Dietitian Gives Out Favorite Gluten-Free Recipes

UNITED STATES — May is Celiac Disease Awareness Month. The month's purpose is to increase the public's knowledge of celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder. The disease is triggered by consuming gluten.

Ricci-Lee Hotz, MS, RDN and expert at Testing.com, shared a couple of her favorite gluten-free recipes in honor of the month.

"It is important to share gluten-free recipes like these for those who have celiac disease so these individuals know that they still have a variety of food options available to them that can either use gluten-free specific products or products that are inherently gluten-free," Hotz told Patch. "By knowing that there are a variety of inherently gluten-free meals as well as great, tasty resources as replacements for gluten-based favorites, it can decrease some stress around food while also allowing a great opportunity to attain more well-rounded nutrition."

Here are two of Hotz's recipes:

1. A Healthier Twist on Pizza (GF + Vegan)

Ingredients:

• 1 piece: Fortuna Casabi- Gluten Free, Vegan- Artisan flatbread (Yucca Pulp)
• 1 slice: Follow Your Heart Garden Herb Cheese slices
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Olive oil
• Red pepper spread with eggplant and garlic (Trader Joes Brand)
• Pine Nuts- 1 TBSP
• Spinach- small handful

Recipe:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and cover a baking pan or sheet with tin foil.
• Carefully handling flatbread/crust piece (they crumble easily), lightly drizzle olive oil and balsamic on the “crust.”
• Spread a thin layer of the red pepper spread lightly covering the “crust” (amount of spread to taste).
• Use one piece of follow your heart garden herb cheese and break into pieces to cover the “crust” uniformly.
• Top it off with a small handful of spinach and a TBSP of pine nuts (if desired).
• Once oven is ready, place the baking pan with flat bread in the oven for approximately 15 minutes (per flat bread package) or until it has slightly browned.
• Removed from oven and allow to cool slightly.
• Serve and enjoy!

2. Stuffed Bell Peppers

Ingredients:

• 8 multicolor bell peppers
• 1 lb ground turkey (can replace with a ground tofurkey or an extra 2 cans of beans to provide a vegan option)
• 1/2 can black beans
• 2 cups of uncooked rice (cook in rice cooker)
• 1 can artichoke hearts
• Olive oil
• 1 large bag of spinach
• Spices: Oregano, garlic, basil, thyme, black pepper, crushed red pepper
• 8 slices of follow your heart garden herb vegan cheese (optional)
• (Makes 8 stuffed peppers)

Directions:

• 1. Pour uncooked rice with approximately 4 cups of water into the rice cooker and allow to cook.
• 2. Mix ground turkey (or substitute), artichoke hearts, 1/2 can black bean and generous seasoning in a pan with olive oil (just to prevent sticking) on medium heat, make sure everything is properly mixed together and allow to cook until no longer pink.
• 3. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
• 4. Cut off the top stems and clean out the inside of the bell peppers, mix in any extra edible bell pepper from the tops into the turkey mix.
• 5. When rice is done cooking, fill about half of each pepper with rice.
• 6. Fill the second half of each pepper with turkey bean artichoke and bell pepper mixed (once well cooked).
• 7. Pour extra liquid from the pan over the contents of bell peppers to prevent them from drying out in the oven.
• 8. Place peppers in a large baking or corningware dish and bake at 400 for approximately 30 minutes.
• 9. (Optional) for the last 5-10 minutes of bake time, place a slice of garden herb vegan cheese on top of peppers to allow it to melt without burning.
• 10. Remove from the oven allow to cook slightly and serve over a bed of spinach/greens of your choice.