Quinoa. You’ve probably seen it around the food and health blogs for a while. Have you ever tried it? To be honest, all the recipes look really great and healthy, but I have never actually gotten around to try making my own quinoa dish. Not until just a few weeks ago. (Quick sidenote: The reason why I eventually got brave enough is exciting and will be shared tomorrow!).
Well, I’m not quite sure why I haven’t introduced quinoa to my regular dishes ages ago. Especially since I consider myself interested in healthy food, ehem. When I started reading up on the multiple benefits of this little grain (which is not actually a grain, but anyway), I slowly started understanding why everybody was going crazy about it. The Quinoa Corporation even calls it the “Supergrain of the Future”, which probably means something ;).
Quinoa is rich in all important nutrients and beats other grains considerably in this aspect. It is full of iron, which improves your brain function and is also essential for your red blood cells. quinoa contains all essential amino acids, which hardly ever happens, especially in non-animal foods. This makes it one of the most protein rich foods you can eat. It also contains huge amounts of fiber, which helps prevent heart disease and keeps your blood sugar levels in place.
If you are trying to lose weight quinoa can also be your food to try. The fiber lowers your cholesterol levels, quinoa makes you feel full for a longer time and it has fewer calories for the same amount of food. It also has a low glycemic index, which means that the carbohydrates in quinoa only raise your blood sugar levels slowly. Sounds pretty perfect, right?
And if you are a migraine patient, quinoa is also said to help immensively, since it contains high levels of riboflavin, which is said to improve the energy metabolism in brain and muscle cells.
Well guys, if you haven’t tried quinoa yet, I hope you will after reading about all it’s benefits. I’m a newbie as well, so here are some basic tips I found helpful as well: 1. Quinoa can be eaten both cooked and raw. 2. You shouldn’t always rinse it for a few minutes before preparing it, otherwise it won’t taste so good. 3. It should be stored in an air-tight container.
I want to try eating quinoa in the morning with some yoghurt, nuts and fruit, which sounds pretty delicious. And I’ll definitely try the recipe that will be posted tomorrow (by a wonderful new contributor)!
What are your favourite quinoa recipes?
Only recently did I start incorporating quinoa into my diet and I love it! Since my wheat allergy, I noticed I was eating a lot more rice (to make up for the lack of bread, I guess) – soooo, I’ve been substituting quinoa for most of my rice dishes. So yummy!!
Hanna’s Places is a green lifestyle magazine written by Hanna Ulatowski. It’s all about slowing down in a fast-paced society and finding ways to live a more sustainable, simple lifestyle.
October 2, 2013
I made my first quinoa dish a few months ago and have loved it ever since! So so good!