Quinoa cooked with Orange Juice!

Here's a very interesting recipe contributed by Ms Audrey Pang!

An excellent complement for your meal: Chicken soup with Quinoa

This is a common soup dish eaten by Peruvians in South America. And it's not difficult to prepare.

Ingredients:
*2 tablespoons olive oil
*1/2 cup carrots – chopped
*1/2 cup celery – chopped
*1/2 cup onions or scallions – chopped
*2 cups water
*3 cups chicken broth or stock
*1/2 cup quinoa – rinsed
*2 cups chicken - cooked and diced
*1/4 cup parsley - chopped fine
*1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
*1/2 teaspoon fresh black pepper
*1/2 teaspoon salt

And now follow this steps:

1)In a large saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat.
2)Add ½ cup chopped carrots, ½ cup chopped celery, and ½ cup chopped onions or scallions to the heated oil and sauté for about 5 minutes or until the vegetables just start to brown.
3)Stir in 2 cups of water and 3 cups of chicken stock or broth and bring to a boil.
4)Stir in ½ cup of rinsed quinoa, 2 cups of cooked and diced chicken, ¼ cup finely chopped parsley, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon black pepper, and ½ teaspoon salt. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 20 minutes.
5)Adjust the seasoning if necessary and serve. This recipe yields approximately 8 one-cup servings.

... Deliciously nutritious!

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 !

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

Quinoa: Super food of the future

Originated in the Andean region of South America and considered as “the mother of the grains” by the Incas, quinoa is one of the most nutritious grains in the whole world. It has an almost perfect amino acid composition and contains calcium, phosphorus, vitamins B, magnesium, iron, and lysine (which helps in the development of the brain), it is low in sodium and doesn’t contain cholesterol.

Quinoa is gluten free and  easy to digest. What's more important is that this grain contains more protein than any other grain; an average of 16.2 percent, compared with 7.5 percent for rice, 9.9 percent for millet, and 14 percent for wheat.

Its leaves are also eaten as a vegetable. Quinoa has a nutty flavor; there are 3 types (black, red and white). The tri-color (mix of red, black and white grains) are also becoming quite popular.

The principal benefits of quinoa is that it can prevent breast cancer, osteoporosis, and heart diseases. It’s even more important for the kids because the quinoa helps them in their growth development, sustains energy and helps to prevent obesity.

Nowadays, it is being considered as an important food ingredient by NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS).

How can it be used? in pastas, soups, puffed cereals, side dishes and more!