Cooking with Quinoa For Dummies

By Cheryl Forberg

140+ gluten-free recipes for adding quinoa to every meal and snack

Touted as "the gold of the Incas", quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) has many health benefits. It is high in both protein and fiber, gluten-free, and has been known to help those with cardiovascular health problems, as well as people who suffer from migraine headaches. Research also shows that the nutritional composition of quinoa is important in fighting breast cancer, especially in post-menopausal women. It is a great gluten alternative, and provides complete protein in vegetarian or vegan dishes. Not only does it have all of these phenomenal health qualities, quinoa is also delicious and extremely versatile!

Quinoa can be made into a breakfast porridge, stuffed into a wrap for lunch, combined with vegetables for a hearty salad, rolled with spices and breadcrumbs to make a delicious burger, and added to an assortment of cakes and breads for an extra protein punch. Cooking with Quinoa for Dummies shows you how you can easily incorporate quinoa into each and every one of your meals and snacks.

• Offers over 140 gluten-free recipes for incorporating quinoa into breakfasts, lunches, snacks, dinners, and desserts
• Explains the health benefits and disease-fighting power of this superfood
• Provides the 4-1-1 on how quinoa can help you lose those unwanted pounds
• Includes a 16 page color insert with beautiful photos of gluten-free quinoa-packed meals

Cooking with Quinoa For Dummies shows you how to use this hot new superfood in all your favourite dishes!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wiley
• Release date: Nov 29, 2012
• ISBN: 9781118446898

Book preview

Part I

From the Ancient Andes to the Modern Kitchen: Quinoa Basics

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In this part . . .

Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? What is quinoa and where does it come from? How do you pronounce that word? Why should you eat it? Read on to discover all that and more, get some basic background on the nutritional value of quinoa (hint: it’s very high), set your kitchen up, and learn basic quinoa preparations.

Chapter 1

Keen on Quinoa: An Introduction to Your New Favorite Food

In This Chapter

arrow Defining quinoa

arrow Differentiating between quinoa and whole grains

arrow Quinoa as part of a healthier (or even gluten-free) diet

arrow Choosing between the types of quinoa

From fields high atop the Andes Mountains where it fed ancient Incan warriors preparing for battle to your modern grocery shelf, quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) has taken an amazing journey, one worthy of a super food. As we learn more and more about healthy eating and whole grains, foods like quinoa that offer superior nutrition with minimal processing have become increasingly popular. And with good reason. Quinoa possesses a rare nutrition profile, is a snap to prepare, and is a multitasker, good in all sorts of dishes from breakfast to dinner to salads to stews to burgers. In addition, you can easily fit it into your daily diet just by making a few easy swaps.

The world of whole grains isn’t always as simple as it appears. And in a somewhat confusing landscape, which only gets more confusing when you start to consider gluten, it’s nice to know that you can count on quinoa — your friendly neighborhood super food. In this chapter, you discover what quinoa is, where it comes from, and why on earth you would want to eat something with such a funny name.

An Amazing Grain with Amazing Nutrition

Quinoa has a pretty amazing story to tell, and the small kernels hold so much history and power, much of which relates directly to quinoa’s superior nutritional values.

Ancient Incan warriors ate quinoa in many forms to give them strength and energy in battle. This was not magic or superstition. Quinoa is an excellent source of readily used protein and nutrition. It’s also easy to digest (after all, the last thing you want when you are marching into battle is a bellyache).

technicalstuff.eps Recognizing its importance, the Incas referred to quinoa, in their native Quecha, as chisiiya mama, or Mother Grain, and indeed, quinoa held a sacred place in their society. The Incan king would start off each growing season with a ceremony and cast the first soil of the planting with a golden shovel — by which I mean a shovel actually made of gold.

In the 1500s, quinoa nearly disappeared entirely. A Spanish explorer destroyed all the quinoa fields he could in an effort to break the morale of the Incas. Incredibly, quinoa survived only in extremely isolated pockets at high altitudes and was not discovered again until the 1970s. Quinoa and quinoa products — everything from puffed quinoa cereals to beverages — became widely available throughout South America. More recently, they have become increasingly popular on store shelves in the United States. Think about that the next time you peruse the rainbow of quinoa in the bulk food aisle!

Uncovering what quinoa is

Quinoa is the seed of a species of the goosefoot plant called Chenopodium quinoa.

So, that clears things right up, correct? No? You probably have more questions (like What sort of a dance is ‘the goosefoot’ and is it hard to learn?) than answers. Maybe the following explanation can help.

