Quinoa

Quinoa is a staple at our house. I substitute quinoa wherever I would use brown rice. It cooks in half the time! It is such a healthy grain with so many benefits. In a one cup serving it has about 11 grams of protein! It is one of the grains that is gluten free, contains a balanced set of amino acids making it a complete protein, and it is very versatile. Quinoa can be substituted for almost any grain in almost any recipe. It looks and tastes great on its own, or in any dish from soup to salad. It is easy to find at any health store and I've also seen it at "regular" grocery stores in their health food section. When cooked, the germ emerges as a tiny, curly tail. My kids like to call it "curly rice". I normally buy the white variety but you can also find it in red or black. The red has a nutty flavor which is great for salads. The black seems to be a little stronger flavored.

To Cook:

Always, always, always rinse your quinoa before cooking. It has a bitter outer coating that is very strong but a rinse under water takes it away. If you have a fine strainer that would work best. I don't have one so I usually swish mine around in my cooking pot, rubbing it with my hands, and then drain as carefully as I can, and then fill up with the correct amount of cooking water. 1 cup grain to 2 cups water. Simmer 15-20 minutes covered.

To Use:

-As a side: salt, pepper and/or butter or our favorite...plain. So much flavor you don't really need anything else.

-Served under foods such as stir fry (or any other food you would normally serve over rice)

-Breakfast: We like it warm with, cinnamon, brown sugar or honey, and soy or almond milk poured over the top. I try to always make twice as much as I need at dinner time so I'll have some to heat up in the morning. I like to rotate cooked quinoa, cooked brown rice, and oatmeal in our breakfast lineup. My kids like all three and I serve them all the same with some sort of milk, berries/raisins/apples, nuts, cinnamon, coconut, etc. What a great breakfast!

-Makes a great first food after baby is 6 months old. I usually mix with some pureed food to help it go down better.

-Mixed into soups or salads. I also throw some in my chicken pot pie, enchiladas, or anything else that needs to be stretched further.

-Substitute in recipes calling for couscous. Great with ratatouille!



As you can see, quinoa is very versatile. I have a few actual recipes that I make but mostly I throw it in, mix it with, or add it to pretty much any recipe. In fact, you could easily add cooked quinoa to the zucchini boats I just posted if you needed the filling to stretch a little further. I will post some of my favorite quinoa recipes. I don't have pictures of them right now but I can add them later. If you have any favorite quinoa recipes...please share! As you can see, I LOVE quinoa!!



Here is a great website if you want to learn more about quinoa. Every pantry should include quinoa!