As a superfood Quinoa is extremely good for you. Quinoa, pronounced “keen-wah” is broadly referred to as a grain, although technically, it isn’t one. Quinoa is what one would call a “partial-cereal,” because it is eaten and cooked like a grain and has similar nutritive properties, though it is not a true member of the true grass family. Also, the quinoa plant is actually in the same family as beets, Swiss chard, and spinach.
Quinoa may be having an identity crisis, but its remarkable nutrient density puts many grains to shame, specifically in terms of protein, fat, and mineral content.Quinoa is packed with many vitamins and minerals including:
Quinoa is a gluten-free, high protein cereal that contains all nine essential amino acids. It’s also high in fiber, antioxidants and micronutrients that give it unique health properties.
And in this article, I’m looking at five of its main benefits.
First Benefits, quinoa is very nutritious. As I mentioned before, it’s basically a seed that is prepared and eaten similarly to a grain and still counts as whole grain food.
Is Quinoa Good For you
It has been consumed for thousands of years in South America, although, it only became trendy and reached so called superfood status a few years ago and this is what the three main types look like. You can see there is white, red and black.
This is the nutrient content in one cup, or 185 grams of cooked quinoa. So there’s eight grams of protein. Five grams of fiber, 58% of the RDA for manganese, and about 28 to 30% of the RDA for phosphorus and magnesium, and for folate, copper, iron, zinc there’s between 13 to 19% of the RDA, 9% of the RDA for potassium and over 10% of the RDA for vitamins, B1, B2, and B6. So you can see it’s nutrient dense and this is coming with a total of 220 calories with 39 grams of carbs and four grams of fat. It also contains a small amount of omega-3 fatty acids.
The second benefit is that quinoa, gluten-free and perfect for people with gluten intolerance. It’s been reported that about a 1/3 of people in the U.S. are trying to minimize or avoid gluten. A gluten-free diet can be healthy, as long as it is based on foods that are naturally gluten-free. The problems arise when people eat gluten-free foods made with refined starches instead. These foods are no better than their gluten-containing counterparts because gluten-free junk food is still junk food.
Many researchers have been looking at quinoa as a suitable ingredient in gluten-free diets for people who don’t want to give up staples like bread and pasta. Using quinoa instead of typical gluten-free ingredients like refined tapioca, potato, corn and rice flour has been shown to dramatically increase the nutrient and antioxidant value of the diet.
The third benefit is that Quinoa has a very high in protein content with all the essential amino acids. Protein is made out of amino acids.
Now some of them are termed essential because we can’t produce them, we have to get them from our diet. If a food contains all the essential amino acids it is seen as a complete protein. The problem is that many plant foods are deficient in certain essential amino acids, such as lysine. Quinoa is an exception as it contains all the essential amino acids, making it an excellent source of protein, especially for those who are following a vegan or vegetarian diet.
It has both more and better protein than most grains. With eight grams of quality proteins per cup quinoa is an excellent source of plant based proteins for vegetarians and vegans.
Fourth benefit is that Quinoa is rich in important minerals. There are many nutrients in the modern diet that people tend to be lacking, particularly, magnesium, potassium, zinc and for women, iron. Interestingly, quinoa is very high in all four of those minerals.
In fact, one cup contains 30% of the RDA for magnesium. Problem is, it also contains a substance called phytic acid which can bind to these minerals and prevent absorption in to the body.
But by soaking and, or, sprouting quinoa before cooking and consuming, you can increase the bioavailability of these minerals. So you can reduce the amount of phytic acid and increase the amount of nutrients absorbed.
The fifth benefit is that Quinoa contains the plant compounds quercetin and kaempferol. The health effects of real foods go way beyond the vitamins and minerals that were all aware of.
There are thousands of trace nutrients in there, some of which are extremely healthy. This includes interesting molecules called flavonoids, which are plant antioxidants that have been shown to have all sorts of beneficial effects on health.
Two flavonoids that have been particularly well studied are quercetin and kaempferol, and they happen to be found in large amounts in quinoa. In fact the quercetin content of quinoa is even higher than typical high quercetin foods like cranberries.
These important molecules have been shown to have anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-cancer and antidepressant effects, in animal studies at least. By including quinoa in your diet, you’ll significantly increase your intake of these and other important nutrients.
At the end of the day, quinoa is a nutrient-dense, protein-rich whole grain that is naturally gluten-free. Pretty unique.
