Food spotlight: quinoa
Quinoa is one of my favourite grains. It is nutrient dense, gluten-free, cooks quickly, has a nice flavour and can be incorporated into many different dishes.
Nutrition:
Quinoa is an ancient whole grain high in protein, fibre and numerous vitamins and minerals. Below is a chart comparing the nutrient profiles of quinoa, brown rice and white rice (unenriched).
| Nutrient (per 1 cup, cooked) | Quinoa | Brown rice | White rice | |||||
| Amount | %DV | Amount | %DV | Amount | %DV | |||
| Calories | 222 | ~ | 216 | ~ | 205 | ~ | ||
| Carbohydrate | 39 g | ~ | 45 g | ~ | 45 g | ~ | ||
| Protein | 8 g | ~ | 5 g | ~ | 4 g | ~ | ||
| Fat | 4 g | ~ | 2 g | ~ | 0 g | ~ | ||
| Fibre | 5 g | ~ | 4 g | ~ | 1 g | ~ | ||
| Iron | 2.8 mg | 15% | 0.8mg | 5% | 0.3 mg | 2% | ||
| Calcium | 31mg | 3% | 18.5 mg | 2% | 15.8 mg | 2% | ||
| Zinc | 2 mg | 13% | 1.2 mg | 8% | 0.8 mg | 5% | ||
| Magnesium | 118 mg | 30% | 84 mg | 21% | 19 mg | 5% | ||
| Potassium | 318 mg | 9% | 84 mg | 2% | 55 mg | 2% | ||
| Phosphorus | 281 mg | 28% | 162 mg | 16% | 68 mg | 7% | ||
| Vitamin B6 | 0.2 mg | 11% | 0.3 mg | 14% | 0.1 mg | 7% | ||
| Folate (B9) | 78 mcg | 19% | 7.8 mcg | 2% | 4.7 mcg | 1% | ||
| Thiamin (B1) | 0.2 mg | 13% | 0.2 mg | 13% | 0.0 mg * | 2% | ||
| Niacin (B3) | 0.8 mg | 4% | 3 mg | 15% | 0.6 mg | 3% | ||
* Trace amounts, DV= daily value
How to cook it:
Rinse 1/2 cup of dry quinoa with cold water. Add the rinsed quinoa to 1 cup of water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook 15 minutes. The grains will look translucent when fully cooked. Serves 2.
How to use it:
Breakfast: Prepare quinoa as a hot cereal. Stir in a bit of cinnamon and brown sugar. Top with milk and fresh fruit.
Lunch/Dinner: Add cooked quinoa to a salad or soup, use it anywhere you would use rice (stir fry, side dish), or try quinoa salmon patties
Dessert: Make a quinoa pudding:
Quinoa apple cranberry pudding
Use quinoa to make cookies, as in this creative recipe:
Quinoa peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies
Where to find it:
Quinoa can be found at any natural food store, as well as some grocery and corner stores. However, at some places it can be quite expensive (so shop around). I found that the cheapest place to get it by far is at Costco: $10.49 for a 4 lb bag (which makes 41 servings) of organic quinoa. This works out to be $2.62/lb or $0.58/100g or $0.25/serving.
Posted on February 19, 2012, in Food spotlights, Healthy eating and tagged grains, nutrition, quinoa. Bookmark the permalink. 9 Comments.
Quinoa is great stuff. I really enjoy the texture and the fact that it’s something you can really easily impart flavor into.
I love Quinoa. It is a fantastic grain that is very versitile. I have found that putting it in my bowl of chili is nice as well. Thank you for the information!
Great idea! Thanks.
I will have to try the cookie recipe! I am a sucker for new kinds of cookies
Quinoa is simply amazing… I try to incorporate it in at least one meal a day! Thanks for highlighting it!
I discovered “Cormilda” quinoa & corn meal porridge when looking for something else to eat. It’s really yummy. I’ll have to try the cookies, those look great and I can eat them!!
That does look good. And easy!
Good information!
Pingback: Quinoa mint chocolate chip cookies « DINUTRITION – Vancouver Personal Training and Nutrition