I've never heard they're poison... this link says they're interchangeable with banana leaves, I'd think they would be more tender, so you'd have to use more, or maybe wrap tin foil around them after the leaves...http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/505854 And in South America they eat the rhizomes- grind it into flour for thickeners.

I got the original recipe here: http://vegan-magic.blogspot.com/2012/06/bean-and-lentil-loaf-low-fat-gluten.html where credit is given to Anne Sheasby's book "High fibre cooking". Here is the version I did tonight, written as for a non-cook as much as possible: Food Processor, scale, large mixing bowl, strainer or slotted spoon, two pots, mixing bowl, measuring cups and spoons, wooden spoon or other cooking spoon, 9" loaf pan (mine is shiny aluminum), prep bowls, cutting board and knife, pastry brush (preferably silicone) Dry Garbanzo beans, about 200 g cooked weight Dry beans (black eyed peas tonight, white or black beans another time), about 200 g cooked weight 400 g cooked weight dried green lentils 1 onion, about the size of a fist, chopped 2 stalks of celery, chopped 1 large or 4 small cloves of garlic, squished and chopped or pressed Oil for sauteing (I use Extra Light Olive Oil) Carrots, about 8 peeled baby or one large 1/2 c. walnut pieces 1/2 c. almond meal 2 TBSP tapioca starch 2 TBSP ground flax seeds 1/2 cup crumbs (better idea than rice) 3-4-ish TBSP Simply Heinz tomato ketchup (if you're picky--any would do), plus more for brushing on later Be generous on the measures with the spices. Not heaping, but a little rondure. :) 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp ground coriander 1/2 tsp chili powder 1/2 tsp chipotle powder 1 tsp smoked Spanish paprika 1/2 tsp black pepper, not too fine 1/2 tsp Morton's table salt (I say go for the iodine when cooking because who wants goiter?) 1 very very generous tsp dried basil 1 tsp dried thyme Day before: Rinse and sort beans, well. Put beans in a heavy pot, cover with water, bring briefly to a boil and let cool, then put in fridge overnight. Day of:Pour off some of the bean water until it's only about a third of the way up. Bring to a moving simmer and cook the beans through to tender. Should take about the time it takes for the water to boil off/be absorbed. About 20 minutes. Add back more bean water if needed. Rinse and sort lentils, well. Cook about a cup of lentils to 3-4 cups of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes until they puff up. Saute onions and celery. When the onions start going transparent, add the garlic. Continue to cook until soft but not carmelized (brown). Put the walnut pieces in the food processor and pulse until small. Add the almond meal and pulse a few more times to mix. Put nut mixture in mixing bowl. Put carrots in food processor and pulse until small but not minced and loosing their water. Add to mixing bowl. Add the crumbs to the mixing bowl. Measure and combine in a prep bowl: seasonings, spices, herbs, flaxseed and tapioca (i.e., the small amounts of dry stuff). Mix well with a fork. Set oven to 350 degrees F. Drain both the beans and lentils. Measure out 400 grams of the lentils and 400 grams of the beans. Put equal portions in the food processor with a portion of the sauteed mixture equal to the proportion of the beans/lentils. That is, if you're putting in a third of the beans and a third of the lentils, use a third of the sauteed vegetables. Turn on the FP and let it run until a paste develops. Scrape down the sides once or twice. It's done when looking from the top (lid off) it seems well blended and doesn't have big pieces of anything showing. About the texture of stiff hummus. Empty into mixing bowl and repeat until done. Mix the contents of the bowl with your wooden spoon until everything is well distributed. Add the ketchup, and mix. Pour the spice mixture all around the bowl so that it's well spread out, and mix bringing the outside edges in, until all the spice mix is well mixed in and distributed. If you think it needs more color, add another squirt of ketchup. Prepare the loaf pan by generously oiling it (or spray oil). Not enough oil for puddles, but so there's lots on the sides and bottom. Don't do this ahead or the oil will all run down. The oil is for making the crust as much as keeping the loaf from sticking. Put the bean mixture in the pan and smooth the top. Try to get the sides not to stick up so they won't burn. Place in the middle of a 350 degree oven on convection/bake if you have it, or else convection or bake. Set the timer for 45 minutes. If the top is at all dry looking, use your pastry brush to cover it with a thin layer of ketchup. Bake a further 10-15 minutes. When it's ready the edges will just be getting dark and will be pulling away from the sides of the pan. Remove from oven and put on a rack. Let it cool and rest for at least 20 minutes. When the pan's edges are cool enough to touch, place your plate over the pan, grab the edges of both and invert. Garnish as you please. A scalloped or serrated knife will probably cut the cleanest, or choose a thin blade. Just don't press down so hard it squishes. Since I wasn't having company, I went for the practical and unmolded my loaf onto the top of a long Ziploc container. That made it easy to just put the container over the loaf for storage in the fridge. Edit: Left off the lentils from the ingredients. This post was edited by plllog on Tue, May 6, 14 at 1:10

