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5 Great Reasons to Try Quinoa
Everyone knows that whole grains provide a whole host of health benefits including lowering heart disease risk and helping with weight maintenance.
I love to experiment with different whole grains and by far one of my favorites is Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wa).
Over the past few years, I would often start my day with a big bowl of hot quinoa mixed with walnuts, flaxseeds, berries and protein powder.
It is one breakfast that leaves me feeling satisfied and full of energy for the rest of the day.
Recently, my wife has become an expert at cooking quinoa and we now eat it as a side dish more often than rice or sweet potatoes.
5 Reasons to Eat Quinoa
- Price - Quinoa is inexpensive.
One of the biggest challenges that I hear from patients is that eating healthier is often too costly. I agree that many organic foods are more expensive, but whole grains are one exception. For only $2.95 per pound- you have enough quinoa to eat several times in one week. - Quinoa is gluten free
With the rising incidence of Celiac's disease in many populations, Quinoa is one grain that contains no gluten, so it is safe for anyone with Celiac's disease or a suspected intolerance to wheat products. - Quinoa is a good source of protein.
A ½ cup serving of dry quinoa has approximately 11 grams of protein. When cooked, one cup of quinoa is about 254 calories and has almost 9 grams of protein. Quinoa is one of the few grains that is a complete protein. - Quinoa is loaded with minerals
Quinoa contains potassium, magnesium and manganese. Of these three minerals, magnesium is one of the most common mineral deficiencies in the body. Magnesium helps regulate the absorption of calcium, energy production and aids with muscle contraction. - Quinoa is easy to cook.
One of the easiest ways to make quinoa is to take 1 cup of quinoa and boil it with 2 cups of organic chicken broth. This normally takes about 15 minutes. As the quinoa is finished, add 1 Tbsp of curry powder. Now you can sprinkle in anything you want from raisins to sautéed mushrooms and enjoy.
Ways to Use Quinoa
- In place of rice
- In soups
- In salads
- As a breakfast cereal
- In vegetarian chili or meat sauce
- In veggie burgers
- In puddings
Let us know any of your favorite quinoa recipes.
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48 Comments
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Created / Updated: January 20, 2012
How can you call 9 grams protein out of 254 calories "a good source of protein"?
Replythink bout it...if u eat it as a cereal....how many cereals have 6g of fibre, 9 grams of complete protein, essential nutrients and a decent dose of carbs with no added sugar? it's a natural choice
ReplyI imagine that's compared to rice or couscous or some other similar item. Not steak.
ReplyThat's why quinoa is so good for vegans and vegetarians who don't eat meat.
ReplyI absolutely LOVE quinoa. In our supermarket they make this Quinoa similar to "rice a roni", which is Quinoa, a small amount of short grain rice and seasoning. Delicious.
ReplyQuinoa is a good source of protein in the sense that it is a "complete" protein - it contains all 9 essential amino acids.
I've used quinoa off/on as a side dish. Definitely goes well as a replacement for rice or other grains/pastas.
ReplyI never much liked the taste of quinoa. But, now, wild rice, that's a different story. It has to be wild-harvested, though, and then it has to come roasted properly. With some that I've eaten, there was a burnt taste.
But now I have a good source for wild rice, and eat it about once or twice a week. Goes really good with a steak.
And wild rice is a little higher in protein and fiber than quinoa. And lower in fat too. While I'm not anti-fat (I'm actually pro-fat), I am against mixing fats and carbs in the same meal, which causes an increased insulin response. So I'm glad to be on the wild-rice train.
BTW, neither quinoa nor wild rice are true grains. They are grass seeds.
ReplyKailash,
You've got me confused. What's a true grain? Wheat grains are seeds that produce wheat grass, barley leads to barley grass, oats to oat grass, etc, and I thought that a grain is the seed that is produced from those grasses? Why would quinoa and wild rice be any different?
ReplyPerhaps Kailash is talking about the quinoa "family" in which case no, quinoa is actually not a grain (strangely enough it is in the same family as spinach and swiss chard).
Nevertheless, quinoa is a fantastic food.
ReplyI love quinoa, but my husband hates it, so I tend to make it for just myself. I like to make it with homemade chicken stock (ie, not the canned salty stuff) instead of water to give it a little more flavor. I usually eat it like I would rice, but I'm sure you could use it for other things as well.
Replyhmm. where do they sell quinoa? health food markets? and how does it taste? i've grown to love whole wheat bread (in moderation) and brown rice. how does quinoa compare to the two?
ReplyWe've had great luck cooking quinoa in our rice cooker. Use slightly more water than you would with white rice -- we use a 1.5:1 quinoa:rice ratio (by volume, before cooking).
ReplyHa, I was confused. So I did more research.
Wild rice is a grain, but it is not rice. It's the seed of a marsh grass which grows in the northern U.S. and Canada.
Quinoa is not a grain, but the seed of a member of the Goosefoot family, which includes beets, spinach, swiss chard and lamb's quarters.
ReplyOk I think I've got it now - all grains are seeds, but of course not all seeds are grains, and quinoa is a different kind of seed. Gotcha.
Nixie I don't really think that quinoa has much in common taste-wise with brown rice or whole wheat, it's kind of bland and the texture is unique. I agree with the other people who like it cooked with chicken broth, it's nice as a pilaf with some nuts and dried fruit and spices added to it. I've found some good recipes on the net. I can get it in my grocery store but if not it will be in natural food stores for sure.
ReplyOh, one more thing about quinoa: Make sure you wash it first.
There are natural chemicals on the surface of quinoa known as sapopins. These should be removed with water, vigorously scrubbing or perhaps shaking. There will be a suds created as sapopins are removed. It is important to remove them as sapopins have a bitter taste and are anti-nutrients, meaning they will block nutrition from entering your body.
Replyhey kailash what is the indian name, i mean what is quinoa known as in india???
ReplyI agree with you. Quinoa is one of the most healthy grains. I eat it as part of my source of protein. I prepare quick Quinoa Soup with fresh vegetables. I will try it as a rice/side dish... will let you know.
Reply@kailash.....
youe name makes me think you are an indian......?am from india too but dint really get what exactly are quinoa grains called in india as my mom's quite transfixed with the idea that india grains are the best......also that where exactly the right quality of wild rice be fetched from....?
Replyyears back we used to cultivate brown rice ourself at my ancestral village but since nobody stays there now its a little difficult to get the same stuff harvested right......