By Teri Gruss, MS. Gluten-Free Cooking Expert
What's Quinoa (keen wah)?:
Quinoa (KEEN wah) may be the small seed from the "chenopodium quinoa," a plant associated with green spinach, chard and beets. It's indigenous to South Usa and it was an essential meal source the the traditional Inca civilization.
Today quinoa is grown in Canada as well as in the U.S. plus South Usa. It's a well known alternative gluten-free "grain" due to its dietary characteristics.
Quinoa is loaded with "Complete Protein":
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Quinoa is greater in protein than most "cereal" grains. Which means that quinoa contains all 9 essential proteins that people requirement for health. The proteins in quinoa, in comparison to some plant proteins, are regarded as highly digestible, like the digestibility from the proteins in milk.
Quinoa Contains Healthy Fats:
Quinoa is a great plant supply of "essential essential fatty acids"- omega-3 and omega 6 essential fatty acids. It's also an excellent source of E Vitamin, an essential antioxidant.
Mineral Content of Quinoa:
Quinoa is especially full of manganese and it is an excellent source of magnesium, iron and copper.
Manganese and copper are essential for that purpose of a really effective antioxidant known as superoxide dismutase.
Quinoa is gloomier in Carbs than Most GF Grains:
1 cup of quinoa contains 109 grams of carbohydrates. In contrast 1 cup of white-colored grain contains 148 grams of carbs and sorghum contains 143 grams. If you're attempting to lower the carb content of the gluten-free diet. try substituting area of the grain or sorghum in recipes with quinoa.
Source: USDA Agriculture Research SErvice Nutrient Data Laboratory
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Quinoa, like green spinach, berries, nuts, beans, grains, chocolate and black tea has elevated levels of oxalates, several "organic acids." A minimal-oxalate weight loss program is prescribed for many health problems together with a inclination to create kidney gemstones. If you're on the low-oxalate diet you need to discuss the possibility results of adding quinoa for your diet together with your physician.
Quinoa seeds have a bitter-tasting substance known as "saponin" which must be completely rinsed off before cooking with whole quinoa seeds. The simplest way to wash quinoa seeds would be to place these questions mesh strainer and rinse under awesome water before the foamy residue disappears.
Quinoa is offered in nutrition stores and a few large mainstream supermarkets in general grain, flakes, flour as well as in pasta products. Quinoa will come in a variety of seed colors from orange, pink and yellow to crimson and black. Yellow to light, creamy-colored seeds and flours would be the variety most generally obtainable in gluten-free products .
Some stores sell whole quinoa seeds in large quantities bins. It's best to not purchase any gluten-free grains from bulk bins due to chance of mix-contamination with gluten- that contains grains.
Cooking with Quinoa:
- Prepare 1/2 cup whole, rinsed quinoa in 1 cup water for around 15 minuts for any creamy, nutty-tasting high protein whole wheat toast.
- Quinoa flakes can be used a quick-cooking cereal and could be put into pancake and waffle recipes .
- Substitute whole cooked quinoa for grain in grain pilaf recipes as well as for bulgur in tabouleh recipes.
- Add quinoa flour to gluten-free flour mixes to enhance the protein, mineral and fiber content.
- Quinoa reduces the level of yeast breads and it is best utilized in a small amount in leavened bread recipes but is effective in GF recipes for cookies, muffins, pancakes and pizza dough.
Pseudocereals and fewer Common Cereals - Grain Qualities and Utilization Potential. Peter Belton, John Taylor, Springer, Berlin, 2002, pp. 93-118