The goosefoot plant (so named because the leaves on some species resemble the foot of a goose) is in the amaranth family. The plant itself can grow to several feet in height with a stout stalk and lots of leafy, dark green foliage. Although the leaves can be eaten like spinach or beet greens (two plants it’s related to), the smell is, frankly, quite unpleasant.

Head held high

The tall goosefoot plant thrives at high altitudes where the climate is warm in the day and cool at night. If summer nights are warm, as they are in much of the United States, the plants won’t do well or produce many seeds.

The cultural and historic home of quinoa is the Andes Mountains: specifically Altiplano, spreading across Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, and Peru. Some of the world’s most sought-after quinoa comes from this region where the average altitude is more than 12,000 feet.

In addition to altitude, quinoa also thrives on adversity. Harsh conditions with little rainfall are what quinoa likes best.

Much of the quinoa produced in the United States comes from San Luis Valley of Colorado, which sits at about 7,000 feet. Although not as high the Altiplano, this region mimics the harsh conditions in which quinoa grows best.

The plant produces large, full seed heads prodigiously. And these seed heads are the real prize. The colorful heads — the deep colors vary from green and yellow to red, orange, and purple — are harvested, dried, and shaken, and the seeds collected. This is quinoa.

Discovering why you want to eat it

Quinoa is a lean, mean nutrition machine. Incorporating quinoa into your diet in a significant way is one of the best things you can do for your body and overall health. Replacing processed flours and grains with quinoa does more than just eliminate some empty calories; it also replaces them with a super-charged super food.

You may already know that quinoa is a gluten-free food, and maybe that’s what attracted you to finding out more about it. The fact that it is both gluten-free and can be used in so many ways (as a flour, flake, sprout, whole grain, and so on) makes quinoa ideal for people with gluten allergies or sensitivities, but quinoa has so much nutritive brawn that a compelling argument can be made for why everyone should incorporate quinoa into their diets. Here, in a nutshell, are the nutrition facts (for a complete discussion, head to Chapter 2):

check.png It’s a fabulous source of protein. In fact, it’s one of the best plant-based sources of protein, and is what’s known as a complete protein (more on that later).

check.png It’s high in fatty acids, both omega-3 and omega-6. You may have heard recently that these are the kinds of fatty acids your body absolutely needs (and doesn’t make on its own), or maybe you even take supplements. I take a close look at the fatty acids in quinoa in Chapter 2.

check.png It contains a whole host of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. Quinoa is especially rich in B vitamins (containing high amounts of four of these very beneficial vitamins), and vital minerals such as zinc, magnesium, and iron.

All that is in those impossibly tiny little orbs!

The Whole (Grain) Story

Here’s a point I want get out of the way right now. Quinoa is not a whole grain. In fact, it’s not a grain at all. Grains and cereals are the seeds of grasses cultivated for food. Quinoa is the seed of a plant unrelated to grasses. While not a grain at all technically, it nevertheless is a seed that you use like a whole grain. Like a whole grain, quinoa is made up of an outer bran, an endosperm, and a germ (see Figure 1-1).

Figure 1-1: The parts of a quinoa kernel.

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Illustration by Wiley, Composition Services Graphics

If you aren’t the type to get hung up on labels, you probably won’t have any trouble wrapping your brain around the fact that quinoa, despite being used and treated like a whole grain, isn’t one. If you are the type to get hung up on labels, you can just call it a whole grain, or if you like being precise, you can use the real technical term, pseudo-cereal.

Other popular gluten-free whole grains

Quinoa has been gaining popularity among those who have realized the benefits of eating whole grains and among those who, for one reason or another, have adopted a gluten-free diet. However, it’s not the only gluten-free pseudo-cereal.

The following is a list of popular gluten-free whole grains you are likely to find in your local store or available online (this list includes both true grains and pseudo-cereals):

check.png Amaranth

check.png Buckwheat

check.png Corn

check.png Millet

check.png Oats (sometimes)

check.png Quinoa

check.png Unmilled rice and wild rice (not white rice)

check.png Sorghum

check.png Teff

One caveat about oats: Oats are inherently gluten-free, but many brands are packaged near gluten-containing products and, therefore, often become contaminated. Check the packaging for a gluten-free marking or contact the manufacturer if you are unsure.

Using it as a substitute for white stuff

I have said many times to many different clients, friends, and even contestants on The Biggest Loser during the 12 seasons I was the show’s nutritionist: Cut out the white stuff! Cut out processed flour, white rice, processed grains, and sugar. Quinoa is a capable — in fact, a stupendous — substitute for any of the other white stuff, with the exception of sugar.

