Quinoa Recipes

Quinoa Health Benefits

Quinoa – it’s super nutritious, helps you lose weight, is gluten-free and so much more. Here is a great article that talks about the health benefits of Quinoa.

Health Benefits of Gluten Free Quinoa

Did you know the Incas valued not only gold as a metal, but also a golden grain? Actually, it’s not a true grain, but a seed classified in the pseudocereal family. Quinoa (keen wah) is the seed of the goosefoot plant and rich in nutrients. The Incas have used this food in their diet for 6,000 years.

Quinoa is grown in the high altitudes of the Andes Mountains. It is also being grown in Canada and the United States, but most quinoa is imported from Bolivia, Chile and Peru. It can only be grown at high elevations.

The Incas valued quinoa second only to the potato for nutrition. Spanish explorers and colonists destroyed the quinoa crops and forced the Incas to stop growing it. It was kept alive by isolated farmers throughout the last few centuries and grew back into popularity. In the 1980′s, 2 farmers from Colorado learned about quinoa from a Bolivian and began experimenting with it.

Quinoa is an important addition to the diet of those who have trouble digesting grains. Quinoa is gluten free and easy to digest. It is high in protein, containing all 9 essential amino acids, classified as a complete protein. Vegans and vegetarians will enjoy adding this grain to many recipes. It is rich in manganese, magnesium, iron, tryptophan, copper and phosphorus. It has many of the B vitamins as well.
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Quinoa Nutritional Information vs Rice

We have a lot of recipes here at Quinoa–Recipes.com (just look to your left…at the top), but one of the main questions we get is – why choose Quinoa (pronounced – keen-wah) over rice? Is there really that much of a nutritional difference? So let’s compare rice vs. Quinoa and see what we can uncover.

What is better for you – Rice or Quinoa?

Reading Quinoa nutritional information may mean very little to you unless you have something to compare it to. Well, at least that’s how it was for me

I decided to compare the nutritional information from the most popular brand of Quinoa and compare it to the most popular brand of rice. By looking at some basic nutritional information side-by-side, I was able to determine a few things that might interest you.

Now, just for the record, I didn’t compare the nutritional information of Quinoa with just any ol’ white rice – I chose the cream of the crop – a very nice mixture of white and wild rice that is also supposed to be really good for you. I wanted to compare healthy food with healthy food.

So, let’s take a look at what I found out.

Quinoa vs Rice -

I took a look at the nutritional information for this very popular brand of Quinoa (which also happens to be my favorite brand that I talked about in my Quinoa buying tips here at Quinoa–Recipes.com).

I then compared quinoa to rice. Yes, a Rice vs Quinoa battle!

Let’s see what I found out…

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Quinoa Recipes (Video)

Great video detailing easy Quinoa recipes, nutrition information and more.

Watch carefully as this quinoa is prepared. There are certain tips that can making cooking with quinoa turn out to taste so much better and make your first experience delightful.

(note: Quinoa can have a bitter taste if it is not rinsed REALLY well.)

Remember… There are MANY more easy quinoa recipes you can find in this cookbook.

Enjoy!

Greek Style Quinoa Burgers

These burgers are very tasty, they have a lot of flavor but they are not mushy as I expected them to be and I reckon this is because of the quinoa. What I love about this recipe is its versatility, you can pretty much add anything you want like mushrooms, cheese or even ground chicken. Ok, let’s get started!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup rinsed quinoa
1 medium carrot, cut in large chunks
6 scallions, thinly sliced
15 ounces great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon ground cumin
Coarse salt
Ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
4 pitas (each 6 inches) (I didn’t have any so I just used burger buns)
1/2 English cucumber, thinly sliced diagonally

Healthy and Delicious!

Directions

1.) In a small saucepan, bring 3/4 cup water to a boil; add quiona, cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook until liquid is absorbed, 12 to 14 minutes; set aside.

2.) In a food processor, pulse carrot until finely chopped. Add cooked quinoa, half the scallions, beans, breadcrumbs, egg, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; pulse until combined but still slightly chunky.