How to Cook Quinoa
Today’s recipe is about cooking Quinoa. There are many recipes around about how to get the best out of your Quinoa, but we tried to make a recipe that will allow you to get a perfectly cooked Quinoa that isn’t too mushy, as many Quinoa dishes are ruined by excess use of water.
You will find the the ingredient list for this preparation in the description down below. The first step to obtain non-bitter Quinoa, is to thoroughly wash it to remove the bitter tasting saponins from the outer layer. Rub and swish the Quinoa around with your hand and this will remove any undesired taste.
Once finished, make sure to drain the Quinoa properly before moving on. Now, place a small pot over high heat, pour in the water and bring it to the boil. As soon as the water starts to boil add the Quinoa to the water, give it a good stir with a fork and cover the pot with the lid.
Now, lower the heat to the minimum and cook the grains for exactly 15 minutes. Once that time’s up, turn off the heat and let the Quinoa rest for another 3 minutes before removing the lid. This will allow for any residual moisture to be absorbed.
Now that the Quinoa has been cooked to perfection there is one more step to keep it that way, which is to fluff it with a fork. Do we really need oil or butter to help the grains staying separated? Not at all, that’s just a myth, as you can see there is no need for extra ingredients the get perfect Quinoa. Once finished, transfer the Quinoa on a dish and spread it. This will stop it from cooking any further.
There is not much to say at this point, i mean; look at that! isn’t just perfect? Soft and luscious Quinoa cooked to perfection. Please follow our recipe and let us know what you think about it and don’t forget to give us a thumbs up if you enjoyed this preparation. If you want us to prepare a specific dish, let us know; we will draw up a list with your requests and make another article for the more popular recipes.
How to Make Delicious GARLIC QUINOA
Today we are going to cook up a very simple quinoa side dish I love quinoa used all the time substitute it for rice every chance I can get you know often I’ll use it as a protein in a vegetarian meal but I’m serving it with me you know I served with meat all the time anytime that I can use quinoa over rice I choose the quinoa you see.
You can see a similar recipe from the video below
I got it stored here in my little peanut butter jar cuz I buy it in bulk I don’t buy it in the box you know if you go to a grocery store and they’ve got the bulk bins check them out for quinoa because often they’ll have it there and it’s usually the best price now we’re going to cook this in the oven which is going to take a little longer than cooking on the stovetop but we’re just going to slide it in the oven once we get it fixed we’ll slide in any of them and then we won’t have to think about it’ll take care of itself and while your quinoa is cooking you can go ahead and make the other aspects of your dish you know this is gonna be a lot like garlic rice but garlic quinoa but I’m only using like three or four cloves now usually
I go garlic crazy but it doesn’t take a lot of garlic cut it up finely about sizes like this and that’s all you’re gonna need you know get you an oven safe dish you know one with the lid or if you don’t have one with the lid you can you you can put a aluminium foil on it but you’re gonna want to have a nice seal on there three cups of water and throw in a little bit of olive oil if you don’t have olive oil or you don’t want to use olive oil you can use a melted butter you know that’s just fine and then two cups of quinoa two cups of quinoa to three cups of water now that ratios.
I usually want to put a little bit more water with quinoa than that but since we’re cooking it in the oven for a long time at a lower temperature that you would have on the stovetop you know you don’t need as much water we’re going to add our garlic in here and then we’re going to add a little bit of salt and pepper and then that’s it you know you can add some more seasoning some different flavors if you want some chopped peppers you know whatever you like but
I’m keeping this very simple and very basic this is just a standard side that I use in a lot of dishes so get everything nice and stirred up throw your lid on there and then that’s it you know you don’t have to think about it anymore throw it in the oven 350 degrees about an hour and a half you don’t have to stir it you don’t have to turn it just leave alone after 90 minutes take it out boom and then that’s it you know your side dish is ready just let it sit for a few minutes fluff it up with a fork throw you some cilantro in there if you want or some parsley or don’t it doesn’t matter but this is a my fantastical side dish goes great with a pork loin chops.
I use it often you know when I’m cooking up salmon patties anything that has a side of rice will just have a side of quinoa instead there’s gonna be a lot left over at least from me in camera girl we’re not going to eat all this in one sitting but then I’ll have leftover quinoa which is fantastic you know if I’m making a quick quinoa salad or anything at all so it’s always good to have some cooked quinoa in the fridge but go ahead and give this recipe try let me know what you think and Bon Appetit and I’m also
I put the link here for the salmon patty video and the coleslaw video and off to the side I’ll have a link to my playlist for a smorgasbord of other quinoa dishes but thanks for watching and being the best person that you can be which is on my list of things to do too