Gluten Free Monthly Favorites: Gluten Free Protein Mug Cakes, Seeing Black Panther and More

Looking back at February last year, I’d just officially graduated college, was working full time for an online women’s magazine and was desperately hoping to be accepted into grad school. In comparsion, February 2018 was a little less stressful - but equally busy.

What chocolate gluten free protein mug cake am I addicted to now? What did I think of the movies Get Out and Black Panther? And how am I planning on balancing grad school, work and blogging this coming March? Keep reading to learn about all the gluten free recipes and winter activities I loved this February, and what epic plans I have for March! 

What I’m Eating

My first chocolate protein mug cake in ages! Even though I was a major chocoholic when I was younger, chocolate hasn’t been doing it for me in the past few years....until last month. Possibly thanks to all of these gluten free candy and sweets, I’ve been craving chocolate like crazy and this paleo chocolate protein mug cake recipe hit the spot. I also made it a vegan mugcake by replacing the egg with a chia egg and using Enjoy Life Foods vegan chocolate chips. Heaaaaven.   

My first taste of banana milk. I was lucky enough to win some of Mooala’s banana milk to try - though I was equally excited about the adorable koala backpack they sent along with the milk! Mooala's banana milk is gluten free, vegan and paleo friendly and its main ingredients are water, puréed bananas and sunflower seeds. The banana milk a little sweeter than the vegan milks I’m used to, but I’m a fan overall.

The juciest figs ever. After months of drooling over their dried fruit on Instagram, Fruit Bliss kindly offered to send me some samples. I'll just say this: even if you're not a dried fig fan, Fruit Bliss could convert you. Fresh, juicy (have I said that enough times already?) and sweet with zero added sugar needed. In one word, yum.

My first homemade gluten free and vegan crackers. Apparently this February was all about trying new foods and recipes, and these homemade gluten free crackers have definitely become a new weekly staple of mine. The recipe I've been following lets you use whatever flours you have on hand, and I’ve been making crackers out of a mix of chickpea, rice and quinoa flour. Add some cinnamon, bake until crispy and devour with yogurt and nut butter as a night snack. You could also make these crackers savory if you like...I’m just a cinnamon addict!

What I’m Doing/Loving

Celebrating being done with scholarship applications! I ended up applying for an innovative teaching award and to be a mentor for next year’s English 101 teaching assistants at MNSU, so I’d appreciate any good vibes and luck thrown in my direction! 

Getting back into movies and TV shows. My college roommates would be flummoxed to hear that I rarely watch more than a few Netflix episodes a week now (audiobooks are my latest obsession), and that I hadn’t seen a movie in months until this past February. I first watched Get Out with a friend in his dorm room, and then saw Black Panther at a local movie theatre for a late Galentine’s Day with a bunch of other grad students. Both movies turned out to be winners. They definitely have some deep social and political messages interwoven into the plots, but they’re also entertaining and very well-written. And for non-horror-movie people (like me), Get Out actually isn’t super scary or gory until the very end.

Enjoying warmer days when we have them! By the time this post goes live, another mini snowstorm will have hit Mankato, but I’m enjoying every milder winter day that I can get. Hopefully we won’t have any storms worse than the 13-inch blizzard from a few months ago, and I’ll be able to say I survived my first Midwestern winter soon!

What I’m Planning 

Partnering up with some exciting companies on the blog this month, including a rice brand you probably already know and love and (hopefully) a New Zealand superfoods company whose smoothie packets and chocolate bars are dangerously addictive. Plus, watch out for an awesome giveaway on my Instagram in early April. 

Continuing the summer job hunting adventure! As I’ve mentioned before, I’ll be spending most of summer with my folks in Colorado Springs, so I’ve already started the search for a few jobs (writing or non-writing related) in the area or done virtually. Of course, I’ll also be spending plenty of time working on the blog and some other side projects, so this will be one full summer. (And I’m super excited to see what it ends up being full of...)

Staying super busy with blogging, writing, teaching and grad-student-ing. Crazily enough, I only have two months left before I’ll have finished my first year of grad school (gulp), and after spring break ends, it’ll be a marathon of assignments until finals week. 

Like this post? Tweet me some love by clicking here: "Find out everything this #glutenfree #college #celiac was eating, doing and loving from February + my plans for March. Some highlights? Seeing Black Panther and eating an epic #vegan chocolate protein mug cake! Read it all here --> http://bit.ly/2FhtZkq"

Let the craziness begin - or, more accurately, continue! 



What were some of your highlights from February? Any exciting plans for March? Tell me in the comments!