3.) Form mixture into four 3/4-inch-thick paties (dip hands in water to prevent sticking). If too soft, refrigerate 10 minutes to firm. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium; cook burgers until browned and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes per side.

4.) Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, and the remaining scallions; season with salt and pepper. Serve burgers in pita topped with cucumber and yogurt sauce.

Recipe Source.

Homemade Sweet and Savory Vegetable Quinoa Babyfood

This is quite a textured dish, ideal for babies who are already chewing.

Ingredients:

8 oz (1 cup) quinoa, cooked in vegetable broth
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp dicedzucchini/courgette
1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 spring onion/green onion/scallion, chopped
1 tbsp raisins
1 tbsp chopped, dried apricots

Directions:

1.) Soak the raisins and dried apricots in warm water to soften them.

2.) Heat the olive oil in a frying pan/skillet.

3.) Saute the zucchini and sweet potato dice with the onion until golden.

4.) Stir in the cooked quinoa, raisins and dried apricots

Recipe Source.

****To find out when you can introduce quinoa to your baby’s diet, click here.

Cheesy Quinoa Cakes with Roasted Garlic and Lemon Aioli

These quinoa cakes are so good that I can spend all day stuffing myself with them! This recipe makes 10 to 12 and yes you can bring them to a potluck party. They’re quite the crowd pleaser so you better double the recipe to make sure everyone can try them and have another serving (hehe!).

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked quinoa
2/3 cup grated fontina cheese
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt to taste

Aioli:

½ cup light mayonnaise
1 head of garlic, roasted
1 lemon, zested and juiced
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. For the cakes: Place all ingredients, except for the oil, into a mixing bowl and stir together until well combined. Season with salt and allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes.

2. Pour oil into a large sauté pan and place over medium heat.

3. Form ¼ cup patties with the quinoa mixture and place in the heated sauté pan. (this will have to be done in batches)

4. Cook quinoa cakes for about 5 minutes on each side. Repeat with the remaining patties until all of the cakes have been cooked. Set aside.

5. For the aioli: Place all ingredients into a food processor, season with salt and pepper and blend until smooth. Pour into a small bowl and serve alongside the warm quinoa cakes.

I got the recipe here.

Chocolate Chip Quinoa Cookies

If you think you can’t whip up delicious cookies that are healthy, think again! These chocolate chip quinoa cookies are simply divine. I can’t believe they are actually gluten-free! The hint of caramel paired with its chewy goodness is to die for. Thanks to Karina a.k.a. The Gluten Free Goddess for this wonderful recipe. This one is a keeper!

Good but not Sinful! Yay!

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients:

3/4 cup Ancient Harvest Quinoa Flakes
1/2 cup organic quinoa flour
1 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour or potato starch (not potato flour)
1 2/3 cups organic light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

In a large measuring cup blend:

2/3 cup light olive oil
3 tablespoons real maple syrup
1 tablespoon bourbon vanilla extract

Combine the wet and dry ingredients with a sturdy wooden spoon until you get a thick, sticky batter.

Make your egg replacement:

1 tablespoon Ener-G Egg Replacer
4 tablespoons warm water

Whip the egg replacer ingredients till foamy and frothy. [If you are adding eggs instead, beat two large free-range organic eggs; and omit the egg replacement formula.]

Add the egg replacer to the batter and combine well. The dough should be thick and rather sticky.

Add:

3 to 4 tablespoons of warm water, as needed to achieve a cookie style dough that sticks together when you pinch it.

Stir in:

1 cup dairy-free dark chocolate chips

Stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Cover and chill the dough for 30 to 60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with an Exopat or lightly greased parchment.

Roll spoonfuls of the dough between your palms and form the dough into 24 balls (slightly smaller than a golf ball). Place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheet and press down a bit to flatten slightly- not too much. Place the pan into the center of a pre-heated oven and bake until golden and set – about 22 to 25 minutes until the edges are golden brown and the center is almost firm. The cookies will still have a little give to them while hot; as they cool they will crisp up.

Remove the pan from the oven and allow it to cool for a few minutes; then carefully remove the cookies with a thin spatula and place them on a wire rack to continue cooling.