It looks like a cereal, we cook it like a cereal, but it is not a cereal! Native to South America, quinoa is actually part of the spinach and beet family. From a nutritional point of view, it is therefore a separate food: not only is it devoid of gluten, but it also contains a little more protein and, most importantly, all the essential amino acids. Finally, its fats are mainly mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids, of which omega-3 and 6 essential to the body.
All of this makes it an ingredient to glycemic index low (35, with al dente cooking, against 40 to 55 for pasta, or 70 for white rice). It also contains a lot of iron, anti-fatigue (9.3 mg per 100 g), zinc, healing (3.3 mg), potassium, phosphorus and magnesium (276 mg, or 92% of the recommended daily allowance), essential for bone mass, muscle contraction and energy metabolism.
Quinoa is available in salty or sweet
Cold, it is perfect in mixed salads to improvise an office lunch or an express dinner. Hot, it can accompany meat or fish, or be cooked as a gratin. It can even be served for dessert. Either by cooking it in milk, with a little vanilla and honey, like rice pudding; or by adding, after cooking and draining, diced dried fruits and almonds, to make a sweet tabbouleh. As it remains slightly crunchy to the bite, quinoa appreciates creamy seasonings: vinaigrette, tomato sauce, soy cream, ricotta …
To get a cooked seed that’s crunchy to the bite, don’t throw quinoa into boiling water anyhow. The right technique: rinse it under water (rather use a fine Chinese to prevent it from passing through the holes in the colander) by mixing it by hand, to eliminate the saponins. Substances that can make it taste and bitter and interfere with the absorption of certain nutrients by the body.
Express Quinoa Salad Recipes
- Cook 300 g of quinoa. Let cool.
- Then add the juice of 1 lemon, 2 tbsp. to s. olive oil, 1 diced avocado, cilantro, 2 tbsp. to s. raisins, 2 tbsp. to s. flaked almonds.
- Complete with 300 g of cooked chicken breast sliced into strips.
Read also:
The health benefits of quinoa
Slimming: 7 low GI pasta recipes to keep weight off
8 healthy and easy quinoa recipes
