I decided to give quinoa a try since I've read/heard so many wonderful things about it.
I would like to make it part of today's dinner but while researching some recipes, I got confused.
Would it count as a serving of carbohydrates or as a protein since it's so rich in it?
I wanted to use it as carb but now I am not so sure..Help!
I'm going to be trying what sounds like a yummy recipe this week-end: Wild Blueberry & Maple Breakfast Quinoa with Toasted Pecans. It's recipe number 418170 at food.com I'm not sure of the nutritional values showing on that site, though, as there is 1 cup of quinoa for 2 servings, and most places I've seen 1/4 cup per serving...
I use cooked quinoa in place of rice in fried rice, and in place of bulgar in tabouli and other grain salads.
My favorite is just italian dressing, cooked quinoa, diced veggies (any kind really, I especially like onion, celery, carrot, bell pepper, artichoke) and diced or shredded deli or leftover protein (chicken, beef, tuna, boiled egg, cheese... whatever).
Quinoa is a grain, another reason to consider it a starch.
I believe I've found it in my grocery store, but not sure whether it was with the rices or whether it was it their rather large health food section. I know I've bought it in a Health Food Store before.
Kaplods - the dish you described, do you serve that hot or cold? It sounds good!
Mine was in the natural/organic food section. I thought it was a grain until I started reading about it online and somewhere it said that it is not really a grain but a relative of some vegetable like broccoli or something. That got me very, very confused.
Kaplods, that sounds really yummy. I have the same question as WebRover; and also, do you cook the vegetables?
I usually serve the salad cold or room temperature (sometimes I'll cool the quinoa in cold running water) and the veggies can be cooked or raw. Usually I use raw for the onion, celery, carrot, and bell pepper, but I'll also add chopped leftover cooked veggies. Some veggies are great either way like broccoli and carrots.
I've made hot salads too (with a dressing similar to german potato salad's bacon dressing).
I've also made it while the quinoa was hot, and it tasted so good I couldn't wait until the salad cooled in the fridge, so I ate it warm.
Oh, and quinoa is related to beets, chard, and spinach (and tumbleweed).
As promised, here's a 'review' of the breakfast recipe I made this morning (Wild Blueberry and Maple Breakfast Quinoa with Toasted Pecans, Food.com, recipe #418170).
It's a very hearty breakfast - definitely not for one of those quiet reading days. The recipe shows it's for 2 servings, but on regular days we would probably divide it between the three of us. For us, the maple syrup and the fruit added at the end makes the recipe. I'll likely try it with other fruit as well - apples, pears, other berries, etc.
FYI in the nutritional analysis, this recipe shows a serving providing 19% of daily carbs and 18% of daily protein. My research also shows the same as Kaplods wrote, that quinoa is related to beets, etc. Interestingly, it is the only plant source that is balanced in amino acids, and so provides a complete protein.
Quinoa - Does it count as a carb?
