All About QUINOA!

[SCOTTSDALEJULIE]

lighterbeing, let us know how it turns out Sounds yummy. Julie

[Linny]

A friend of mine shared this recipe ~ she gives it a big thumbs up. I have not tried it yet because I cannot find quinoa around my area but may be ordering some off the internet. I also do not know carb counts on this but if anyone tries it, can you post your reviews?


LASAGNE with QUINOA

1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb hamburger or veggie burger
2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
1 can peeled tomatoes or 4 roma tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp salt
2 tsp oregano
3 cups quinoa, cooked (make sure it is rinsed good before cooking!)
1/4 lb mozzarella cheese, crumbled
1/4 lb parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 lb ricotta cheese

Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until browned. Add hamburger, cook until browned. Add tomato sauce, tomatoes, salt and oregano. Simmer.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put layer of this sauce in bottom of 13x9x2-1/2" baking dish, following with layer of quinoa and layer of cheeses.

Repeat two more layers ending with sauce and extra Parmesan cheese on top. Bake about 35 minutes.

Serves 6-8.

[Chickamomminy]

I am SO excited about trying this. As a type II diabetic that's trying to keep my numbers low through diet and exercise alone, I am always looking for new ways to expand my food choices. For me, even the Dreamfields pasta is too carby, causes spikes where it does not for others. So, keeping my fingers crossed and buying some to try this weekend! Thanks for all the great info and recipes- I'll let you know how it effects my glucose readings...

[Charski]

MMMmmmm, that sounds yummy! I'll have to put it on my list of "must try this using Quinoa!" recipes. THANKS!

[MNLisaB]

Wouldn't a serving of quinoa be carbier than a serving of Dreamfield's?? More protein, I know, but carbier?

[SLynnB]

It might be carbier but for one who cannot eat Dreamfields due to blood sugar spikes, I'm going to be giving it a try and see if it raised my bs or if I'll be able to incorporate it into my eating.

Sheryl

[snooks86]

love, love, love quinoa.

quinoa>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>brown rice

i like it as a breakfast cereal with soymilk, diced apples, cinnamon, and tad of agave nectar.

[MNLisaB]

Let us know about your experience with quinoa. On NY day, I used some as a rice sub in a jambalaya/gumbo kind of dish, very tasty.

[Charski]

Originally Posted by MNLisaB

Let us know about your experience with quinoa. On NY day, I used some as a rice sub in a jambalaya/gumbo kind of dish, very tasty.

We had blackeyed peas/ham hocks and quinoa on NY Day! Boy it was goooood too.

[mrs_munro]

I bought a big bag of Quinoa at Costco, and have been doing some experimenting! Good stuff that. Anyway, I was watching Rachel Ray awhile back and saw her make Butternut Couscous....so I made it but with Quinoa. Family loved it.

[Linny]

Is Quinoa pretty much interchangeable with Couscous in recipes?

[MNLisaB]

It cooks very quickly, (done in 15 minutes) therefore faster than brown rice, it may be a better option for you, depending on which plan you follow.

It does have a soft, couscous consistency, quite lovely, it starts out looking like birdseed, but when cooked, like tiny little soft spirals of grain. First time I made it for my family, we had it with huge shrimp, garlic, peppers and onions in a creamy kind of alfredo sauce, it was wonderful to be able to soak up that creamy goodness with a grain like product, and not feel too guilty about it.

For stricter lc, could used cauli rice, am sure you could find this recipe in Linda Sue's great site.

[The Chicken Lady]

Originally Posted by SLynnB

It might be carbier but for one who cannot eat Dreamfields due to blood sugar spikes, I'm going to be giving it a try and see if it raised my bs or if I'll be able to incorporate it into my eating.

Sheryl

I am very interested to know how your experiment works out. I can't eat Dreamfields either because it causes my blood sugar to spike as well. I have been wanting to try quinoa for some time now but I've been afraid to go to the expense of ordering it for fear I wouldn't be able to eat it.

[Beeb]

Originally Posted by Charski

1/2 cup is what we use for a serving. It's very adequate!

This is a 1/2 cup COOKED or UNCOOKED?

[Charski]

Cooked.

[Beeb]

Ok, so I tried this last night. Very filling but I'm not sure if I cooked it wrong or not long enough.

Is this suppose to have a bit of a crunch to it?

[Charski]

It has a little "tooth" to it but shouldn't actually be crunchy!

I do 2 cups quinoa to 3.5 cups water or broth in the microwave for about 5 minutes on high and 10 minutes on 50% power. Then let it stand for another 5 to 10 minutes and fluff it up.

The little "tail" should sort of show itself when it's done - it looks like a little round curlique on the seed head.

[Beeb]

The little tail thingy separated from the seed itself so I have both now, not curly attached to seed. Maybe an old package? It is "to the teeth" so I guess I did cook it right. Has a strange, musky flavor/smell also.

Never mind!! Just read that it does separate so I'm fine. Will be making the hot cereal for breakfast tomorrow.

[Beeb]

Just found this recipe and have made it as low carb as I could. Any other ideas would be appreciated. This sounds so darn good!!!

Quinoa Pudding

2 cups quinoa, cooked (basic recipe)
3 cups low carb milk (maybe light cream and water instead?)
½ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/3-cup s/f honey or sugar sub
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup almonds or walnuts, ground
3 eggs, beaten
½ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
½ tsp lemon or orange rind, grated
1 Tbs butter
1 tsp lemon juice

Combine all ingredients. Pour into greased baking dish or greased individual custard cups. Bake in 350-degree oven until set, about 45 minutes. Serve hot or cold, topped with yogurt, cream or apple juice. Serves 4-6.

This recipe was borrowed from an old favorite that originally called for rice. Quinoa substitutes nicely to almost any recipe designed for rice.

