Health Benefits of Quinoa and Some Quick Recipe Ideas
When the earth breathes, the river on Brewster Flats drains into Cape Cod Bay leaving miles wide swath of wavy sand where fiddler crabs scurry sideways and buried clams squirt streams of salty water inside my unsuspecting toes. I dance over the sand like a young girl investigating an undersea kingdom now exposed much like the Red Sea which Moses parted until I come to the river's edge, one mile now offshore, taken off its original holding ground. Imagine my delight when I discover in the now shallow liquid domain, a horseshoe crab all ancient and dinosaurish. He wriggles all his spiny legs when I pluck him from his home and hold him the other way up so I may see his undersides. I imagine he is not very comfortable therefore, with much mercy I release him, but only to consider another.
Are you an advocate of stop animal violence, or just a vegetarian? Are you health or diet-conscious? Is exercise or keeping intake of food low no longer working? Building muscles but tired of lifting those big names? If any one this describes you or, if you are just a simple someone searching for something new, then Quinoa Superfood is for Y-O-U.
Now for the nutrition profile: Quinoa has a nice amount of calcium. One serving of la quinoa would give you about the same as a cup of milk. It also contains hefty numbers of zinc, potassium, iron, b vitamins, fiber, and healthy oils. These minerals and vitamins give you energy, assistance with sleep, weight loss, and lastly prevention of illness. But essentially the most important factor that sets quinoa apart from any other grain is that it contains all 8 essential amino acids so it is actually a complete protein alone.
It is also versatile and pretty delicious. It is easy to just keep a large bowl of computer in the fridge and have it all week. Use it as opposed to rice, which makes it into a pilaf by throwing in some fresh herbs and a small amount of olive oil, or Cajun spices along with a small amount of sea salt. You can also make an Italian dish out from it by adding your chosen pasta sauce with some fresh parsley, basil, plus a little Parmesan cheese. It is a perfect choice for breakfast instead of oatmeal with a few chopped apples, cinnamon, and walnuts.
To get started with this particular dish, you should have two glasses of cooked quinoa, 28 ounces of red kidney beans, 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, a diced onion, two cloves of garlic, fresh chopped spinach, and ½ cup diced carrots. For seasoning you should add in a teaspoon of curry powder, ¼ teaspoon of cumin, ½ tsp salt and ¼ teaspoon of minced jalapeno peppers. You will want to add pepper according to your own taste.