Quinoa

Loadsabob

How's everyone getting on with Quinoa? I bought some at the weekend. It says to soak it for 24 hours then cook in five, but everything I've read just says bring it to the boil then simmer for 15...peculiar!

I'm keen to like this, as it's SOOOoooooo good for you, particularly us veggies, as its a protein with all the essential amino acids, and that's a hard thing to find! Looking forward to trying it, does anyone eat this regularly? Not bad for price, either. Damn, I had chilli last night...I wish I'd read this thread first!

raeble

Where does one get Quinoa from? I've must admit I've never seen it.

Ruby_Pudding

Loadsabob wrote:

How's everyone getting on with Quinoa?

Urghhhhhh, it's just vile. As a strict veggie I KNOW I should be eating this but I'm sure eating wet cardboard must be more fun

Ted_Hutchinson

World's Healthiest Foods Quinoa information
Particularly interesting for folk who suffer migraines.

You might find that sprouting quinoa is a more appetising way of eating it.

Loadsabob

Ruby_Pudding wrote:

Urghhhhhh, it's just vile. As a strict veggie I KNOW I should be eating this but I'm sure eating wet cardboard must be more fun

That's a challenge if ever I saw one! I get the impression I need to be using it as an accompaniment to stronger-tasting dishes, ie: in place of rice with chilli, that sort of thing, or to bulk out salads with lots of flavours...I'll let you know what I come up with! If it's a bit drab, I'll have to find ways of sneaking it in to my diet, because as you say, it seems to be a nutritional gift to veggies!

Raeble - I got mine from my local health food shop; it's organic. I bet Holland and Barret would do it. It's pronounced "Keen-wah" apparently, though I did hear someone asking for "Quin-oh-uh" at the weekend (as I would have not long ago!), so I think the pronounciation is taking a while to catch on!

competitionscafe

Ruby_Pudding wrote:

Urghhhhhh, it's just vile. As a strict veggie I KNOW I should be eating this but I'm sure eating wet cardboard must be more fun

I can see where you are coming from there - and this is the stuff that Gillian McKeith suggests people eat for breakfast (with no flavourings, no salt, no sugar) - and that is suppossed to convert people to healthy eating!?

When used as a sort of neutral base for something with a lot of tasty sauce (a casserole or stew for example) I think Quinoa is okay, as I think it just tastes bland rather than unpleasant, so if it is there to soak up the sauce it will just taste of whatever the sauce tastes of (tomatoes or whatever).

I am not a veggie, but the Food for Thought cookbook (from the Covent garden restaurant of the same name) is packed with delicious veggie recipes and not one single one of them has Quinoa in it!

If you like it fine, but otherwise I don't see any point in eating something that you think tastes unpleasant - food should be a pleasure not a penance!

Loadsabob

competitionscafe wrote:

I can see where you are coming from there - and this is the stuff that Gillian McKeith suggests people eat for breakfast (with no flavourings, no salt, no sugar) - and that is suppossed to convert people to healthy eating!?

If you like it fine, but otherwise I don't see any point in eating something that you think tastes unpleasant - food should be a pleasure not a penance!

That McKeith woman really annoys me. She's SO extreme! Last week, after putting this guy through his paces, she finally decided she'd show him how to make a healthy pizza (pizza being his fave food). No cheese in sight! Well, fine, but for me, pizza needs cheese. It won't kill you, the base can be wholewheat (or sweet potato as she had it), pack it with veg, but you can have cheese on a pizza and it still be healthy! And yes, her insistance on no sweetness in things is annoying . A bowl of oatmeal made with semi-skimmed milk, and some honey and fruit to sweeten would be a good breakfast...THAT they might think was okay. I imagine life in her home must be SO Puritan (in the very old sense of the word)

But Quinoa? Well, even if I don't like it, I WILL be eating it, because to get a complete protein like that in a vegetarian diet is very difficult...and I really need more protein!

Ruby_Pudding

I actually don't mind Gillian McKeith's books - I've got them both - but no longer watch her show as it has become a bit of a joke IMHO

I really cannot stand Quinoa no matter which way I try and hide the taste - and the very look of it is enough to make me feel a bit queasy. I do try and make up my protein in all other ways though so I don't feel I'm missing anything by not having it

Bargain_Rzl

raeble wrote:

Where does one get Quinoa from? I've must admit I've never seen it.

You can get in from Somerfield, it comes in green boxes. Haven't tried it yet. (It's one of those things with an un-obvious pronunciation which pretentious people use to catch out the hoi polloi! I think it's supposed to be pronounced "keener" or something like that!)

raeble

Thanks. I shall pop into Somerfield after work.