By Donna Howarth/@cleaneatuae
Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is in fact, a seed! Quinoa is a nutritious super food, also known as a psuedocereal as it’s not a member of the true grass family. It originates from the Andes and was farmed by the Incas thousands of years ago. It has made its way back into the modern world due to gluten intolerances and people wanting to include more nutritious foods in their daily diets.
This super crop has fantastic health benefits and contains all eight of the essential amino acids, making it a complete protein. It also includes fibre, phosphorus, magnesium and iron – its gluten free and easy to digest. What more could we ask for!
Quinoa is a wonderful alternative to couscous, rice and pasta. The taste is slightly nutty and becomes fluffy once cooked. It needs to be thoroughly washed in filtered water to remove the saponin otherwise it can taste a little bitter. Hemsley & Hemsley advise you to soak (activating) Quinoa for 8 hours as “it increases the nutrients available”. Remembering that Quinoa is a seed “you can continue the germination process, changing the water regularly, to grow young vegetable shoots to add to salads and stir-fries”.
To cook Quinoa, bring 2 cups of water to the boil and add one cup of washed/soaked Quinoa. Simmer and allow to cook for approximately 15 minutes – or until the germ separates from the seed. Once cooked it should still have a bite to it. Quinoa can be eaten warm, cold and added to salads or used in other dishes, as mentioned below. It will also store well in the fridge, ensure you place it in a covered plastic box.
I guess the next question you ask is, “Where can I buy this super crop?” Quinoa can be bought at the Organic Store (Masdar & Nation Towers), I have also bought it at Lulu’s – look in the healthy, gluten-free section. Quinoa is available in Waitrose too (check the rice/pasta section).
Apart from using the Quinoa in salads or as a substitute for rice and pasta, there are other uses like this recipe:
Quinoa Porridge (Low GI, high protein, gluten-free):
Serves 2
150g Quinoa
350ml Water
100ml Coconut milk
1tsp cinnamon
Honey/maple syrup to taste
2 tablespoons of dried fruit (cranberries, sultanas etc)
As previously mentioned, wash the Quinoa well or use the overnight soaking method. Pop the Quinoa and water in a saucepan and simmer for 10-12 minutes (when the white tails appear). Drain and return to the pan – add the milk, cinnamon, sweetener and dried fruit. Gently simmer for 5 minutes.
Serve with an extra swirl of coconut milk and top with seeds, nuts and, or chopped fresh fruit.
Whilst searching for recipes I discovered a recipe for Quinoa Chocolate Cake http://chefinyou.com/2012/12/quinoa-chocolate-cake/
It Sounds absolutely divine and a great treat for kiddies who, unknowingly, are eating something nutritious!
For Quinoa recipes or advice on other clean eating ideas – take a look at my CleaneatUAE page – the number of Clean Eating followers are growing and there are some excellent ideas and advice being offered.