Cutting these things out of your diet will help you to feel better overall and can be very helpful if you’re trying to lose any amount of weight.

tip.eps Many of the recipes in this book use quinoa in the place of wheat flour, white rice, pasta, and more, but you can make this substitution on your own, without a recipe. Chapter 3 tells you a variety of ways you can incorporate quinoa in place of other, less-healthy ingredients, and Chapter 5 explains how to cook it in its many forms.

Comparing whole grains, refined grains, and quinoa

Refined grains are grains that have been milled. Milling is a variety of processes, but generally speaking, milling strips off the bran and takes out the germ. These processed grains may have a longer life on supermarket shelves and in products like breads and pastries, but they are missing many of the nutrients of whole grains, which have been left intact.

Quinoa, even when ground into flour or pressed into flakes, still has all of its nutritional components. This is why it’s classified as a whole grain pseudo-cereal.

tip.eps Don’t be confused by enriched grain flours. These are flours made from grains that have been milled and stripped and then had some nutrients added back in to boost their nutritional content.

Looking at whole grain product labels

A whole grain, for the purposes of package labeling, is a grain or psuedo-cereal that contains all the essential parts and naturally occurring nutrients of the original seed. In other words, all parts of the original seed — bran, germ, and endosperm (refer to Figure 1-1) — must still be there. Even grains that have been minimally processed (crushed, cracked, rolled, ground, and so on) can still be considered whole grains if they contain these three parts and the nutrients (as long as they are natural and not added back in).

remember.eps According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, it is recommended that products whose labels claim 100 percent whole grain not contain any grain ingredients that are not whole grain (whole grain ingredients include whole grain flours). In Canada, products labeled whole wheat flour must contain at least 95 percent of the original kernel; however, a product labeled whole grain whole wheat flour must contain 100 percent of the original grain. In the U.S., no such distinction is made.

warning_bomb.eps All whole grain products have a better nutritional profile than their processed counterparts. Still, products labeled whole grain are not necessarily gluten-free. Some whole grains do contain gluten. If you follow a gluten-free diet, keep this in mind. You can read more about gluten and gluten-free quinoa in the next section.

Going gluten-free with quinoa: Should you or shouldn’t you?

Gluten is a naturally occurring protein found in some cereal grains. For gluten diets, this focus on gluten primarily relates to wheat, rye, and barley. Based on the name, you may think of gluten as sort of gelatinous protein; indeed, it’s the component responsible for the elasticity in dough.

Many people are sensitive to gluten and suffer cramps, indigestion, stomach discomfort, and worse when they ingest it. The sensitivities range from low-level allergies all the way up to celiac disease. Because of all of the digestive symptoms associated with gluten sensitivity, gaining or maintaining a normal body weight is very hard.

Quinoa is a highly recommended gluten-free food, making it a perfect staple in gluten-free diets. The question is, should everyone adopt a gluten-free diet? Many people feel that a gluten-free diet is a healthy diet for one and all, not just those who have to strike gluten from their diets out of necessity. You’ve heard me say to cut out the white stuff, but why not go the whole nine yards and cut out all wheat, rye, and barley products?

If you suffer from celiac disease, you have little choice. You need to eat a completely gluten-free diet. For others, you have a choice. Before making it, consider these things about gluten-free diets:

check.png They can be very restrictive. You’ll have to skip more than the obvious culprits such as bread, pasta and pastries. Be sure to check product labels because the products on your supermarket shelves may or may not contain gluten. Here are just a few things you may have to go without:

• Beer

• Pickles

• Bouillon cubes

• Malt vinegar

• Twizzlers

• Hot dogs

• Soy sauce

• Pudding

• Instant hot chocolate

• French fries (depending on what else was fried in the oil, which is often something breaded)

• Packaged instant soups

• Blue cheese

check.png They can be tedious. If you do not have issues with sensitivity or allergies to certain foods, why not include as much variety as possible? Many wheat-based foods are fortified with vitamins and minerals and are good for you.

check.png They can be expensive. Gluten-free alternatives to foods you love can be hard to find. And when you do find them, they could cost more than the foods and drinks you are used to.

check.png They may affect you socially. Dining out with others can be difficult for anyone with specialty diet needs, and this is very true of a strict gluten-free diet.

check.png They’re not a magic pill for whatever ails you. A gluten-free diet isn’t everything from a weight-loss solution to cure-all for myriad sicknesses and discomfort. And despite gluten-free menus being en vogue, there is little evidence to suggest that anyone except those with gluten sensitivity or celiac disease should adopt a gluten-free diet. Better to lose the white stuff, such as white flour, sugar, white potatoes, and highly processed foods, than to go completely gluten-free just because you read about it in a magazine.

