If you’ve just jumped on board the gluten free bandwagon, it is likely that you’ll be in need of a little guidance when it comes to locating simple gluten free recipes that are healthy and flavourful, whilst also being quick and easy to prepare.

Firstly, let’s briefly discuss what gluten is and why we should reduce our intake…

Gluten is the collective name for proteins found in grains such as wheat, barley, and rye. The name is Latin in origin and means ‘glue’, aptly describing it’s characteristic properties.

One only needs to think of paper mache to demonstrate this feature. Given that a simple mixture of wheat flour and water has the ability to bind newspaper and harden into a plaster-like end product, suggests that it may be worth at least questioning whether it is good for our health to be consuming such vast quantities, especially with much of today’s wheat-containing significantly more gluten, often with additional harmful chemicals such as glyphosate (round up).

The substantial reduction in recommended grain intake in the recent (2015) revision to the food pyramid is, in some ways, an acknowledgment of this. That is, the previously advocated 11 servings of grain products have been drastically reduced, along with a recommendation towards whole grains rather than processed. 

Gluten free does not mean healthy.

With the increase in popularity of gluten free diets, it is becoming much easier to find products on supermarket shelves that are gluten free, gluten free offerings at cafes and restaurants, as well as finding gluten free recipes online. The challenging part, however, is finding simple gluten free recipes that are also healthy. 

NOTE: gluten free is not synonymous with healthy. Have you ever gone out to a cafe and opted for the gluten free toast option, thinking you’re making a good choice for your body, to be served something that looks a lot like cake? Well, the reason a lot of gluten free bread looks like cake is because, well, it pretty much is.

They may have taken out the gluten but this is often unnecessarily replaced with refined sugars and harmful preservatives/additives. The best way to avoid this is to be selective with where you dine out and learn how to prepare easy gluten free recipes at home.

 Healthy Luxe app

A great place to start is downloading the free Healthy Luxe recipe app. The app contains over 350 plant-based healthy recipes, the majority of which are gluten-free. Upon downloading the app, you will be asked to enter your dietary preferences/requirements so if you select ‘gluten free’, you will only see recipes that match this criteria. Other dietary requirements catered to on this app include dairy free, refined sugar free and nut free as well as regimes such as vegetarian, vegan and paleo.

The app has some of the best gluten free recipes going around from gluten free pancakes and waffles to pasta dishes using quinoa and amaranth pasta, and pesto zoodles (noodles made from zucchini). Hundreds of simple gluten free recipes that are packed with nutrients and flavor! Each recipe also includes nutritional information of key ingredients used, so you can learn about the unique health properties of the foods you are nourishing your body with.