As you may recall, a few weeks ago Maddie wrote a rather humorous post on her experience making gluten free bread. Although I chuckled envisioning her burning out a vintage blender trying to mix the cement like batter, I started thinking about how much it must suck to have to eat gluten free. As you may know, gluten is a protein found in wheat – or to be more exact, wheat, rye and barley. If you are one of those unlucky people who are allergic to gluten or your body can’t process it, you can’t eat anything that contains wheat, rye or barely. So think about it, that means you can’t eat most breads, pasta, baked goods, beer, processed foods, etc. Go to a grocery store and check out the ingredients in the center aisle foods – you will find that many contain wheat. So does that mean that gluten free eating has to be boring and tasteless? No, but you may have to be a bit more adventurous, experimental and creative.

I asked my friend and classmate Caelum for some tips. He is a candida recoverer (aka can’t eat gluten) and Whole Foods chef. He lists fresh fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts as the main components of his diet. When he craves a gluten containing treat – he experiments with alternative flours and grains such as rice, amaranth, and quinoa. Listed below is his recipe for a chocolate mousse pie which he says is amazing. However, we can’t go straight to dessert, so here is an awesome dinner recipe too – quinoa stuffed peppers. It can be found on the back of the Ancient Harvest Quinoa brand regular quinoa. Enjoy:)

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:
1 cup Traditional Quinoa
2 cups Water
4 large or 6 medium  Green Peppers
1 medium Onion, diced
1/2 lb. fresh Mushrooms, sliced
2 Tbsp. Butter
1 – 28 oz can Tomatoes, coarsely diced (reserve juice)
2 Garlic cloves, crushed
1 – 12 oz jar Mexican Salsa (pick a variety without tomato paste as some tomato paste’s contain gluten)
2 Tbs. Dry Sherry
10 oz Mozzarella Cheese, shredded

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 325° F. Cook traditional quinoa following basic directions (add 1 cup quinoa to 1 1/2 cups boiling water, return to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer and cook until water is absorbed, about 15 minutes). Steam 4 large or 6 medium green peppers until soft but not limp. In a large skillet, saute the onion and mushrooms in butter. Add the diced tomatoes (reserve the juice). Add the crushed garlic and Mexican salsa. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the sherry and simmer 10 more minutes. Fold in quinoa. Place peppers in baking dish and fill with quinoa mixture. This will take about half the mixture. Thin remainder with reserved juice and pour around peppers.

Sprinkle shredded mozzarella over peppers and bake in 325° F. oven for 30-35 minutes.

Chocolate Mouse Pie

Ingredients:
Crust:
2 cups organic almonds, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed
2 cups dates, soaked overnight and drained
1 x ripe banana  (optional)
Mousse Filling:
2 x ripe avocados
4 tbsp raw cacao powder
3 tbsp raw agave nectar
2 tbsp organic coconut oil  (optional)
A splash of almond milk if needed to adjust consistency

Directions:
Crust:
Blend crust ingredients in a food processor until they form into a sticky ball. Using wet hand, press this mixture into the base of a pie pan (10″, give or take). Set aside. Clean out food processor.
Mousse Filling:
Seed and scoop out avocado into the food processor. Add cacao powder, agave nectar, coconut oil and almond milk. Blend until smooth.
Spoon avocado mixture onto the crust and spread it evenly. Put into the freezer for 30 minutes before serving (any more than this and the pie will be too frozen to cut). Store in the fridge.
If desired, top with fresh berries or banana slices.