Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Quinoa is good for babies too!


Creamy Quinoa Apple -Baby Food Recipe

Ingredients:
· 1 cup quinoa.
· 1 1/2 - 2 cups water
· 1/2 cup of applesauce/apple puree.
· 1/2 cup of plain whole milk yogurt.

Then follow these steps:

1) In a large pot, bring 2 cups of water to a boil and add the 1 cup of quinoa. Cover the pot, reduce heat and simmer approximately 15 minutes or until liquid has been absorbed. Let stand for five minutes and then “fluff” a bit.
2) After fluffing, add 1/2 cup of applesauce/apple puree and 1/2 cup of plain whole milk yogurt. Stir to combine well - serve warm. Use applesauce and yogurt as you like - more or less depending on the final texture you desire. 



That’s it!... try this nutritious recipe on your baby !

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Quinoa + Rice

As Asians are generally quite unfamiliar with this wonderful complete-protein (it has all 9 essential amino acids that body needs) whole grain called quinoa (pronounced as "keen-wah") and reluctant to replace their must-have rice with this nutritious grain, it helps to mix both together to get the best of both worlds- the taste of rice with the nutrition of quinoa - protein, vitamins, minerals, etc. In addition, the mixture actually lowers the GI (glycemix index) of the meal, which is beneficial for your body's blood sugar level. Your cooked rice will have a slightly crunchy texture due to the quinoa -  almost unnoticeable in fact - plus a slight nutty aroma.
After soaking the quinoa for a few hours or rinsing it well, cook the rice together with quinoa in a rice cooker, the usual way you cook rice i.e. combine one part of quinoa/rice with two parts water. Here is how it looks like when cooked. Mix quinoa with black/brown rice for even more nutrition and fibre.


White rice cooked with quinoa