Lori I thought of you tonight when we had this kick butt dinner that was gluten free. You have to like veggies though! Kale, White bean and Vegetable stew over Polenta YIELD: 4 servings (serving size: 1 3/4 cups) Ingredients 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 cup chopped onion (I think I used about double that) 2 (4-ounce) links Italian style chicken sausage, cut into (1/2-inch) slices. You could also use turkey sausage, and I recommend getting the spicy kind for this dish. 1 zucchini, quartered and cut into (1/2-inch) slices (about 2 cups) I added half a green pepper, but it is optional and did add a little more oomph to the flavor (again, if you like green peppers) 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed 6 cups chopped trimmed kale (about 1/2 pound) 1/2 cup water (I used vegetable broth, could also use chicken broth) 2 (16-ounce) cans cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained. (I used butter beans, I love them!) I only used one can 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced fire roasted tomatoes, undrained 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/4 tsp. italian seasoning and a healthy dash of Mrs. Dash garlic and herb seasoning Preparation Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saut� onion and sausage 4 minutes or until sausage is browned. Add zucchini and garlic; cook 2 minutes. Add kale and remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated. (I added about 1 TBLSP tomato paste to thicken the stew) Serve immediately over polenta. Polenta (Get it from Bob's Red Mill, their stuff is usually very fresh) 2 cups water and 1 cup vegetable or chicken broth, or all water 1/4 tsp. salt (use 1/2 if you're using all water) 1 cup polenta 1/4 cup parmesean or romano cheese or fontina cheese 1 1/2 TBLSP butter for frying (that's optional, you can use olive oil or broil polenta instead of frying, or just serve the stew over soft polenta.) Bring the water/broth mix to a boil. Add the salt and stir in the polenta. Stir it as you add it to the pot to keep it from clumping. Turn the pot down to low. Simmer the polenta for at least 15 min., until it is very thick. Add the cheese. Pour the polenta into a large flat pan, well oiled. Let the polenta cool and coagulate in the pan. This will take about 15 min. Can make ahead. Then, cut the polenta into squares and fry in butter until browned on both sides, which should take about 10 min. Can also brush with olive oil and broil the polenta. Serve in flat bowls topped with the stew and a shaving of parmesean cheese. Yummo!

Sooz- What brand of stevia product are you using? That would help with finding or altering recipes for you. I have a number of stevia products and they all measure differently, and I use them differently. Some measure cup-for-cup for sugar and others would take 1/2 t.-1 t. for a recipe. I also have a the cookbook "Stevia - naturally sweet recipes for desserts, drinks and more!" by Rita DePuydt, but these recipes are NOT gluten-free (although I think there are some that could be converted to g-f all-purpose flour or almond meal). Helpful hints baking with stevia: *It helps if the recipe utilizes fruit, fruit juice/s, fruit sauces and purees, and dairy products (sour cream, cream cheese, yogurt, etc.). The fruit sugars help with the sweetness and disguise the "aftertaste" from stevia. You can use less stevia since the sugar in fruit also adds sweetness. The dairy products help keep the baked goods from drying out and lactose (a sugar) aids in some browning. *Refrigerate or freeze cookie dough for 4-hours or overnight before baking. The cookies will taste sweeter. *Add 1-3 T. of another sweetener such as date sugar, malt syrup, rice syrup, agave nectar, coconut (palm) nectar, or honey. These also help with browning. Since stevia doesn't brown like sugar, baked goods look anemic. It also doesn't tenderize or moisten baked goods. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Be sure to check out Paleo recipes and Low-Carb recipes. They are generally gluten-free (using almond flour and coconut flour) and use fruit (medjool dates, apple butter, applesauce, fruit spreads, etc) or low-glycemic yacon syrup, coconut nectar, palm sugar, stevia and other low-cal. chemical sweeteners. I've used Swerve (which is a brand name of Erythritol), but didn't care all that much for it. I thought it was used best with another low-carb sweetener like palm sugar or agave nectar. I avoid Splenda because I react to it. The link below is a sugar-free recipe I happen to have in the cookie jar right now. It calls for 1 T. agave nectar, but I usually use 2 T. coconut nectar (I make coconut nectar by melting 1-1/2 c. coconut palm sugar in 1/2 c. water on a warm burner). You could also use sugar-free honey in this recipe (I can find it at Wal-Mart), which is another sugar-free option for you. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Blueberry Coconut Pecan Breakfast Cookies