I never knew what quinoa was or frankly have never heard of it until a few months ago when I was researching how to incorporate more grains and sourceful proteins into my diet.
But quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is one of the best super foods you can eat. It looks a lot like couscous and often gets mistaken for a grain or seed. In reality it is related to leafy greens like spinach and swiss chard. It is a “complete” protein which means that it includes all nine essential amino acids. It’s also a good choice of food for vegans because it is a complete protein. Quinoa is especially fortified with lysine which is essential for tissue growth and repair. Quinoa is also a good source of manganese, magnesium, iron, copper, and phosphorus.
So in laymen’s terms this food is good for you and you should try to eat it as much as possible. I thought it would be hard to find so I went to Whole Foods Market and found it there (I have since learned that it can be found in some regular grocery stores). It is important to soak, rinse, and strain the quinoa in water for about 15 minutes. After you do that, add 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water or stock. (So for 1 cup of quinoa you add 2 cups of liquid). Bring the quinoa to a boil. Then cover and simmer for about 15 minutes until the quinoa is fully cooked.
Cooked quinoa looks and tastes a lot like grits or couscous. All by itself it has a fine nutty taste. But it’s one of those foods where you can add just about anything to it to spice it up. Tonight I sauteed up some onion and sliced almonds and added that to the quinoa. It was super delicious. Now I have to go on the search for other quinoa recipes and see how I can incorporate this super food into my diet.
Filed under: Protein
