Gabby's Gluten-Free

KIND Snacks Review & GIVEAWAY!

May 17, 2013Comments: 7

*Disclaimer: I was sent free product from KIND snacks in exchange for a review. As always, all thoughts, opinons, etc. are my own!*

This week is my first week of having a second job (teaching at technical university) on top of an already crazy schedule – I’m basically living off of coffee at this point. I haven’t worked outside my house since October so when it came time to pack food and snacks for a long class (5 hours) I was kind of at a loss. While I have time to eat meals, I definitely need some more snack-y foods to keep with me when I’m super hungry and need to quickly shove food in my face…aka all the time. One of the snacks that I really love are KIND bars:

My favorite flavors were anything chocolate (obviously) and the cashew & ginger spice! SO GOOD.

They have three types of bars: fruit & nut, plus (with protein, antioxidants, omega3, or fiber) and nuts & spices. Most of these bars are just fruit, nuts, and some other ingredients (most aren’t paleo due to some soy, grains, or honey) and they’re gluten-free! KIND bars have always been my go-to snack when I’m stuck in an airport or somewhere else where the gluten-free status of stuff is questionable. I love that they’re pretty widely available in places like Starbucks so that you can always find something gluten-free to hold you over.

KIND Snacks also sent over THREE bags of granola – talk about granola heaven! I’m not a big granola eater but every once and awhile I do get a craving for some crunchy, salty, sweet goodness and this totally hits the spot. My husband LOVES granola and said that these were his favorite because of the BIG clusters and the fact that they weren’t overly sweet. I admit, once I started snacking on it, I couldn’t stop – it’s addictive! I like that the granola is gluten-free since gluten-free can be hard to find and usually doesn’t taste all that great. If you’re looking for some easy gluten-free snacks that are delicious, not made with sketchy ingredients, and convenient – I highly recommend checking out KIND Snacks!

In fact, the nice folks at KIND Snacks offered to give away a package to a reader! Just leave me a comment telling me what your favorite easy gluten-free snack is. I will pick a winner on Friday, May 24th.

P.S. – I’m having SERIOUS log in issues for my UA team but I’m really hoping they are resolved today! Check the Facebook page for updates! Sorry for the delay everyone!

Paleo Banana Pecan Muffins

May 13, 2013Comments: 4

To say that this weekend was busy would be a HUGE understatement. My sister-in-law graduated college (YAY!!!), my mother-in-law is staying with us, it was Mother’s Day, and we’ve been in celebration mode all weekend. We offered to host Mother’s Day brunch and it turned out to be quite lovely. The husband made roasted pork belly with a local cider and thyme glaze (HOLY JESUS amazing), I made a kale, caramelized onion, and swiss frittata, and at the last minute, I decided to whip up some banana muffins since I had a few overripe bananas sitting on my counter, begging to be baked into something. I settled on muffins because nothing screams brunch quite like muffins…and mimosas, obviously.

These muffins ended up being a huge hit and they may be my favorite “paleo” muffins that I’ve made to date. They’re moist but not overly wet and dense like some paleo baked goods can be. They’re hearty and perfect for a little snack or as an accompaniment to breakfast or brunch. I was going to do a whole little shoot for them but, um, there are none left. Guess that just means I will have to make another batch!

Paleo Banana Pecan Muffins

Print recipe

Serves	12
Prep time	10 minutes
Cook time	35 minutes
Total time	45 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups almond flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 tablespoon honey, optional
1/4 cup sunflower seed or almond butter
1/2 cup pecan pieces
1 tablespoon coconut oil or grass-fed butter, melted
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Note

Adapted from this recipe

Directions

1.	Preheat oven to 350F and grease muffin tin with coconut oil. Set aside.
2.	Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk together. In a separate bowl, mix together mashed bananas, vanilla, eggs, and nut or seed butter. Whisk together until thick.
3.	Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and whisk to thoroughly combine. The batter will be pretty thick. Scoop by the heaping 1/4 cup into muffin tins, filling about 2/3 of the way full.
4.	Gently toss together pecans, melted oil or butter, honey, and cinnamon. Sprinkle pecan mixture over muffins.
5.	Bake for about 25-35 minutes until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6.	Let cool in muffin tin for a few minutes then transfer to cooling rack.

P.S. Don’t forget to check out the “What’s Beautiful?” challenge and join my team!

Quest Nutrition Review #onaquest

May 10, 2013Comments: 7

*Disclaimer: I was sent these products for free in exchange for a review through FitFluential LLC. As always, all opinions, thoughts, and ramblings are my own. *
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not a huge protein bar eater – most don’t taste very good and are pretty much just health-washed candy bars. I’ve tried my fair share of bars but I can safely say these Quest Nutrition bars are my absolute favorite! First off, the ingredients are much more natural than most bars.

(You can read more about each ingredient on their website).

I was actually a big fan of the stevia sweetened bars which is pretty surprising since I tend to think stevia sweetened things can taste a little off or too sweet. I like that they have 20g of protein, are high in fiber, and low in carbs – they actually kept me full between meals without making me feel super heavy or sugar-rushy (that’s a word right?).

Even better, these bars taste ah-mazing. I was sent a sample box and there wasn’t a flavor that I didn’t like. They sent along extra of the chocolate chip cookie dough bars and they were unbelievable – I even warmed one up in my toaster oven (per so many peoples recommendations) and it was SO GOOD.

They also sent along some of their protein peanut butter cups. The inside was a bit chalky when room temperature but I really liked them when frozen. I also thought the product idea was great – a delicious dessert-alternative that has 20g of protein. I think they’re a good treat every once and awhile – and they taste good enough to satisfy the craving for the real thing.

Overall, I was SUPER impressed with Quest Nutrition – I plan on picking some more bars up for when we travel (hello, easy gluten-free protein snack!) and for my husband before his shifts at work. You NEED that chocolate chip cookie dough flavor – trust me!