Category: All About Gluten and Gluten-Free Recipes

Dozens of gluten-free recipes, many of which are also vegan. Plus articles that tell you all about gluten and its relationship to health, and how avoiding gluten in your diet can have an impact.

Whether it is as extreme as celiac disease, or you just want to keep it out of your body, knowing all about gluten lets you make knowledgable decisions about your’s and your family’s health.

And having delicious recipes that are gluten-free makes it easy to do!

Pumpkin Lasagna & Rosemary “Ricotta”

Chef V

Pumpkin Rosemary Ricotta

PREP TIME:
TOTAL: 1HR

Serving Size: 2-4 People

INGREDIENTS

Ricotta Rosemary

    • 1-cup macadamia nuts- soaked for an hour
    • ½ lemon juiced
    • 1 tsp. organic sea salt
    • 1 tbsp. fresh chopped rosemary
    • 2 tbsp. pure organic pumpkin puree
    • 1 tbsp. cold pressed olive oil

Pumpkin Sauce

  • 1 tbsp. organic cold pressed olive oil
  • 1 white onion, diced
  • 1-cup shredded organic carrot
  • 2 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 tbsp. organic rosemary, chopped
  • ¼- cup organic parsley, chopped
  • ½-cup organic basil, slivered
  • 2 cups pure organic pumpkin puree
  • 1-cup filtered water
    ¼ cup organic unsweetened almond milk
    1 tsp. organic sea salt
    ½ tsp. black pepper

Noodles

  • 1 box of gluten-free (brown rice or quinoa) lasagna noodles (about 6 whole lasagna noodles needed)

INSTRUCTIONS

Blend “ricotta” ingredients together in a Vitamix or food processor, slowly pouring the oil while blending. Blend until smooth like a ricotta texture. Scrape mixture out with a spoon into a bowl. Refrigerate while making the sauce.

Turn oven on to 350 F. Bring a large pot of water to boil (large enough that the lasagna noodles will fit in without bending). Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté for 2 minutes. Add carrot and sauté an additional 2 minutes. Add garlic, rosemary, basil, and parsley. Add Pumpkin puree, water, almond milk, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer for 10 minutes.

While simmering, cook lasagna noodles for 5-10 minutes (According to box directions).

When done, line a 8” x 4” baking dish with ¼ cup of sauce on the bottom, 2 layers of noodles, ¼ cup sauce, ¼ cup ricotta, 2 noodles, ¼ cup sauce, the rest of ricotta, 2 more noodles on top, cover with sauce and bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until hot.

Pumpkin Lasagna & Rosemary “Ricotta”  Bon Appétit!

Mediterranean Butternut Squash + Carrot Stew with Quinoa

Jean Yates

My Mediterranean stew is made with mellow spices for a flavorful and healthy meal.

This stew can be prepared a day ahead. It's great to take to work or enjoy for dinner the next day, or for a warm and healthy meal for the kids to come home to and easily reheat.

mediterranean stew

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons cold-pressed olive oil
  • 1 cup white onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
  • 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon each: black pepper, ground coriander, ground cumin, ground turmeric, ground ginger, cayenne pepper
  • Pinch saffron
  • 1 cup filtered water
  • 1 cup cooked lentils (if canned, do not drain: if cooked, save 1/4 cup of the cooking water)
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 3 cups (about 1& 1/2 pounds) cubed butternut squash
  • 2 cups peeled carrots, cut into 3/4 inch slices

QUINOA

  • 1 tablespoon cold-pressed olive oil
  • 1/2 cup diced white onion
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained
  • 2 cups filtered water

OPTIONAL TOPPINGS

  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Directions

First, prepare the stew. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until soft, stirring often, for about 15 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute. Add the dry spices. Add 1 cup water, lentils (with liquid from the can or reserved 1/4 cup cooking water), and lemon juice. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add the squash and carrots. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Keep warm until the quinoa is finished, or cover the stew and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Next, prepare the quinoa. Place the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, covered, until translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often so the onion does not burn. Add the garlic, salt, and turmeric, and sauté for one minute. Add the quinoa and stir for one minute. Add 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa is tender, for about 15 minutes.

To serve, stir half the cilantro and half of the basil into the warm stew. Spoon the quinoa onto a platter or divide among bowls and form a well in the center. Spoon the stew into the well and garnish with the remaining cilantro and basil, if desired.

