Omission beer is gluten-free and delicious. Photo courtesy Omission Beer.

Beer drinkers with gluten sensitivities—or anyone looking to cut back on gluten—have an early holiday gift: Omission Beer.

Gluten is found in many common cereal grains including barley and wheat—typical beer ingredients.

On a mission to make a great-tasting beer without the gluten, the Omission team used traditional beer ingredients to handcraft the brew. They also developed a proprietary process that removes all the gluten.

Unlike some earlier gluten-free beers, it contains all of the standard beer ingredients: barley, hops, water and yeast. And the aroma and taste will should please just about everyone.

 
At a recent NIBBLE editorial tasting, it was all thumbs-up for Omission Beer.

A six-pack or two would make a great gift for a gluten-averse pal.

Here’s the store locator. Learn more about Omission beer on the company website.

Brush up on your beer vocabulary in our Beer Glossary.

Find more of our favorite beers in our Beer Section.

Trout ceviche. Photo courtesy
ILoveBlueSea.com

Ceviche, raw fish or shellfish cured by acidic citrus juice, has been popular in Latin America for many centuries. In the early 1500s, the Spanish conquistadors wrote of an Inca dish of raw fish marinated in chicha, a fermented maize beer that dates back some 2,000 years.

The concept evolved into ceviche (pronounced say-VEE-chay) (here’s the history of ceviche). There is something about fresh, homemade ceviche that is refreshing and satisfying, as well as low in calories and healthful (here’s why ceviche is so good for you).

We love the tangy twist of lime, the briny hit of fish or seafood, the sprightly cilantro and creamy avocado.

Throughout South America, the mix of fish or seafood changes depending on the local catch and regional preferences.

This recipe can be used with any fish or seafood. It is courtesy of chef Giovanna Garcia and I Love Blue Sea, an e-tailer of premier seafood, where the team enjoys their ceviche with raw tuna or trout.

The recipe is so easy to make, you’ve just got to try it. Warning: You may become a ceviche addict.

TROUT CEVICHE/FISH CEVICHE RECIPE

Ingredients

MacFarland Springs Trout. Photo courtesy I Love Blue Sea.

Preparation

1. CUT trout into pieces and place in a glass dish or bowl. Cover trout with lime juice and let sit in refrigerator for at least an hour. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl.

2. DRAIN the lime juice from the fish and add to the bowl. Toss to combine.

3. TASTE and season with sea salt and pepper.

4. SERVE with crackers or tortilla chips, in a lettuce cup or with mixed greens.

Here’s THE NIBBLE’s ceviche recipe for mixing and matching your favorite ingredients into your dream ceviche.

Find more of our favorite fish recipes.

Zucchini “canoes” substitute for pizza crusts. Photo courtesy Lucero Olive Oil.

It’s not the toppings that are the problem with eating pizza frequently. The crust is where the ne’er-do-well carbs reside.

The late, lamented Goldberg’s Pizza in Manhattan offered a diet pizza by heaping the toppings into an aluminum pie plate instead of onto a carb-laden crust.

All of the vegetable toppings (bell peppers, broccoli, eggplant, mushrooms, onions—whatever you like) were added to the pie plate, covered with sauce and cheese and baked in the oven.

It was a way for dieters (of whom proprietor Larry Goldberg was one) to enjoy the flavors of pizza without the empty carbs.

Zucchini pizza is a modern take on the idea. In this recipe from Lucero Olive Oil, halves of zucchini serve as the base for the cheese, tomatoes and other toppings.

Zucchini pizza is not only more nutritious; it’s a way to get family members to eat more vegetables, more often.

ZUCCHINI CANOES, A PIZZA ALTERNATIVE

Ingredients:

 
Preparation

1. CUT. Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise. Trim as necessary so they fit into a glass baking dish.

2. SCOOP. Using a teaspoon, grapefruit spoon or melon baller, scoop out the center core where the seeds are to create a shallow trench. Do not scoop all the way to the bottom. (You can save the zucchini you’ve scooped out and add it to scrambled eggs.)

