Quinoa

May 16, 2015
Lyndall McAlpine

Cooked and Uncooked QuinoaQuinoa (pronounced “KEEN-wah”) is my favourite grain, along with brown rice.

It has a lovely nutty flavour and being low GI, a complete protein, full of nutrients, gluten-free, low-fat, high fibre and cholesterol lowering it is a great replacement for less nutritious, high GI white rice.

Quinoa has a high-protein content. 1 cup of cooked quinoa containing around 8.14 grams of protein. RDI is 46/56 grams for most women/men.

It is naturally low in fat. One cup of cooked quinoa provides 3.4 grams. By comparison, 185 grams cooked lean ground beef provides 33 grams of fat.

Quinoa is relatively low in calories. One cup of cooked quinoa provides 222 calories.

Quinoa is a great source of fibre, containing 5 grams of fibre, which is 21% the recommended amount

Other Nutrients in Quinoa: One cup of cooked quinoa provides 15% of the recommended daily intake of iron, is an excellent source of magnesium, calcium, potassium and zinc.

You can easily get organic Quinoa at Coles and Woolies as well as Healfh Food Stores (see why it’s important to chose organic grains >>HERE<< ). It comes in three different colours – white, red and black. White is most widely available, and also the quickest to cook, black takes the longest to cook and keeps more of its crunchy texture and red is somewhere in the middle.

How to cook quinoa
  1. First give it a quick rinse to remove any remaining bitter coating that is normally taken off during the production process.
  2. bring to boil with twice the amount of water eg for 1 cup of quinoa use 2 cups water
  3. Put on lid, turn heat down and simmer for 12-15 minutes. Take care not to overcook or you will lose the firm and slightly nutty flavour and texture

IMG_4367See my yummy recipe for Quinoa Tabouli >>HERE<<