Poached Pear with Gluten-Free Crumble & Vegan Ice Cream

Chef V

Although alcohol is not recommended for cleansing, this recipe cooks out any of the alcohol and makes this a decadent dessert. You can always omit the champagne and use any liquid, even water, for this recipe.

poached pear

TOTAL 80 minutes

Serving Size: 6 people

Ingredients

  • 1 cup champagne or other liquid
  • 3 pears (d Anjou, Bartlett, Asian) halved and scooped with melon ball 
  • 1 tbsp honey 
  • 1/2 cup gluten-free flour 
  • 3/4 cup gluten-free oats 
  • 1/4 cup coconut sugar 
  • Pinch sea salt 
  • 2 tsp vanilla 
  • 3 tbsp vegan butter 
  • Vegan ice cream to serve 

poached pears in oven

Directions

Preheat oven 375 F. Mix honey and champagne together.

In a shallow baking pan lined with foil, lay the scooped pears on the pan, skin side down. Pour champagne mix to cover. Cover with foil and bake 10 minutes. Add another 10 minutes if pears are not ripe.

While pears bake, mix flour, oats, sugar, salt, butter and vanilla.

Remove pears and foil. Top evenly with crumble. Continue to bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until the crumble is golden brown. Remove pears.

Serve on a plate with scooped vegan ice cream. Enjoy this delicious and healthy dessert! 

Creamy Carrot Soup – Made with Nut Milk

Chef V

Chef V’s Tips: Many raw food recipes call for soaking nuts. Why? Soaking nuts (from 2 hours to overnight) improves the flavor and nutritional value of the nuts by releasing dust, residue and tannin into the water, leaving the nuts with a softer, buttery texture and increasing their digestibility. Never use the soak water – always discard it.

A healthy variation on this soup adds fresh ginger and fresh turmeric.

carrot soup

Ingredients

  • 1 to 2 teaspoons coconut oil or cold-pressed olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
  • 2 cups sweet onion, diced
  • 1 1/2 pounds (about 5 cups) carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 5 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
  • 3/4 cup cashews, soaked and drained
  • 1/2 cup Chef V's Raw Nut Milk or coconut milk
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

OPTIONAL TOPPINGS

fresh chives, flat leaf parsley, raw cashews

For a healthy variation to this recipe, add 1 tbsp fresh ginger and 1 tsp fresh turmeric.

Directions

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Add the carrots, vegetable broth, and 2 to 3 tablespoons of grated ginger. Bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. Turn off the heat and allow the soup to cool for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse the cashews well.

Add the cashews and nut or coconut milk to the soup. Transfer to a Vitamix in batches, if necessary, and process until smooth. Taste the soup and season with salt and pepper, if desired. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish as desired.

These 6 Spice Ingredients Prevent Belly Bloating & Improve Digestion

Chef V

spices for health at the holidays

If variety is the spice of life, I say a variety of spice ingredients is the key to a long, healthy life. Herbs and spices improve digestion, reduce inflammation, and may even prevent cancer, along with other benefits. I’ll share with you my favorite 6 herbs and spices for optimal digestive health.

Feeling a little bloaty and gassy? Having a hard time buttoning your jeans? The 6 ingredients – herbs and spices – I’m about to share with you can dramatically improve your digestion. These spices are so good for you I recommend using them every day.

Dandelion

Did a rich dessert back your system up? Then sip on some dandelion tea. The reason why is dandelion root is really good for relieving constipation. Not only that, it reduces the amount of time food sits in your belly. In fact, one study suggests it’s better than a drug at speeding up digestion.

And if you’re a little down in the dumps because you put on a couple pounds, here’s how else ingredients like dandelion help….

When we overindulge, it’s really easy for water and metabolic waste to accumulate in our digestive system. But dandelion comes to the rescue by acting as a diuretic, removing excess water from your gut.

dandelion

Turmeric

Is it me or is turmeric becoming more popular than ketchup? Turmeric has been blowing up the Internet because of its inflammation-fighting and blood-sugar lowering actions. But did you know it’s also great for digestion? Here’s why I love adding ingredients like turmeric spice to my smoothie, tea and meals….