3. COMBINE. Combine the crushed garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper/chili flakes. Brush the surface of the zucchini with mixture.

4. BAKE. Halve the grape tomatoes and arrange them inside the trench with the optional pepperoni. Bake in a 350°F oven for about 30 minutes.

5. ADD. Remove the zucchini from the oven and place diced mozzarella in the trench between the tomatoes.

6. BROIL. Place the baking dish under the broiler until golden and bubbling.

7. GARNISH. Remove and drizzle the zucchini lightly with basil olive oil. Top with fresh basil and a sprinkle of grated Parmesan.
 

Find gourmet pizza recipes—with the crust.

Bettasnax is an artisan bakery that specializes in better snacks. Using only premium ingredients, the bakery aims to “fill the gap”: the gap in healthy snacks, the gap between lunch and dinner.

They’ve scored a hit with their first product, all-natural biscotti slices. Conventional biscotti have been whittled down to thin rectangles, approximately 1″ x 1-1/2″. Their sweetened modestly (great for those who don’t like sugary cookies), and each little cookie has just 10 calories.

Now at coffee break or for dessert, you can have several super-crunchy pieces without blowing the calorie budget. BettaSnax also go well with cheese and can be served as a crunchy side with soup or salad. The resealable bag is easy to tote around.

The ingredients are very clean: flour, egg whites, cane sugar, almonds and vanilla extract. There’s no added fat, no cholesterol, no preservatives, no artificial flavors.

You can buy a case, twelve four-ounce bags, four portions per bag, on Amazon. If you have some every day, that’s a six-week supply—more if you have only three cookies instead of the one-ounce portion size of nine.

But you’ll probably find yourself saring them with friends.

Bites of biscotti, just 10 calories apiece, from BettaSnax. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.

For more information, visit BettaSnax.com.

Find more of our favorite diet cookies.

Where would we be without Peru, birthplace of corn (maize) [also, the birthplace of peanuts, potatoes and tomatoes]?

While summer corn has faded from markets, you can get plenty of Inka Corn: a roasted Peruvian corn snack.

According to the manufacturer, this is the same “imperial snack” that Inka rulers used to reward their warrior heroes.

If you’ve had CornNuts, the Inka Corn kernels are much larger and less hard on the teeth. And much better tasting.

The Inka Corn kernels are also much larger than Half Pops—a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week that is air-popped rather than roasted in oil.

When we first saw Inka Corn at a trade show, an ear of the giant white corn variety (called choclo, Cuzco corn or Peruvian corn) from which it is made was displayed. Peruvian corn looks like a musclebound body builder compared with the relatively slender, small-kerneled ears of the sweet corn grown for America’s tables.

Made in Peru, Inka Corn kernels are roasted in oil for a delicious light crunch. It is made simply from corn kernels, palm olein* and salt. The ingredients are all natural; there are no trans fats or hydrogenated oils or GMOs.

Inka Corn is available in Original, Salt & Vinegar and Chile Picante.

Inka Corn: very crunchy and good for you. Note the difference in size of the small ear of Indian corn at the top. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.

NUTRITION BONUS

Corn is a whole grain food. Inka Corn is also dairy free, gluten free, wheat free and vegan.

Crunch away!

*Palm olein is the liquid component of palm kernel oil obtained from fractionation, a process used with coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil to produce oils of different viscosities for different purposes.

Calling all cake lovers: October 10th is National Angel Food Cake.

An angel food cake is a light, flourless affair made with sugar, a dozen or so egg whites, cream of tartar (which increases the heat tolerance and volume of the egg whites) plus vanilla or almond extract and salt.

It is also a gluten-free cake.

Angel food cake is generally made in a tube pan and served with berries and whipped cream. But Martha Stewart makes a much more elaborate creation, perhaps the best angel food cake recipe concept.

