Stuffed Raw Bell Peppers

The other night I was with my friend Heather and her family and she threw a vegetarian dinner fest.  It was such a great feeling not only eating such delicious, tasty, satisfying foods but afterwards none of that bloated, heavy, tired feeling to deal with.  One of her recipes, based on Jamie Oliver’s recipe, was stuffed red peppers.  In the original version of course it’s all cooked and there is feta cheese, so I decided to experiment.  I turned it into what I call a transitional recipe.  For those transitioning into raw foods, it really helps in the initial stages to have recipes that get you half way there (at least half raw),  still tasty and you feel great after eating them. My gauge to knowing if they are a success or not is always my  husband.  Whenever he starts raving about it or asking for seconds I know it’s good!  So, this one has his two thumbs up, and I know it will have yours.  Unfortunately, I forgot to write the measurements, so you may want to experiment yourself. But here it is roughly:

4 bell peppers

1 cup quinoa

1/2 cup of chopped Kalamata olives, pits removed.  (I like to rinse the olives because they are so salty).

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1/2 cup finely chopped cauliflower

1/2 red onion chopped into small pieces

1/2 cup pine nuts (soaked over a few hours)

1 tbsp coriander

1 cup sun-dried tomatoes (I use the dry sun-dried tomatoes then soak them in just enough water to cover them)

1 handful of fresh mint leaves

Cook quinoa until grain appears soft (about 12-15 minutes).  When cooked pour into a bowl and add rest of the ingredients.  Cut up dried tomatoes and add them too along with the juice to add flavor.  Mix it together well.

Cut the bell peppers in half and fill them with the stuffing.  Serve and devour! 🙂