Quinoa the wonder seed?

Quinoa: the first time I saw this word I thought, "Huh?" Despite the fact that I had been a devoted vegetarian for over a decade, I was unsure of this new so-called "super food."  I wasn't even sure how to pronounce the name! However, in recent years this wee seed has become a popular "fad" food item among natural foodies and has thus been imported to many grocery store chains.  It is possible now to walk into your local grocery store and buy this seed in the bulk goods section. I have also been seeing it as a menu item in some more mainstream restaurants and shoppes!  So what is quinoa?  Why is it popular among health foodies and vegetarians/vegans?  Well lets take a closer look at this previously little known seed...

Quinoa (keen-wa) is a seed that hails from South America.  The seed is often referred to as a "grain" however this is incorrect as the part of the plant that one actually consumes is technically the seeds.  Quinoa is related to crops such as spinach and beetroot. The seed comes in white, red and black varieties. Pictured above you can see two of the varieties: red and white. Quinoa is a very high protein seed, a.k.a. it contains all essential amino acids.  The human body requires certain amino acids to function at peak efficiency, 9 of these cannot be synthesized by our bodies and are considered "essential" so they must be consumed through our diet.  Usually we get the complete 9 amino acids from meat and dairy products, however for vegans and vegetarians this is not always possible without mixing and matching various foods.  This is where a super seed like quinoa comes in, it can supply the needed amino acids for our bodies to use and thus is a healthy vegan method for obtaining these essential amino acids.* 

Quinoa is especially rare in that is contains all 9 essential amino acids, most other plant sources of protein do not contain our required amino acids for the day and thus it makes getting the essential protein for our bodies that much harder for a vegan/vegetarian.  Meat has always been known as a great source of protein because it has ample supplies of the 9 essential amino acids.* Yet the more we learn about plant based protein, the more we realize that meat is not the necessary menu item that we once thought it was!

Cook quinoa just as you would rice (1 cup of dried, washed quinoa to 1-1/2 cups of water. Simmer on low heat for 15 minutes.) Before it is cooked quinoa looks just like a seed, however when it has finished cooking it resembles a sprouted seed. You can actually see the little sprout innards curling out of the seed, creating a fluffy pile of delicious quinoa:

 Quinoa is a very versatile ingredient.  I have used it in many recipes, recently I made some absolutely smashing black bean and quinoa burgers.  I have also used white quinoa to replace rice in many dishes, the white variety is much milder in flavor so it does not overpower the dish you are using it in.  It reminds me of a slightly nutty flavored couscous.  The red variety is much earthier in flavor and is my particular favorite.  I like to use it in my quinoa salad: red quinoa, black beans, avocado, peppers, tomatoes, onion and lime mixed together. As pictured below:

 Now that I have discovered this wondrous little seed I rarely go without it in my pantry.  It keeps for a good long while in an airtight container.  It goes well in almost any dish!  Try it sometime and I will make sure to add quinoa recipes periodically.

-Night Owl Gal





*Source: "Contemporary Nutrition: 6th edition" Wardlaw, Gordon M. and Smith, Anne M.  2006.  McGraw Hills Companies.