quinoa?

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charlottekatycat
charlottekatycat Posts: 2
in Food and Nutrition
recently bought some quinoa, but yet to do anything with it.. is it really as good as it's made out to be? what sort of meals have you used it for?

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  • josiereside
    josiereside Posts: 720 Member
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    Love it for breakfast. I cook it in almond milk/1% milk, once all liquid is absorbed I add in brown sugar, canned pumpkin, berries, cranberries... anything you like!
  • imchicbad
    imchicbad Posts: 1,650 Member
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    I bought some to, only because I see everyone's post, but I have no ideal what to do with it either lol
  • pa_jorg
    pa_jorg Posts: 4,404 Member
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    I chop up raw cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, spinach, red peppers and any other veggies I might have on hand. I add them to cooked quinoa and also throw in some feta cheese and a small amount of oil-based Greek dressing. It's amazing!!
  • susanstar88
    susanstar88 Posts: 14 Member
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    Found a great & filling idea on here actually - Quinoa with black beans & corn - just search on the foods & it will come up with a link to the recipe link - I doubled so I had plenty for lunch! We made some plain last night & again I just tossed in some frozen veggies (into the rice cooker) -- made extra so I could heat for lunch today. Easy for a quick lunch.
  • ThriftyChica12
    ThriftyChica12 Posts: 373 Member
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    quinoa is excellent--prepare it in a rice cooker just like rice, or on the stove. use it the same way you would rice: you can go savory or sweet:

    savory: cooked quinoa with roasted veggies and protein, with a little oil and soy soy sauce and garlic
    sweet: hot quinoa with nutmeg, salt, and 1 tsp of pure maple syrup

    it can replace rice, pasta, any carb in a meal. make sure it's thoroughly cooked first (u will know b/c it has these little ring-like husks that will become soft and sort of fall off when it is fully cooked). google videos and images to learn more about it...
  • susanstar88
    susanstar88 Posts: 14 Member
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    And chopping up raw veggies -- forgot that with cucumbers & tomatoes -- yum!
  • pa_jorg
    pa_jorg Posts: 4,404 Member
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    Found a great & filling idea on here actually - Quinoa with black beans & corn - just search on the foods & it will come up with a link to the recipe link - I doubled so I had plenty for lunch! We made some plain last night & again I just tossed in some frozen veggies (into the rice cooker) -- made extra so I could heat for lunch today. Easy for a quick lunch.

    I've also made something similar with black beans & corn. Plus add a little salsa or taco seasoning and it really ups the flavor.
  • Absidey
    Absidey Posts: 116 Member
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    It's a very blank food; you can really take it whatever direction you like. I like to cook it in broth or stock to give it a bit more flavor before I add other stuff. As a side, I usually add a little bit of hoisin sauce or chili garlic paste for flavor.
  • charlottekatycat
    charlottekatycat Posts: 2
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    all these suggestions sound so good! thank-you everyone, deffo trying it tomorrow!
  • txcaveman
    txcaveman Posts: 167 Member
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    I've been cooking using quinoa the past 2-3 week. It is very versatile.

    Made beef (lean sirloin) and broccoli (low sodium soy sauce) one night. Served it on top of quinoa instead of rice.

    Here is one I came up with and my wife LOVES!
    Cook 1 cup quinoa, set aside /
    Brown 1 lb ground turkey, set aside /
    Dice 2 bell peppers and one onion, sauté with 1T EVOO in a large pan /
    Add 1 can rinsed kidney beans and 1 can of rinsed garbanzo beans (I think rinsing the canned beans lowers the sodium and I really don’t like the liquid anyway) /
    Return the cooked ground turkey to the veggie / bean mix, stir /
    Add the quinoa (which is now much more than 1 cup in volume) to the mix, stir /

    I added about 1.5 teaspoon of sea salt the turkey when it was cooking and some red pepper flakes to the veggies as they were cooking.

    This is enough for 6-8 good sized meals for us. Put it in portion sized containers, some in the fridge, some in the freezer. It was good the next day for lunch.

    Cheers!
  • poshcouture
    poshcouture Posts: 610
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    Quinoa Brownies! And the chocolate chip hummus is awesome!

    http://www.damyhealth.com/2012/02/quinoa-brownies-with-cookie-dough-frosting/
  • pa_jorg
    pa_jorg Posts: 4,404 Member
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    Quinoa Brownies! And the chocolate chip hummus is awesome!

    http://www.damyhealth.com/2012/02/quinoa-brownies-with-cookie-dough-frosting/

    Wow, that's a great idea!
  • ellel1234
    ellel1234 Posts: 25 Member
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    Quinoa is for sure an acquired taste but some of the recipe's I like to make when I have quinoa is

    1) A black bean Quinoa Burrito bowl: and here's a good recipe for it
    http://theshiksa.com/2012/05/01/quinoa-black-bean-burrito-bowls/

    2)Quinoa corn and feta salad: Here's a good recipe (I don't stuff the peppers though)
    http://www.joanne-eatswellwithothers.com/2011/08/recipe-peppers-stuffed-with-quinoa-corn.htm

    3) I really, really like making quinoa/oatmeal/porridge recipes. Baked quinoa oatmeal is great with berries or if I feel like adding some chocolate chips in and some nuts. There are lots of different variations, just try doing a little bit of research on breakfast quinoa options.
  • Marmitegeoff
    Marmitegeoff Posts: 373 Member
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    B ump to keep an eye on this, at the moment I use it like rice

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