[Charski]

Hmmm, mine certainly doesn't smell musky! Did you rinse it well first before cooking? Unless the package says it is prewashed, you need to do that to remove the saponins from it, otherwise it will smell/taste kind of funky.

The organic bag of it I buy at Costco is prewashed. The stuff I get in the bulk bins doesn't say so I always put it in a fine wire colander or sieve and rinse it really well before cooking.

[mrs_munro]

Beeb, the Quinoa Pudding was great! Made it last night as written, and served it warm from the oven with a splash of heavy cream over it. The flavour was great, and the texture was very nice, surprisingly not at all wet/custardy, more dry...I guess from what I remember, closer to a bread pudding than a rice pudding. There were 8 generous servings. I'll make this again, I can see changing up the flavourings to make a cinammon maple pudding.

[Chickamomminy]

Okay, my first experiment was a disaster. I 'rinsed' the quinoa, but did not soak it. Obviously, mine was not pre-washed...lol...and EWWWW! It was extremely unpleasant. When they say bitter, they mean BITTER!

Never one to give up, this morning, I was craving oatmeal. I'd read quinoa made a nice hot cereal. This time, soaked the quinoa (twice as long as I was supposed to, was not taking any chances!). Half cup of quinoa, a cup of water, threw a splash of splenda in the water and a pinch of salt. Cooked for about 15 minutes on the stove. During the last few minutes, threw in a bit of flaxmeal, some cinnamon, a pat of butter and a bit of heavy cream to taste. OMG...I am in breakfast cereal HEAVEN.

Now, to wait two hours and test my blood. I am soooooo hoping this works for me, as it is delicious (and I have the leftovers in the fridge just waiting for tomorrow's breakfast- and will cry if I have to throw it out)!

[Dottie]

Has anyone used quinoa flour? I picked some up today, Bob's Red Mill brand. Their label describes it as "Use this delicate flour when baking. You can substitute this flour for half of the all-purpose flour in many recipes or completely replace wheat flour in cakes and cookie recipes."

[Jennifer Eloff]

Wow, Dottie, that is interesting! I have been meaning to get some from our specialty grocery store. I will try this one of these days.

[Dixie Barkley]

Originally Posted by Dottie

Has anyone used quinoa flour? I picked some up today, Bob's Red Mill brand. Their label describes it as "Use this delicate flour when baking. You can substitute this flour for half of the all-purpose flour in many recipes or completely replace wheat flour in cakes and cookie recipes."

Dottie, a while back I did some investigating of quinoa flour and found that it would not be what I had hoped for - a complete substitute for regular white flour. If memory serves I got this information from the Ancient site. It seems that the quinoa flour is bitter when used on its own. They did say that it could be used as substitute for part of the regular flour in a recipe. I think we will have to experiment with the quinoa flour and report our findings. I have yet to buy the quinoa flour but intend to shortly.

[Charski]

I ground up some quinoa into flour in my VitaMix and used it for something, I don't remember what it was now, and was disappointed with the results - OTOH I'm quite certain I didn't use half quinoa and half regular flour! LOL!

So it may require more experimenting. Also, I used the quinoa I purchased at Costco, which is already prerinsed, so if anyone else wants to grind their own to try, I suggest getting the kind that is ready to go!

[Chickamomminy]

Originally Posted by Chickamomminy

Okay, my first experiment was a disaster. I 'rinsed' the quinoa, but did not soak it. Obviously, mine was not pre-washed...lol...and EWWWW! It was extremely unpleasant. When they say bitter, they mean BITTER!

Never one to give up, this morning, I was craving oatmeal. I'd read quinoa made a nice hot cereal. This time, soaked the quinoa (twice as long as I was supposed to, was not taking any chances!). Half cup of quinoa, a cup of water, threw a splash of splenda in the water and a pinch of salt. Cooked for about 15 minutes on the stove. During the last few minutes, threw in a bit of flaxmeal, some cinnamon, a pat of butter and a bit of heavy cream to taste. OMG...I am in breakfast cereal HEAVEN.

Now, to wait two hours and test my blood. I am soooooo hoping this works for me, as it is delicious (and I have the leftovers in the fridge just waiting for tomorrow's breakfast- and will cry if I have to throw it out)!

Quinoa is definitely a keeper for me; just maybe not for breakfast. My BG was about 10 points higher than I'd expected- but, this afternoon, with no other changes to my diet (had a nice lunch and all)- my numbers dipped down to 98! First time I have seen a reading below 100 in ages. Now, it could be a coincidence, but the quinoa was the ONLY change I made today. So, somewhat psyched...

[Charski]

I'm glad it works for you - maybe for breakfast, try eating a small piece of ham or some bacon with it? Or add some cream to it, or butter? Not sure how you ate it but I find if I add some fat to it and have a little protein I'm good to go for HOURS. I don't test blood sugars though so couldn't say whether or not it affected me in THAT way - just paying attention to how I feel.

[Dottie]

Cook the quinoa according to package instructions and add some butter and cheese to it right at the end. Kind of like grits

[lisabinil]

Originally Posted by Dixie Barkley

Dottie, a while back I did some investigating of quinoa flour and found that it would not be what I had hoped for - a complete substitute for regular white flour. If memory serves I got this information from the Ancient site. It seems that the quinoa flour is bitter when used on its own. They did say that it could be used as substitute for part of the regular flour in a recipe. I think we will have to experiment with the quinoa flour and report our findings. I have yet to buy the quinoa flour but intend to shortly.

In my experience there is no complete substitute for white flour-usually specialty flours like quinoa, spelt, rice, tapioca etc only replace a portion of the white flour called for especially if your goal is to bake a loaf of white bread.