Wendy Polisi - The Gluten-Free Quintessential Quinoa Cookbook: Eat Great, Lose Weight, Feel Healthy

WENDY POLISI SKYHORSE PUBLISHING Copyright 2013 by Wendy Polisi All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018. Skyhorse Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or info@skyhorsepublishing.com.

Skyhorse and Skyhorse Publishing are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation. Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available on file. ISBN: 978-1-62087-699-2 Printed in China

T en years ago, if you had told me that I would become a healthy, gluten-free cook, I would have told you that you had the wrong person. For starters, I didnt even know what gluten-free meant back then. With deep Southern roots and a love for all things gourmet, healthy and cooking werent two words that I associated with each other. Ever.

If it wasnt fit for the pages of Southern Living or Bon Apptit then it just wasnt for me. Ive never been good at sacrifices. I often joke to my readers that I just dont do deprivation... and I dont. Lifes too short. My road to healthy eating has been long and winding with lots of detours along the way.

It probably would have never happened if I hadnt stumbled on the fact that real, healthy food actually tasted better than the processed packaged junk that I grew up on. I became gluten-free because I feel better gluten-free. Like a lot of you, I dont have celiac or any real disease that demands I follow a gluten-free diet. My system just doesnt deal well with todays wheat and so I made the lifestyle choice to eliminate gluten from my diet. (More on that later.) At the center of my gluten-free diet is quinoa. and it can do the same thing for you! Quinoa, Gluten & Your Health Those of you who know me via my website (CookingQuinoa.net) know that, while I love quinoa, Im not such an advocate that I believe it is the solution to all of your health problems. and it can do the same thing for you! Quinoa, Gluten & Your Health Those of you who know me via my website (CookingQuinoa.net) know that, while I love quinoa, Im not such an advocate that I believe it is the solution to all of your health problems.

I love quinoa, I think you should eat quinoa, but lets get real. A healthy (gluten-free) diet demands variety and balance. I encourage you to try quinoa and see if it can work for you in the same way it has worked for me, but I would never suggest that you need to eat quinoa every day to be healthy. What I do encourage you to do is find healthy meals that you actually like and make them a regular part of your diet. Going gluten-free can be challenging and at times a bit discouraging. Rather than thinking about all the things you cant have, focus on adding the right foods to your diet.

Of course, I think quinoa is one of those foods. It is one of the healthiest foods that you can eat and, done right, it can also fill your need for comfort food. Im not a nutritionist and Im not qualified to tell you what your diet should be. But I am someone who has lost a good deal of weight and someone for whom eating gluten-free has made a tremendous difference, so I will share with you what has worked for me. Keep It Clean & Simple Simplicity is critical on your journey to health, but simplicity and eating gluten-free dont always go hand in hand. If you are transitioning to a gluten-free diet, now is a great time to focus on real whole foods that are naturally gluten-free.

So many people use becoming glutenfree as an excuse to rely on packaged foods. I get the convenience factor, but for most of us the very reason that we follow a gluten-free diet is to improve our health. It just doesnt make sense to make processed gluten-free foodsmany of which are packed with GMOs (genetically modified organisms)the cornerstone of your diet. Real foods will energize you and can also be quite simple. This is where quinoa really comes in hand! You can make a big batch over the weekend and it will last all week in the refrigerator. This means that you are never more than 15 minutes away from a simple salad or wrap.

If you are gluten intolerant and havent been following a whole foods diet, you will be amazed at the difference eating right will make in your life. My Story Ive made quinoa a key component in my real food diet and because of this it has made a significant difference in my road back to health. Although Im nowhere near perfect, I can honestly say that Im healthier in my forties than I was in my early thirties. When I met my husband, I was twenty-six years old and there is no denying it: I was buff. I ran almost daily, lifted weights with the guys, and did kickboxing back when you had to go to a martial arts studio to find a class. I used to joke that if I didnt get bruises it wasnt a workout.

Health was at the core of who I wasat least I thought so. The problem is that I really didnt see the relationship between what I ate and my health. I thought that as long as I was working out five or six days a week, I was healthy. I love food and we were lucky enough to be young and single, with both of us making good money. This coupled with our love for gourmet food and wine meant that one of our favorite things in the world to do was go out to nice dinners. And we didoften four or more nights a week.

I never worried about calories and instead enjoyed the moment. In my mind I was young enough that it shouldnt matter. When we werent eating out, I was cooking gourmet meals at home. Bon Apptit was my best friend and back in those days the richer a dish was the better! Flash forward six years. Im sitting in the doctors office. Its a routine visit and Im annoyed to be there.

Im thinking to myself get the prescription for your birth control pills refilled and get out of here as soon as you can. (After all, we had dinner reservations that night!) The nurse is taking my blood pressure and looks puzzled. She stops and looks at me in disbelief and doesnt say anything. She takes my blood pressure again. She leaves the room, still not saying anything. When she comes back she has another cuff and takes it for a third time.