For years I avoided bread because of my allergy to wheat. The gluten-free bread on the market was expensive and not very good. Some of that has changed - it is now possible to get excellent gluten-free bread, although it is still expensive.

A great alternative is rice paper. Traditionally, it is used to make spring rolls (a Vietnamese dish), but you can wrap almost anything in rice paper.

The pros of using rice paper to make a gluten-free meal is that it is versatile and inexpensive.

The cons of using rice paper is that you have to prepare it (easy to do, but this makes it less portable) and it does not keep well, making it hard to pack a lunch.

Makes about 2 1/4 cups

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup cooked brown rice (or cooked white rice)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup celery chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic finely chopped
• 1/2 cup coconut milk

Instructions

• Cook rice with a little salt
• Combine in a large bow
• Pack into bird cavity
• Bake immediately

See also: Be sure to check out these notes about stuffing a bird.

Makes about 4 1/4 cups

Makes about 2 1/2 cups

Ingredients

• 1 cup green seedless grapes
• 1 cup cooked rice
• 1/2 cup celery, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

• Cook rice with a little salt
• Stir together ingredients
• Stuff bird with mixture
• Bake immediately

See also: Be sure to check out these notes about stuffing a bird.

Notes about stuffing birds

• Do not stuff the bird and leave it for roasting later. That can develop bacteria which will not be destroyed with roasting.
• Allow about one cup of stuffing for each pound of ready-to-cook poultry or game birds.
• Stuffing can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated until needed.

If you are celiac, or are avoiding wheat or gluten for any other reason, you may be wondering how to stuff a turkey, chicken, or other bird. You may be asking yourself "will my allergy forever condemn me to eating dry foul?"

Fear not! There are many fantastic stuffing recipes which are wheat-free and gluten-free, and which you may enjoy even more than previously wheat-infested recipes. bread crumbs just aren't necessary in the stuffing.

This is more of a guide in an actual recipe. Since amounts depend on taste, appetite, and the number of people you are feeding, it is hard to get exact amounts. I will give approximate guidelines. None of the quantities are critical.

This recipe can be vagan if you use olive oil rather than butter.

If you have an allergy to rice, you can use other types of noodles, such as corn, buckwheat or (gasp!) wheat.

Quinoa Tabouleh

This Middle-Eastern dish is usually made with wheat. This is a great shame if you are allergic to wheat!

Deprive yourself no longer! Here is a wheat-free, gluten-free version of Tabouleh made with quinoa!

Ingredients

Quinoa

1 Cup quinoa grain
1 +1/2 tsp. Sea salt
1 ¾ cups water.

A tasty combination of rice, cheese and spinach. Note that you can use dairy-free cheese.

Note: if the rice has been cooked ahead of time, this recipe is much easier and faster to prepare.

This recipe was contributed by Frances Cheung.

The recipe can be made dairy-free by substituting the butter for olive oil.

• Preparation Time: 3 minutes
• Cook Time: 5 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings