Hello Friends!
I have been busy! I just traveled to Little Rock to speak at Arkansas’ Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Spring Conference on the low FODMAP diet this past Saturday! I enjoyed a nice dinner out with some fellow dietitians and enjoyed the city of Little Rock.
Before I headed out for Arkansas, I tried a recipe using quinoa flakes instead of flour for a blonde brownie treat. They were so good!
I was inspired by a recipe in Eating Well magazine titled Almond Butter-Quinoa Blondies in the April 2013 issue and decided to morph the recipe a little to make a low FODMAP version.
The mixture was thick and creamy.
I think you’ll go ape over these protein rich quinoa bars!
And….they were so yummy…that my dog, Lucy decided to pull the pan right off the counter and finish up the rest of the brownies. Oh….LUCY!!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup all natural peanut butter
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup quinoa flakes (Could sub in quinoa flour; I used Ancient Harvest quinoa flakes)
- 1/4 cup brown rice flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven 350 degrees.
- Line bottom of 8 inch square pan with parchment paper.
- Beat butter and peanut butter until creamy.
- Add in eggs, brown sugar and vanilla.
- Blend in quinoa flakes, brown rice flour and baking powder.
- Fold in mini chocolate chips.
- Spread batter into prepared pan, flattening top evenly.
- Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool for 1/2 hour and then cut into squares.
Denise
Are quinoa flakes located near all the flours in the grocery store?
Your dogs face is priceless!
Well Balanced - Food - Life - Travel
Denise–I believe the quinoa flakes are actually in the cereal aisle–but you can also sub in quinoa flour.
Kathy
These look great & a good way for me to use up quinoa flakes as I can’t stand them as a cereal.
Went off the low fodmap diet big time the other day and boy did I pay, pay and pay (diarrhea). So much for me thinking the diet wasn’t helping. One thing I do notice, even lactose free milk & low lactose cheeses I still react to. Also I get terrible constipation even on low fodmap ..thoughts?
Do you follow this diet for yourself exclusively by the way?
Thanks Kate
Well Balanced - Food - Life - Travel
I can’t provide individual guidance in a blog setting–as everyone’s medical history is a bit different. I can tell you that in my practice –I make sure my clients w/ constipation are getting adequate fluids (warm fluids especially help get the intestine moving), walking–especially in the morning, and sometimes upping fiber (but not always) helps. Chia seeds, oat and rice bran–are great fiber sources on the low FODMAP diet. I recommend you work with a dietitian to give you a hand. If you react to low lactose cheese and milk–that would be something beyond the low FODMAP –issues with the milk protein or other substances that seem to be an issue particularly in my experience with IBS-C. In regard to your question about me and the low FODMAP diet–I have learned that I am sensitive to some of the FODMAPs–so I am careful with them to avoid feeling lousy.
Kathy
Thanks so much Kate. I am in Alberta, Canada – do you know of a way to find a dietitian versed in FODMAP in my area?
Well Balanced - Food - Life - Travel
Would check out IBSfree.net and look at Patsy’s list of FODMAP dietitians….perhaps call one of the Canadian dietitian’s to see if there is a listing in Canada or perhaps you could do a skype visit w/ a dietitian there.
Mickey Ross
New here and I have been looking for high protien fodmap snack food.
Kathy
Thank you Kate.
I made these bars by the way and they are delicious! I enjoyed way too many of them 😉
Well Balanced - Food - Life - Travel
Well…I am glad you liked them. My husband enjoyed too many of them too…..b/4 my dog Lucy grabbed the rest! 🙂
Wendy
I love these bars, they are quite delicious. Do you know what the calorie content is?
katescarlata
Hi Wendy….I certainly could figure out the calories–but I have decided to steer away from calorie info on my site. I think many people are too focused on calories–and it moves us away from enjoying our food or focusing less on nutrition and more on numbers.
Melinda
Hello. I tried baking these bars this morning. They are delicious but fairly gooey, especially the inside pieces. Is that the correct consistency, or should I have baked them longer? I used egg whites rather than whole eggs, but that usually makes no difference.
katescarlata
Hmmm–mine were not gooey. Oven temps do vary sometimes–so when baking cookies or bars–would recommend test w/ cake tester to be sure they are cooked through.
LINDA LEWIS
living in a small village many of the ingredients are hard to access, would it be ok to use quinoa grains and grind them?
katescarlata
Linda, I have not tried that but you might give it a whirl. Or maybe try some ground quinoa and some brown rice flour–1/2 and 1/2.
Barb
I thought chocolate was on the NO list!
katescarlata
Semi-sweet or dark chocolate got the thumbs up from Monash U researchers… in moderation!! http://www.med.monash.edu.au/cecs/gastro/fodmap/diet-updates/chocolate.html
Josh
I want to try this recipe. Looks delicious! But I have a question…I don’t bake very often, so I don’t want to fill my pantry with a variety of flours if I can help it. Can I use an all-purpose gluten-free flour in place of the quinoa and brown rice flour? Or maybe use the quinoa flakes/flour and sub in the GF flour instead of the brown rice flour?
katescarlata
It would be worth a try, Josh–but you may need a little more flour as the quinoa flakes seems to absorb a bit more of the liquid.
Tracy
Hi Karina,
Do you think I can replace the eggs with egg replacer?
melanie
What can I use in place of butter??!
I have a dairy allergy
katescarlata
I would sub in a vegetable oil–but perhaps a little less.