Quinoa: Yes or No?

Escape_Artist

I LOVE quinoa! It's crunchy and tastes pretty good!

I buy the Tru Root blend from costco
They also have this great wild rice with quinoa mix that tastes delicious!!

Quinoa on it's own with just a bit of butter, salt and pepper is very good.
I have to say that I would take Quinoa and Barley over rice anyday (except for wild rice, yummy!)

hironsd

I personally love quinoa! It has a coating of saponin which, if not rinsed, will give it a somewhat bitter flavor - which may be a reason some people don't like it. So, just put it in a fine mesh sieve and run it under cool water for a couple of minutes, and then cook it!

I like to make "salads" - Mediterranean with lots of basal, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, a little lemon zest, and then a dressing of balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard olive oil, S&P - or Southwest with black beans (with cumin and lime), sauteed onions and peppers, avocado, and salsa. So good! I will make a big batch and then have it for lunch during the week. I also use it in place of pasta or rice.

It's really versatile!

tigersword

Quinoa is a seed (not a pasta or a grain!), and high in protein for a non-animal food.
I use it like rice or couscous. I quite like it.

All grains are seeds. Quinoa is most definitely a grain.

tigersword

For starters, quinoa is technically a seed, not a grain so many people have an easier time digesting it. Nutritionally, it has a lot more in it than cous cous - it's a complete protein (which is rare in plant foods). It's also very high in fiber, magnesium, B vitamins, folate, iron and zinc! All stuff we need more of. Cous cous looks like junk food in comparison.

You can definitely use it like cous cous. It's also great as a topping on salads (instead of croutons) or to make veggie burgers/patties out of when mixed with beans or sweet potato. It's great as a thickener/filler in chilis and soups. It's super versatile and freezes well so if you make a big batch and don't think you'll use it just divide it up into manageable portions and freeze.

Make sure you give it a good rinse before cooking - the seeds have a natural coating on them called "Saponin" and it tastes very bitter if you don't rinse it off. Rinse until the water no longer looks soapy.

As I've mentioned, quinoa is a grain. All grains are seeds. You eat the seed of the wheat, you eat the seed of the corn, you eat the seed of the rice, and you eat the seed of the quinoa. All grains.

Mischievous_Rascal

Quinoa is a grain

I believe it is a seed and not a grain but I could be mistaken.

Correct. (Although the plant it comes from is a grain.)

I love it, savory or sweet. You can google tons of recipes.

dlyeates

We love it in our family. I make it in the rice cooker, season with salt and pepper and eat it. Even my 3 year old and 7 year old eat it....and ask for more.

It's also the only non-meat item that is a complete protein!!! It's awesome in my book!!

ErinMLB

I like it mostly because it's really versatile, So I can cook some up with cinnamon and raisins and have it for breakfast. Or I can make it in a stir fry for supper. So frequently I'll just do up a larger batch, separate it into supper and breakfast containers and go from there. It helps that there is a good chunk of protein in it.

ldrosophila

Just another whole grain to add to the vibrancy and variations on the number of foods we can consume as omnivores!

Nalgh94

Quinoa is amazing and a fantastic alternative to rice.

It's a bit bland by itself but the beauty of it is that it's so flexible, I use it in so many different ways. Here a few examples if you're interested:

- I mix it with some black beans, spices, cheese etc and stuff whole green peppers with it. I isially cook the peppers with tomato sauce!
recipe 1: http://damndelicious.net/2013/06/03/quinoa-stuffed-bell-peppers/
recipe 2 (my personal fave): http://www.goodlifeeats.com/2010/03/quinoa-stuffed-bell-peppers.html
- I mix it with some veggies and add some olive oil and black olives to make a hearty salad
- This is one of my favourite recipes fo Quinoa: Cheesy Quinoa Bites (I add Frank's Hot sauce for an extra kick)
recipe: http://www.soveryblessed.com/2012/01/03/cheesy-quinoa-bites/
- I've mixed it with cottage cheese and various veggies/spices to make different burger patty alternatives, you can get really creative there
- Finally, here's a great recipe for a Quinoa stir fry. Another way to get creative with it
http://www.prevention.com/food/cook/salt-solution-5-delicious-low-sodium-dinner-recipes?page=3#iit=1384883691429&tmr=load=1384883691023&core=1384883691382&main=1384883691413&ifr=1384883691585&cb=0&cdn=0&chr=utf-8&kw=&ab=-&dh=www.prevention.com&dr=http://www.prevention.com/food/cook/salt-solution-5-delicious-low-sodium-dinner-recipes&du=http://www.prevention.com/food/cook/salt-solution-5-delicious-low-sodium-dinner-recipes?page=3&dt=The Salt Solution: 5 Delicious Low-Sodium Dinner Recipes - Prevention.com&dbg=0&md=0&cap=tc=0&ab=0&inst=1&vcl=1&jsl=131073&prod=undefined&lng=en-ca&ogt=type=article,site_name,url,image,description,title&pc=men&pub=ra-4e96ef5f00267e9c&ssl=0&sid=528ba5eb0d3486af&srpl=1&srcs=1&srd=1&srf=1&srx=1&ver=300&xck=0&xtr=0&og=title=5%20Perfectly%20Seasoned%20Low-Sodium%20Dinners&description=Have%20a%20hot%20and%20hearty%20dinner%2C%20minus%20the%20salt.%20Instead%20of%20reaching%20for%20the%20salt%20shaker%2C%20try%20these%20easy%20recipes%20from%20The%20Salt%20Solution%20that%20use%20garlic%2C%20oregano%2C%20and%20red%20pepper%20flakes%2C%20to%20add%20savory%20flav&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.prevention.com%2Fpvnstatic-assets%2Fimages%2F2011%2F0111%2Fchicken-cacciatore-0111-298x232.jpg&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.prevention.com%2Ffood%2Fcook%2Fsalt-solution-5-delicious-low-sodium-dinner-recipes&site_name=Prevention&type=article&aa=0&rev=124737&ct=1&xld=1&xd=1

Mcgrawhaha

So what's the consensus on Quinoa?

I feel like it's a different version of cous cous- and I just can't be bothered to go buy something totally different.

Does MFP world feel it's significantly better or worse than rice? or cous cous?

I am *fairly* low carb so I don't eat much of any of those things- but I wanted to get a feel for it before I went out and bought some and experimented on my excessively picky boyfriend.

I love adding it to a chicken salad... love the texture!

Chain_Ring

Ha ha. If it works for you, use it.

knittnponder

My family doesn't care for rice but we love quinoa. Whenever a recipe uses rice I just sub in quinoa and cook as usual. It's got a high amount of protein too so that's a bonus.

BusyRaeNOTBusty

I made it once with water. My kids called it Keen-Yuck. The next time I made it with chicken broth. They then called it Keen-saltyness.

aleism

Quinoa is supposedly the second highest for protein in grains, next to buckwheat. You don't have to eat much for it to fill you up (I find) and it is quite versatile. I find it has a bit of a nutty taste to it and smells like peanuts when it cooks. lol
I have a friend who ate quinoa almost everyday with her other food restrictions and minimal exercise and lost a ton of weight!
You can make it for any meal of the day really.
She used to mix it warm with some jam or a bit of nutella or brown sugar for breakfast.
I really like it with pesto and I just made some with chai tea latte powder in it for some spice for breakfast.

JoRocka

some great and unusual uses- cool.

I knew it was flexible- but danm I'm impressed with some of the things I'm reading. cool

Might have to give it a whirl- BF is making me pichana for dinner this week when he comes to visit- maybe I'll make some of this stuff and see how it turns out.

PS I HATE that it's pronounced keen- whatever. drives me insane.

maraq

Tigersworld, that's not 100% true. Just because corn and wheat are grown from seeds does not make all seeds grain. All grains are grown from seeds but all seeds are not grain. Grain as a food group come from the seeds of the grass family. Quinoa is not part of the grass family.

dyhorse

I love it! I mix the red and white together, yummy!

KeViN_v2pt0

NO!

FredDoyle

Tigersworld, that's not 100% true. Just because corn and wheat are grown from seeds does not make all seeds grain. All grains are grown from seeds but all seeds are not grain. Grain as a food group come from the seeds of the grass family. Quinoa is not part of the grass family.

That's correct. It's a chenopod/goosefoot.

donna710

I like Quinoa, my family doesn't. I've cooked it for breakfast and added cinnamon/sugar or a scramble egg. I tried the new Special K Nourish with Quinoa this morning and really liked it. Quinoa is a great source of protein!