Sometimes when we’re invited to a dinner party and eat something we don’t normally have, toots happen. It’s a part of life. Nonetheless, flatulence is embarrassing. But turmeric is a potent fart-fighter! The very uncomfortable post-meal combo of gas and bloating can be greatly reduced just by adding a teaspoon or two of turmeric.

Turmeric may prevent embarrassing gas and uncomfy bloating because it helps digest fats. It also helps your belly keep its supply of stomach acid. Many digestive problems are caused by not having enough digestive juices to break down food.

I realize it might not be practical for you to carry a bottle of turmeric spice in your purse to a dinner party. But you can easily drink some tea or a smoothie before you head out for the night. You can also take a turmeric supplement before the dinner party.

Keep in mind turmeric is fat-soluble. That means you need to consume a little fat in order for your body to absorb turmeric. That’s not a problem if you’re adding it to a meal. But if you’re having a smoothie, make sure you add a tablespoon of olive oil or other healthy fat.

My next favorite spice for digestion also helps your body absorb turmeric….

turmeric

Black Pepper

Without black pepper, your body doesn’t absorb turmeric very well. But adding just a pinch or two of this ingredient, fresh ground black pepper, can increase your body’s absorption of turmeric by 2,000%!

Not only that, there’s something in black pepper called piperine, which is great for digestion. It helps you break down all the tryptophan and other amino acids in holiday turkey. It also helps you get rid of excess water and it stimulates your belly’s release of hydrochloric acid, the main digestive juice in your gut.

But to get your belly feeling better with black pepper, don’t cook with it. Just sprinkle some fresh ground pepper corns in your tea or on your food.

black pepper

Ginger

ingredients: Ginger is Mother Nature’s weapon against indigestion, stomach pain and nausea. When I go for sushi, I always ask for extra ginger. Not only does it cleanse the palette in between bites of a rainbow roll, it’s also great for digestion. It helps move food through the digestive tract so all that rice and fish in the sushi doesn’t just sit in your gut for hours, leaving you bloated and gassy.

Here’s an easy digestion hack you can try with ginger that’s been used for thousands of years in India’s ancient traditional system of medicine (Ayurveda): try eating some fresh ginger slices about a half hour before your meal. This will activate your digestive fire. Or better yet, have a cup of ginger tea.

(If you take a blood-thinning drug, don’t use too much ginger as it can negatively interact with the medication.)

ginger root

Cardamom

I do love me a cup of low-sugar chai tea. Each sip delightfully awakens my taste buds. But more than that the ingredients in chai tea like cardamom are great for digestion. Cardamom is like ginger’s cousin. Like ginger, it can help prevent gas and bloating. There’s also some research that shows it can help if you have IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). Not only that it can help if you have belly cramps, diarrhea or constipation.

If your bottle of cardamom spice is gathering dust in your pantry, move it to front and center of your spice rack. And if your local coffee shop can do a low-sugar chai spice tea, go for it. Besides cardamom and cloves, traditional chai spices also include ginger  black pepper, and cinnamon.

Speaking of which, here’s the final of my favorite spices for digestion….

cardamon

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is an ingredient miracle. Not only can it make bland oatmeal taste great, it’s also good for digestion. It can help with indigestion, gas, heartburn, nausea and stomach cramps. Now, obviously, sprinkling cinnamon on stuffing, turkey or mashed potatoes is … let’s just say, weird.

But what you can easily do, if you know you’re going to be indulging, before you head out for the big holiday meal, is make a cup of tea and sprinkle some cinnamon in it. Or, you can make yourself a cup of Golden Milk.

Golden Milk (click here for my recipe) is a dairy-free drink that I make with almond milk and features several of the spices above. My recipe for Golden Milk includes turmeric, ginger and cinnamon, and of course, a pinch of fresh ground black pepper.

If you’re going to indulge a little, no worries, you’ll get back on track. Just make sure to start using these spices every day to help you digest those heavy meals.

Love,

Veronica (Chef V)

P.S. Having a daily 16 oz. serving of my Green Drink will also do wonders for your digestion. That’s how I start my day, even on the holidays.

Brandon, veronica and Coco

Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies

Chef V

It’s not Christmas until the smell of gingerbread is wafting through your kitchen. Thankfully we got you covered with our very own homemade recipe created with your health in mind.

Ingredients that will leave your taste buds satisfied instead of full with regret, these are also a great gift for neighbors, teachers and party hosts. A little secret…It’s just as much fun making them as it is eating them.

