QUINOA!

One of the toughest parts about being gluten-free is figuring out what to eat when you aren't at home. Luckily for me, I work in the health care industry, which generally means that you're surrounded by people who truly care about your well being. So when I have to work in a different facility or off site, the people responsible for the lunches know me pretty well and often go out of their way to make sure I have something great to eat. Yesterday was no exception - I was working at a different facility than my own, and for lunch I was surprised by a big fabulous bowl of quinoa - pronounced KEEN-WAH - I joked that she should just put the entire bowl in front of me because it looked so great (joking, except not really). The food service director took some freshly made quinoa and tossed in some fresh peas, red peppers, and balsamic vinaigrette (that's the photo over there). It was so good, other people (that's what I call non-GF'ers) tried it and raved about it! They seemed more excited about this very healthy dish, over the bacon chicken sandwiches and macaroni and cheese that I didn't even miss. So this leads me to my favorite pasta replacement...

Quinoa is one of those great whole grains that is packed with protein and fills you up without weighing you down. It's also very versatile - you can really do just about anything you want with it! Here are some other ideas (using the same basic preparation for the quinoa, which you can find right on the box):

-Try quinoa with shrimp, halved grape or cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, capers, and a nice lemon juice/olive oil dressing - really nice as a cold dish. Super easy - make your quinoa then add the stuff - keep it simple, splashy!

-For a nice fall/winter rustic dish, do a roasted veggie quinoa. Use sweet potatoes, eggplant, tomatoes, green bell peppers, small onion, squash - any veggies you want - sprinkle with salt/pepper, and roast them on a lightly coated pan for about 20-30 minutes until the veggies are brown/tender. Meanwhile, add some garlic (2 cloves, minced), thyme (dried, crushed - 1/2 teaspoon), and marjoram (dried, crushed - 1/4 teaspoon) to a lightly coated saucepan over medium heat for a couple of minutes. Then add your quinoa (uncooked - rinsed -1 cup), cook and stir for 2 or 3 minutes. Sir in 2 cups of water or chicken broth (make sure it's gluten free), and reduce heat to low. Simmer it covered for 15-20 minutes until the water is absorbed. Hint - the quinoa will look translucent. Then place the quinoa and the roasted veggies in a bowl and gently mix.

-Stuff tomatoes or mushrooms with quinoa - great for appetizers! Use thyme, black pepper, salt, and chopped green/red peppers to spice them up.

I hope that if you're gluten free, you are taking full advantage of the versatility and health benefits of quinoa. And I hope that if you're not gluten free, well, same thing to you too.

Also, if you're left thinking "hey remember how you said you're lucky that you have people who make sure you have something gluten free to eat - well I don't!" - we'll get to that in a future post...

Happy quinoaing!

Kristin