Watch her prepare it in this video: a two-layer angel food cake filled and iced with whipped cream and berries.

For a variation, you can substitute banana slices or pineapple for the berries. For a lemony angel food cake, substitute lemon extract for the vanilla/almond extract and add lemon zest to the whipped cream.

Find more of our favorite cakes and recipes.

See all the different cake types in our Cake Glossary.

Try this recipe for grilled angel food cake.

Impress your family and friends with these homemade crackers.

This easy recipe produces a gourmet cracker, fragrant with rosemary. Made with almond flour instead of wheat flour, the crackers are also gluten free.

Serve them with cheese, hummus or other favorite dip or spread, salad or soup.

Most people don’t think of baking their own crackers. But these tasty bites may just be the start of a creative cracker-baking hobby.

Find more of our favorite crackers and bread recipes.

A frozen banana (or your favorite fruit) goes into the machine, banana soft serves comes out in a minute. Photo © Corinna Gissemann | Fotolia.

Are you an ice cream addict but want to give up those refined sugar calories and carbs? Do you want to add more fruit to your diet?

Now, you can make your own 100% fruit soft serve “sorbet” without added sugar, thanks to the Yonanas Frozen Treat Maker.

Yonanas almost instantly transforms your favorite fruits—banana, berries, mango, pineapple, the whole fruit department—into a silky-smooth frozen confection.

The frozen fruit—pre-frozen or frozen by you—goes into the chute (see the photo in the full review). It emerges as thick, creamy soft serve-like “sorbet.”

The compact Yonanas machine is well worth the cost (list $49.99) and the space. It’s not only easy to make, it’s easy to clean the machine. Everything but the motor portion goes right into the dishwasher.

Get yourself a Yonanas machine: You deserve it!

And, you may become more popular as people begin to invite themselves over for some Yonanas. Tell them to BYOFF: bring your own frozen fruit.

Read the full review.

Find more of our favorite frozen desserts and recipes.

Get a Yonanas Frozen Treat Maker. You deserve it! Photo courtesy Yonanas.

It’s always exciting to discover a new “favorite food” that’s good for you. When we received a generous shipment of Garden Lites frozen vegetable soufflés from the manufacturer, we liked them.

But as we ate soufflé after veggie soufflé, we grew to really like them. We became so accustomed to eating one a day as a snack or as part of a light lunch, that we laid in a new supply when the original shipment was exhausted.

While we relish the vegetable soufflés as casual fare, we wouldn’t hesitate to serve them as a first course at a fancy dinner. Assuming, of course, that we’d be willing to share our stash.

The soufflés are made in nine varieties: broccoli, butternut squash, carrot, cauliflower, pizza (cauliflower topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella), roasted vegetable (mixed veggies), southwestern (mixed veggies with southwestern seasonings), spinach and zucchini.

There are also two julienned vegetable dishes that satisfy: zucchini marinara and zucchini portabella.

Our new favorite snack, first course or light lunch. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.

Each single serve is equivalent to two portions of vegetables. Look in your grocer’s freezer case and bring them home: You’re in for a treat!

The line is certified kosher.
 
Read the full review.

Find more of our favorite vegetable products and recipes.

Do Euforia thousand layer cakes really have 1,000 layers? No, but that doesn’t take away the enchantment of these twelve-layer cakes.

Each thin, delicious, gluten-free layer is individually baked by artisans in Tucson, delivering moist texture and excellent lemon, spice or vanilla flavor.

This is “anytime” cake: Enjoy a slice with coffee, tea, Madeira, Port, Sherry or a favorite dessert wine. To make a more elaborate dessert, add custard sauce, whipped cream or ice cream, berries or berry purée.

The cakes are made in three formats:

A thousand layer cake delivers an exciting visual presentation. Photo courtesy Euforia Confections.

Treat yourself or give them as gifts: You’ll be euphoric over Euforia.
 
Read the full review.

Or, buy some now.