But don’t take our word for it, get festive with your favorite cookie cutters and designs with our coconut whipped cream as frosting. Enjoy!

gingerbread cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp. flaxseed meal
  • 3 tbsp. filtered water
  • ½ cup coconut sugar
  • ¼ cup raw, unsweetened almond butter
  • 3 tbsp. raw coconut nectar
  • ¼ cup vegan butter or coconut oil
  • 1 tsp. ginger
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp. nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp. sea salt
  • ½ tsp. baking soda
  • 2 cups gluten-free baking flour (we like Bob’s Red Mill)

What You’ll Need

Rolling Pin
Gingerbread cookie cutters

Directions

  • Mix flax meal with water and let rest for 5 minutes. This mixture will serve as our egg substitute.
  • Mix all ingredients together except the flour for 3 minutes on high. Add flour and stir with a spoon or mix with your hands. If mix is too dry, add 1 tsp. of water at a time until dough like consistency.
  • Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.
  • Remove the dough and preheat the oven to 350 F.
  • Cover a flat surface or cutting board and the rolling pin with gluten-free flour to prevent sticking.
  • Roll the dough out to a thin consistency (the cookies will not rise very much). Use the cookie cutters to create the shape of your gingerbread men.
  • Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with coconut oil or other cooking spray.
  • Space the cookies 1 ½ inch away from each other and bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly crisp. Let the cookies cool and use coconut whipped cream as frosting. (See our Coconut Whipped Cream recipe HERE.)

Your Guide to Gluten

Chef V

If you’ve been buying Chef V detox juice products, you may have noticed that we mention all our products are gluten-free. You’ve probably also seen gluten-free options appearing in more and more places over the past years. If you’re someone with a gluten allergy or intolerance, buying gluten-free has probably become second nature to you. However, the whole gluten-free diet is somewhat perplexing for many of us. Since we offer gluten-free products, it makes sense that we give a brief overview of what exactly this means for you!

What is Gluten?

Okay, basics first. Before you figure out if there’s gluten in your 3 day juice cleanse or 7 day juice cleanse, you’ll need to know what it is. Gluten is, in simplest terms, a protein. Of course, since proteins make up a ton of food and a good portion of our body, that doesn’t exactly narrow it down.

More specifically, gluten is a protein found in wheat products, like rye and barley. Beyond being naturally found in some foods, gluten is also a very popular food additive. This is because gluten works just like glue. It’s perfect for helping food products stick together and maintain their shape and consistency.

So gluten shows up in plenty of products you’d expect, such as bread, cereals, and pasta. However, it can also sneak into things like sauces and dressings, used as a binding agent.

What’s the Issue?

The primary issue with gluten is that many people have a severe intolerance for it, known as celiac disease.

It’s essential to note that celiac disease is not strictly a wheat allergy. A wheat allergy is a specific, separate, and often severe condition.

Celiac disease is a bit more of a complicated topic. Essentially, the small intestine of someone with celiac disease triggers an immune response whenever it detects gluten, believing that the gluten is harmful. The response has a lot of nasty side effects – lack of nutritional absorption, diarrhea, anemia, bloating, the works.

So you can understand why clearly marking gluten-free products is super important to people with this condition. Providing gluten-free products is a way to be more inclusive in who can enjoy those products.

Other Benefits of Gluten-Free

As you can guess, the general “schtick” of a gluten-free diet involves cutting back on wheat products and avoiding non-organic foods. Hey – that sounds a little bit like an organic diet that’s also low carb!

For this reason, gluten-free or gluten-reduced diets are also taking off among people who are generally health-conscious. Obviously, just because something is gluten-free doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily healthy. You could eat a diet of only red meat and technically be gluten-free.

Still, a standard gluten-free diet will involve lots of fruits and vegetables, leaner meats, and low-fat dairy products. This isn’t just an excellent diet for people worried about gluten – it’s also an ideal diet for losing weight. If you’re between taking our detox juice cleanses, you may want to keep an eye out for gluten-free options.

Proudly Gluten Free

At Chef V, all our products, from 3-day juice cleanses to 7-day juice cleanses to our green drink, are gluten-free. So no matter if you’re protecting your digestive health or simply looking to lose weight, we have a safe and effective product for you. So check out our detox juice, and get your delivery booked today!

© 2021 Chef V, LLC.