Did You Know

Another trendy word in the world of food is pulses. They are the edible seeds of plants in the legume family including dried peas, beans, chickpeas and lentils. Pulses are so versatile and can be used in everything from soups, to salads, sandwiches, tacos, quesadillas, burritos, dips, nachos, casseroles, burgers, and the list goes on! Pulses are cheap and they can be stored in your pantry for long periods of time .
To learn more go to http://www.pulsecanada.com/food-health/what-is-a-pulse

Couscous, which looks a little like pasta and a little like rice, is made from grains of durum wheat, and is most definitely not gluten-free (wheat is one of the three grains that contain gluten; barley and rye are the other two).

Healthy gluten-free  alternatives to using couscous are brown rice or quinoa.

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Reading suggestion: A trip to the local bookstore magazine section was an eye opener. I had no idea there were so many publications devoted just to gluten-free recipes. I was a bit side tracked looking through a few of them. I had really come in for this publication from BHG recommend by a friend who was starting up a soup club using some of these recipes. 

What a wonderful variety of soups and stew recipes. Several recipes featured were immune boosting soups and skinny slow cooker recipes. Each page features a sidebar with lots of good information and cooking tips. Alert magazine only available until Feb. 6.  

Healthy Friday: Slow Cooker Chicken Quinoa Chili and it's  gluten-free loaded with lots of pulses.