How to Cook Quinoa

I’ve challenged you this week to eat at least one serving of a complex carb (good carbs) at lunch and/or dinner.  Our favorite new “carb” is quinoa and we eat it the same way we eat rice. What’s awesome is that even though the texture feels like a grain, it’s actually a seed.  Once I learned how to cook quinoa, I realized that it tastes great AND your body easily digests it as a protein.  Woohoo!  Score for the Wife Team!

 

I’m all about encouraging wives to take care of themselves and you may have already heard that eating quinoa is one way to do that.  Everyone is talking about it and pinning recipes on Pinterest.  You haven’t bought any because

You haven’t bought any because secretly #1) you really don’t know what it is, #2) you have no idea what to do with it, #3) it looks weird and you aren’t sure why you would want to mess with it.  Goodness knows you don’t need one more thing to add to your daily to-do list!

Am I right?

I was the same way!  It took us forever to learn how to pronounce it correctly.  I’ll teach you everything I finally learned about it.  You can thank me later.  😉

Quinoa pronunciation

Don’t laugh that I am starting right here.  Besides the fact that I can be quite the Grammar Nazi, I don’t want you to be embarrassed when you aren’t sure how to say this unique word. It’s a pretty ancient word that dates wayyy back to early indigenous people.

Here ya go…..

If you can’t view video, watch how to pronounce quinoa 

You are oh so welcome.  I know you can move on with life now that we’ve covered that.

Quinoa Health Benefits

I will spare you all the super-technical facts about this amazing super-food and just answer the simple question most are asking.  “What is Quinoa anyway?”  Quinoa appears to be a grain but is actually a seed.

When it is cooked correctly, the results produce a wonderfully delicate texture that is similar to rice but fluffier.  We think of it as a complex carb {you know those God-given, good carbs we are supposed to eat that fill us up}  but it is actually a protein that contains all nine essential amino acids ~ making it a complete protein.

But wait, there’s more…..

The quinoa health benefits are numerous because it contains fiber, antioxidants, heart-healthy essential fatty acids, Omega 3s, Vitamin E, Folate, iron, calcium, phosphorus, Zinc while being very easily digestible.

It just happens to be one of the most nutrient-rich foods you can eat!  Guess what else?  It just happens to be gluten free, vegetarian, and vegan friendly.

Organic Quinoa

Weight Loss Recipes

Our family discovered and made quinoa a staple food in our home as we were beginning a detox recently, based on nutrition. We learned that we needed to eat a complex carb along with our lean protein and veggies every day for lunch and/or dinner. We had been eating white rice at least once a week, maybe more (and WAY too much of it at each serving).

Not. Good.

I needed to figure out a way to cook it {besides just water} in order to get plenty of flavor since I was trying to cook it as healthy-like as I could.  I realized that by cooking the Quinoa at a 2 to 1 ratio with chicken broth instead of water, lots of flavor was infused and excessive salty seasoning wasn’t necessary.  I began cooking our brown rice and veggies in the same way.  You can buy low-sodium broth, but I use my own broth.

So what started out as one of our weight loss recipes has become a weekly staple meal after I learned how to cook quinoa.  You can thank my fam for being the guinea pigs.

How to Cook Quinoa

Knowing how to cook quinoa is SO simple!  For lunch or dinner, I will alternate quinoa with either brown rice, sweet potatoes, red potatoes, legumes, or beans but we sure to love our healthy quinoa meals. Simply bring 2 cups of chicken broth to a boil and while rinsing 1 cup of quinoa with warm water in a strainer.  Even before the broth starts boiling, you can add

Even before the broth starts boiling, you can add it to the broth.  Once it begins to boil, turn the heat down to low, cover with lid, and cook for twenty minutes.  Most of the time I will add a tiny pat of real, unsalted butter and Mrs. Dash.

Where to buy quinoa

In our rural area, I typically buy my supply at our local Kroger grocery store.  I’ve also found great deals on bigger quantities here.

There are usually two different types of organic white quinoa but there are different varieties too, like red Quinoa.  I’m sure we will try that one next time around.

Have you ever tasted quinoa?

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