Tasked with coming up with recipes for a “gluten-free” class at the Cancer Support Community, I had to rack my brain a bit. I’ve been doing cooking demonstrations for this group for over 15 years. The group is made up of cancer survivors and their caregivers. I often recognize the participants from class to class, so I try to not repeat recipes. It’s rewarding to see them return over and over.

I strive to use vegetarian recipes for this group as I do with most cooking demos. For starters, it’s less expensive than using meat, and much safer from a food safety point of view. In addition, in the end, I want to encourage more fruits and vegetables in people’s diets, especially in those dealing with cancer and other health conditions.

Traditional stuffed peppers contain meat and rice, but this version provides much less fat and more fiber with just as much flavor. Using quinoa instead of rice increases the iron, protein, and fiber of the recipe. Adding a food source of vitamin C like peppers or tomatoes, enhances the iron absorption from the beans and quinoa. So much winning!

I used Great Northern Beans in this one, but Navy beans or cannellini beans (white kidney beans) would also work well. Look and see what’s in your pantry and fridge. You can also add chopped spinach or kale to the recipe if you’d like.

If you prefer a Latin flare, use black or kidney beans and use 1 tsp. cumin and 1 tsp. oregano in place of the Italian seasoning. A dash of chili powder or cayenne pepper would be lovely! You can make the recipe vegan by omitting the cheese.

Ingredients

8 large sweet bell peppers (red, orange, yellow)

1 Tbsp. olive or canola oil

1 small white or yellow onion, diced                         

3 garlic cloves, minced

11/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 tsp. salt

1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes (do not rinse)

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1 (15 oz) can Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed                              

2 cups cooked quinoa

4 Tbsp. grated or shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1.                  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

2.                  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

3.                  Cut tops off of the peppers and chop the tops and set aside. Place the large peppers on the baking sheet.

4.                  In a large pan, heat the olive oil then cook the onions and peppers for 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and beans.

5.                  Simmer the tomatoes and beans for 5 minutes.

6.                  In a large bowl, combine the tomato and bean mixture with the cooked quinoa.

7.                  Spoon 3/4 cup of the bean and quinoa mixture into the cut peppers

8.                  Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven.

9.                  Add Parmesan cheese and bake for another 3 to 5 minutes until cheese is melted.

Makes 8 servings. Nutrition facts per serving: 214 calories, 4.1gm fat, 1 gm saturated fat, 10.2 gm protein, 36.2 gm carbohydrate,8.6 gm fiber, 3 mg cholesterol, 745 mg sodium

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@nutrigirl