The other day I had a friend ask me how I cook Quinoa. So today that is what our topic will be on. I'm not an expert on Quinoa (say it like kee-n-wha). I've only been using it for a little while. I was introduced to Quinoa by my very healthy mother-in-law. She was using it as a rice substitute. That is what I mostly do with it too. My family, yes even my children, really like it. It cooks a lot like rice. First and most important you must rinse it and rinse it well. Even if the package says pre rinsed, Still rinse it!! Then you double the amount of liquid to quinoa, boil for 15 minutes uncovered, then remove from heat, cover for 5 minutes, fluff and you're done. I do like to put some "better than bullion" in it or substitute some of the water with chicken stock or broth. It gives it a little more flavor that my kids like. I have ground it and made it into flour. I didn't do it right so it had a very strong flavor. I used it in my cornbread recipe from yesterday. So we just put a lot of honey on the bread and it was fine. I didn't rinse it before I ground it, rinsing is very important! I really think that rinsing would have made it better. I've seen lots of recipes that use Quinoa. My mother-in-law has used it in cookies and other things that I'm excited to try.
So that is what I've done with Quinoa. This is what I know about it.
It is Gluten Free.
It is a low glycemic index food.
It is an alkaline food, which is so good for you especially if you use it instead of white rice which is acidic. Anything alkaline you should add lots of it to your diet!
Quinoa is a whole grain and for me the first reason I use it is because it is a complete protein all on it's own. You don't have to add beans to it! I love that!
Quinoa has all 8 essential amino acids.
It has lots of iron so your brain gets more oxygen.
It has tons of fiber,
and it's low in fat.
You can find Quinoa at the Health Food stores. This picture is of the Quinoa that I buy from Costco. It is so much cheaper there. I haven't looked for it in normal grocery stores so I'm not sure if it is there or not.
Have fun experimenting with Quinoa!
No comments:
Post a Comment