Benefits of The Quinoa Plant

Thousands of years ago the Incas in South America considered their crop of Quinoa to be sacred and food fit for the gods and was also referred to as the “mother grain”.

Quinoa which is pronounced Keen-Wa is a seed not a grain as some might believe by looking at it.

Quinoa is a power packed nutritious seed that contains all 8 of the essential amino acids (protein) needed in the repair and growth of the human body.

The food has been an important part of the Andes region diet for over 5000 years. Up until the last 30 years South America was the only producer of this wonder food.

Now it is grown in the United States and Canada as well. Incan people travelling for many days at a time would eat Quinoa and fat rolled up together for their only food source.

The seed is a great option for vegetarians to ensure they are getting a complete protein source as they would if they were to eat meat.

Some of the great nutrients that can be found in Quinoa include of course the 8 essential amino acids for building and repairing muscle and body tissue.

Quinoa contains several vitamins and minerals including many B vitamins, vitamin E, Iron and calcium. Grains like corn rice and barley have less than half the amount of protein compared to Quinoa.

The carbohydrates are top quality and the fibre in the seed is also a huge plus. Another incredible fact about Quinoa is that they are gluten free making this seed perfect for people with gluten sensitivity.

Even though the Incas didn’t quite know the makeup of the seed you can see now why they considered it a food for the gods.

Quinoa is a very nutritionally power packed seed that anyone and everyone should be partaking in often. What a great alternative to meat.

The Quinoa seed is about the same size as Millet. If you are going to give this nutritious seed a try you will want to rinse it off before cooking to remove a bitter coating found on the seed called Saponin.

Most Quinoa is rinsed before you purchase it but it doesn’t hurt to give it a bit of a rinse once you have it home.  

When cooked, Quinoa has a fluffy texture with a slight nutty flavour.  Quinoa can be used in soups, ground for bread, stew, salads and substitute Quinoa for rice in any rice dish to change up the taste and nutritional value.  

You can also heat the seed up in a dry pan until they pop and then let cool to eat them raw like you would with soya beans or sunflower seeds.

In South America it is used to make Quinoa beer and if you search on the internet you will see others around the world interested in trying to brew their own Quinoa beer.

I am going to leave you with my favourite Quinoa recipe. If you search the internet you will find many delicious ways to prepare this incredible food of the gods.

Curried Quinoa is a delicious dish that can be prepared in less than 5 minutes and ready to eat in under 40 minutes and is extremely nutritious and healthy for you. This recipe will make approximately 2 servings.

The ingredients you will need are;

-          1 cup of Quinoa

-          2 cups of chicken broth

-          1 small onion diced

-          2 garlic cloves minced

-          2 tablespoons olive oil

-          1 tablespoon curry powder

-          1 tablespoon chile powder

-          Salt and pepper according to taste

I like mine to have a bit of a stronger bite so I had a wee bit more Chile powder.

Next step is to cook everything.

In a large frying pan/skillet on medium heat add the olive oil, onion and garlic stirring for a couple of minutes.

Then add the Quinoa and stir for about 5 minutes. The Quinoa should become lightly toasted.

Next add the broth bringing to a boil. Reduce the heat after bringing to a boil.

Now add the Chile and curry powder simmering covered for approximately 25 minutes.

Once done season to taste with salt and pepper if required.

All done now you can serve and enjoy this nutritious dish.