I know, I know, I just did a quiche recipe. What can I say? We’re a little quiche obsessed lately. This quiche is more eggy and less cheesy than the last one and should be fairly easy to make vegetarian or vegan (most of my recipes are). Let me know if you try it out.

CARAMELIZED ONION, MUSHROOM AND PARMESAN QUICHE WITH GLUTEN FREE OAT CRUST
Adapted from Ellie Krieger’s recipe
2146 total or 268 per slice
Makes 8 servings
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The Crust
Cooking Spray
1/2 cup Brown Rice Flour – 195
1/4 cup Sorghum Flour – 120
1/4 cup Potato Starch – 120
1 1/2 cups Oatmeal – 450
3 tbsp Butter – 300
3 tbsp Low Fat Buttermilk – 41
1/4 tsp Salt
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1359

The Filling
3 Large Eggs – 270
3 Egg Whites (6 tbsp egg whites) – 50
1 Large Onion, sliced thinly into half moons – 60
8 oz Mushrooms, sliced – 60
1 cup Evaporated Fat-Free Milk – 200
4 tsp Olive Oil – 160
4 tbsp Shredded Parmesan Cheese – 120
1/2 tsp Salt – 0
1/4 tsp Black Pepper – 0
1/4 tsp Dry Mustard Powder – 9
1 tsp Fresh Thyme Leaves, chopped (or 1 tsp dry) – 0
——————————————————————————–
920

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch pie dish with cooking spray.

To prepare the crust, put the oats, flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse 3 times to combine. Add the butter and pulse about 12 times, until you get a pebbly course texture. Add the buttermilk and pulse 3 to 5 times more to combine. Form the mixture into a ball and place it between 2 large pieces of waxed paper. Roll out into a circle about 10 inches in diameter.

Remove the top sheet of waxed paper. Transfer the crust, still on the other piece of waxed paper to the pie dish, then remove the waxed paper from the top. Press the crust gently into the dish. Bake for 10 minutes, then let cool.

To prepare the filling, heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a large nonstick pan over a medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and caramelized, about 20 minutes. Transfer the onions to a bowl. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil to the pan and heat over a medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until they have released their water and begin to brown, about 6 minutes. Add the onions back to the pan, stir in the salt, pepper, mustard and thyme.

In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, egg whites and evaporated milk.

Sprinkle the cheese onto the pie crust. Top with the mushroom-onion mixture and pour the egg mixture on top. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Bake for 35 minutes or until knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting into 8 wedges and serving.

Sean is currently at 221 and I’m at 293, meaning we’ve both lost twenty pounds. To bad we’re about to gain it all back. Why? Because this quiche is so good I don’t think I can eat just one piece. I need someone from the Food Protection Program to come get the rest and hide it away. We had it for dinner tonight along with a glass of iced tea and a hearty romaine salad and some of our yummy home-made honey mustard dressing. And for just 350 calories, that’s a meal you can love that will love you back. Let me know if you make this and how you change it up. I guarantee your family will love it. If not I’ll come to your house and dispose of the leftovers myself.

VEGETABLE QUICHE
2373 total/ 296 per slice
Makes 8 servings

Cooking Spray
1/2 cup Brown Rice Flour = 195
1/2 cup Sorghum Flour = 240
1/4 cup Potato Starch = 120
1 1/2 cups Oatmeal = 450
3 tbsp Butter = 300
6 tbsp Low Fat Buttermilk = 122
1/4 tsp Salt – 0
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1427

Filling
1 cup Frozen Spinach – 30
1/4 Onion. chopped finely – 16
6 Baby Carrots, chopped finely – 30
1/2 cup Part-Skim Ricotta Cheese – 180
3/4 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese – 330
1/4 cup Evaporated Non-Fat milk – 50
2 Eggs, lightly beaten – 180
2 tsp Dijon Mustard – 10
4 slices Turkey Bacon, cooked and chopped finely – 120
1/2 tsp salt – 0
1/2 tsp pepper – 0
1/2 tsp All Purpose Seasoning – 0
————————————————————–
946

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch pie dish with cooking spray.

To prepare the crust, put the oats, flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse 3 times to combine. Add the butter and pulse about 12 times, until you get a pebbly course texture. Add the buttermilk and pulse 3 to 5 times more to combine. Form the mixture into a ball and place it between 2 large pieces of waxed paper. Roll out into a circle about 10 inches in diameter.

Remove the top sheet of waxed paper. Transfer the crust, still on the other piece of waxed paper to the pie dish, then remove the waxed paper from the top. Press the crust gently into the dish. Bake for 10 minutes, then let cool.

Spray a hot skillet with a small amount of cooking spray and sauté onions, carrots and frozen spinach. In a large bowl, combine all the vegetables with the bacon and spread over the bottom of the crust evenly. In another bowl combine the ricotta cheese, cheddar cheese, milk, eggs, mustard, all purpose seasoning, salt, and black pepper. Mix well. Spread cheese mixture on top of vegetable mixture in prepared pie crust.

Bake 25 minutes, until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean and the crust is golden brown.

I’ve been hearing a lot lately about Celiac disease in the news. I think it’s great, after all Celiac Disease is severely under diagnosed in the United States and people with Celiac Disease are often misdiagnosed with things like IBS and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. On the other hand I’m hearing a lot of misinformation (like Celiac Disease is an allergy) and some people are turning gluten free diets into a fad. So publicity is a double edged sword.

I’m also noticing some things about the GF community now that I’m reading so many GF blogs and working so hard to get healthy. For starters a person with Celiac Disease (NOT Celiacs Disease, sorry pet peeve) is not ‘a Celiac’. Every time I read a sentence like: ‘Celiacs have an intolerance to wheat’ I want to pull my hair out. It’s a misuse of the word but worse it’s totally defining the person by their disease. I’m not my disease, I’m not a celiac, I’m a human being who has Celiac Disease. And while we’re on the subject, please don’t refer to me as a cancer survivor. Cancer doesn’t define my life, it’s a small fraction of what makes me who I am but it’s not the defining factor of my being.

The other thing that’s really been bothering me is the fact that every GF blog is focused primarily on bread products. Where to buy them, how to make them, what to use as a substitute. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some bread. Before my diagnosis I was breads biggest fan. When we had to stop eating out Olive Garden called to make sure I was all right. But come on guys! Bread, pasta, pastries, they’re all great but we’re becoming a little obsessive. Instead of fighting your condition why not work with it? Embrace it?

I’m not saying I never eat bread products. I’ll make a pie and some stuffing for Thanksgiving. I have a homemade granola bar (or two) every day. I’ve even been known to buy a box of Pamela’s cookies once in awhile. But just like the disease doesn’t define me, my dietary restrictions don’t rule my diet. Going GF can be a really good thing, even for folks with Celiac Disease. It’s naturally low carb. Then we go and muck it up by eating all kinds of GF bread products that cost twice as much as the wheat variety and tend to have even more carbs and fat than the originals. Every GF food blog I read lists tons of recipes (primarily bread products) but almost never lists the nutritional information. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but just because you have dietary restrictions doesn’t mean you get a free pass on fat and calories.

No one is saying you have to give up bread products for life but there are a whole lot of other foods out there that are cheaper, better for you, easier to find and taste really good. So please folks, broaden your horizons. There’s a whole world of yummy food out there just waiting for you. So put down the rice bread and visit your local farmers market. And remember, you have Celiac Disease, you aren’t Celiac Disease.