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Being high in fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals, quinoa is genuinely healthy and keeps full for a long time. Even 2013 was announced as “Year of Quinoa” respecting its high nutritional values and it is NASA’s favorite food for the precious astronauts. Yes, so nutritious it is! Besides all these features, it is also gluten free, what takes it one step further than most of other grains.
Quinoa Types
It basically can be white, red or black, and my favorite is definitely white. It can be cooked and consumed like rice, or they can be added to desserts instead of rice. The red and black ones have a more ideal texture to be added to salads when cooked.
Quinoa has a bitter outer shell, so there is a difference in taste between producers. If you have a bitter taste in the quinoa, this means that the shell has not been peeled, but you can get rid of this bitter taste by soaking it in water for 1 hour or washing it well before the cooking. My choice is the Alnatura brand, which is widely sold in Europe, where there is no bitter taste.
What to do with Quinoa
And here is the main subject: What can be done with it? I’ve tried many recipes, since it is always available in my kitchen.
The most well-known method is to add to the salads. In this way, the protein content of the salad will increase, and it becomes more nutritious and keeps long for a longer time.
Quinoa Rice
But my preferred method is to cook and consume like rice. For one cup of quinoa, add 2 cups (if you pre-soaked 1.5 meter) of water and bring it to boil on high heat, then once boiled lower the heat and cook until the whole water is soaked. It’s that easy. I usually use vegetable stock when I cook, so it gets more delicious.
My favorite is the rice that I add some steamed sweet potatoes and avocado. I think it’s absolutely great as a side dish for every kind of main course.
Can also be used in vegetable patties to have a good texture, but I do not prefer, because it is very tasty itself 🙂
Can Quinoa be turned into a Sweet Treat?
As a sweet lover, I have added the quinoa to the desserts also, of course. Cook with a little starch and milk, add your choice of sweetener and have a quinoa pudding. You can try different flavors but here, I’m going to give you a recipe with lavender that is not so common.
Lavender quinoa pudding:
- 1 cup of milk of choice
- 1 teaspoon of lavender flowers
Boil these two in a bowl for 20 minutes and let it cool down. When it cools down, drain and separate the lavender flowers. Add these:
- 1,5 cups of same milk
- 1 tbsp starch
- ¼ cup of quinoa
Cook together until quinoa softens stirring continuously, it takes about half an hour. When it cools a bit, add
- 4 tablespoons liquid sweetener (honey or maple syrup)
- 1 teaspoon of coconut oil
And mix it for one last time to combine all. It is ready for service when you cool it completely in the fridge.
I hope you’ll like this fragrant, gluten-free and refined sugar free dessert as much as I do.
Lavender gives a great aroma, but those who don’t want to deal with it can try with a drop of mastic, cinnamon, vanilla or your favorite spice mixes. I had tried the following picture with the chai spice, it was also very delicious!
More Quinoa Recipes…
These are some ideas for it. If you have any other recipes that you like, write to me, let’s try it together!
You can also find different recipes on my Instagram page, I can’t stop sharing things I like 🙂
