Blueberry Teff Muffins

 So I have had my first gluten free prescription this month. I haven’t had one previously because I ordered some free samples and it took me a while to get through it all! This time I decided to order some red teff flour…something I haven’t tried before. 
 

Now, I would love to tell you all about the health benefits of teff flour but unfortunately there is very little information about it online! What I can tell you is that it is an ancient grain, mostly used in Ethiopia. It is higher in protein than wheat and has a high concentration of calcium and iron. Teff is also incredibly high in fiber and low GI so perfect for those with diabetes. 

I have tried numerous recipes of gluten free muffins, these are by far the best. The teff flour seems to have a slight taste of nutmeg and cinnamon, which works really nicely in a muffin.

These are easy to make, quick, simple and so tasty so give them a go! 



 



Ingredients:

½ cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

½ cup milk

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp xanthan gum

1 ½ cups teff flour

1 ½ cups gluten free self raising flout

1 ½ cups blueberries


Method:

1.     Pre heat the oven to 180 oc

2.     Simply add all the ingredients
(apart from the blueberries) into the bowl and use an electronic mixer on a medium speed for about 2 minutes

3.    Fold the blueberries into the mixture

4.    Fill 8 muffin cases

5.    Bake for 25 minutes

Healthy Hummus

I haven’t updated my blog for a while; I’ve got back to university and with dissertation reading building up it’s been impossible to find time to try new recipes! However, I found a quick and easy, money saving, gluten-free recipe to try out for you all!

Introducing my uber healthy hummus! 

My whole house has been run down with a cold so I thought I would make a healthy snack for everyone to try.

Chickpeas are well known to be a great source of both fiber and protein, which means less snacking on unhealthy foods and they will keep you fuller for longer! Moreover, just one cup of chickpeas can provide you with 85% of Manganese…crucial for antioxidant. They are high in LDLs and have a fairly low Glycemic Index, which is brilliant for coeliacs as we are more prone to diabetes! All in all, chickpeas are a bit of a super-food in my opinion!

I decided to add a few extras to my hummus recipe...for flavor and for health reasons. I have added 2 teaspoons of cumin. Marks Daily Apple (A favorite website of mine) outlines a great deal of research that has been done on the health benefits of cumin. Other websites have noted that cumin is a good source of vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidant properties. Along with this a study found that cumin is effective in increasing insulin sensitivity, so great for diabetic!

I have also added 2 teaspoons of paprika. Some studies show that paprika is incredibly high in vitamin C…that can only be good when fighting off a cold!

So if you need a snack to make you feel healthier, packed full of healthy goodness and absolutely delicious, try this out!

Ingredients:

• 1 tin chickpeas
• ½ cup of the water the chickpeas are in
• 1 large garlic clove
• 1 lemon, juiced
• ½ cup of olive oil
• sea salt and pepper
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons cumin
  
  

Put all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. To serve I cut up some gluten free wraps and toasted them in the oven until golden brown. It is particularly good with some pine nuts and a drizzle of olive oil on top!

It takes 2 minutes, it’s much cheaper than buying it in the supermarket and is a great snack!

Happy Eating :)