those natural sugars come out and caramelize and the FLAVOR, OH THE FLAVOR! Mmmmmmm!!

 Now, since I am a fancy pants, I created a nice presentation with a garnish of Cilantro, WHICH by the way, ended up complimenting the curry so I grabbed a few more sprigs while I was eating my plate and threw it in the mix.

 Here is proof that a man can and will eat a meatless, vegan meal, and think it is delicious.

Anyways, I hope that this will be slightly successful and maybe, just maybe, a little inspirational for others.

Coming soon: Gluten-Free Brownies!!