Nevertheless, we could probably all do with less wheat. Gluten-containing wheat, whole or not, can be more difficult to digest than other grains and can wreak havoc with your blood sugar levels. In addition, a whole host of other dietary and other problems can be linked to wheat.

The lowdown on celiac disease

Celiac disease is a condition that affects the digestive system. Sufferers experience an immune reaction in their small intestines when they ingest gluten. In general, people with celiac disease have chronic diarrhea; excess gas, bloating, and discomfort; unexplained iron deficiency anemia; skin rashes; and/or even painful mouth sores.

Because so many people experience these symptoms at one time or another, the question is, should we all be tested for celiac disease? Generally speaking, no. The disease is not very common (about 1 in 133 people may have it). But some populations are at higher risk for celiac disease, including those with type 1 diabetes, first and second degree relatives of those who have celiac disease, and people with Turner syndrome (a genetic condition in females only, where one of the X chromosomes is missing or incomplete). These groups should be tested for celiac disease only if they have symptoms.

Doctors can diagnose celiac disease in a number of different ways, including taking a biopsy of your small intestine and/or testing for specific antibodies in your blood. The most accurate test for celiac disease is a small intestinal biopsy, in which the doctor inserts a long, flexible scope through your mouth and into the duodenum (the first part of your small intestine). The doctor can then take some tissue samples from your intestine and view them under a microscope to determine whether the findings are consistent with celiac disease. Several blood tests are also used to test for celiac disease, and these are performed in addition to a small intestinal biopsy. The thing to know is that these diagnostic tests must be done while you are on a diet that contains gluten.

If you have had celiac disease confirmed by your doctor, you’ll need to adopt a gluten-free diet and then adhere religiously to it. You’ll likely schedule several consultations with a registered dietitian (RD), who has up-to-date experience with gluten-free diets and can guide you in how to adjust your diet specifically.

Once properly diagnosed by a doctor and following a strict gluten-free diet, folks with celiac disease find that their symptoms go away completely. So, if following a gluten-free diet is necessary, it’s well worth the effort and cost.

If, out of necessity or choice, you opt for a gluten-free diet, you can still enjoy all sorts of healthy, delicious foods, as the recipes in Parts II through IV prove. Whether it’s time for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or whether you’re in the mood for a quick, on-the-go bite or a relaxing repast you can savor, you can find a variety of recipes to meet your needs.

Buying Quinoa

Quinoa grows naturally in an astounding variety of colors. The colorful seed heads burst from the plant like an array of fireworks, their colors ranging from rose and pink to orange and red to green and yellow, all depending on the variety. Although quinoa kernels vary slightly in size, quinoa is most often classified by color.

Types of quinoa: Black, red, and white

Quinoa is commonly available in black, red, and white. So what’s the difference between them? Well, mainly the color. In addition, the darker shades also have twice the fiber. Some people also report slight differences in taste:

check.png White (or yellow): The most bland. Many quinoa brands package a tri-color blend to liven up the classic white.

check.png Red: A slightly nuttier flavor than white.

check.png Black: An even fuller, nuttier, earthier flavor than red.

remember.eps Generally which type of quinoa you choose is a matter of taste and preference, and, of course, your consideration of the color. Would little black dots look good in a dish? Then by all means use the black quinoa.

Some people say they can’t tell the difference in flavor between the different kinds of quinoa, especially after it’s been mixed in with other ingredients. (Still, the darker quinoa has a stronger presence, which may be due, at least partly, to the perception of the colors. What food looks like affects our perception of taste.)

Some types of quinoa cost more than others. The reason is availability. The white variety is the most widely cultivated and grown, which means there’s more of it and so it has the lowest price. In 2011, a worldwide shortage of red quinoa occurred because many people preferred its nuttier flavor, resulting in a supply too low to meet the demand. Hence, it’s price was higher.

remember.eps When you’re looking at the price of quinoa, keep in mind that a little bit goes a long way: A cup of uncooked quinoa makes around three cups cooked.

Other quinoa products

Besides the basic quinoa grains in bags, boxes, and bulk bins, you can also find an array of other quinoa products — flours, flakes, powders, and more — available ready-made for your use in the kitchen.

In some stores, you can also find gluten-free pasta made from quinoa and even polenta that incorporates both corn and quinoa. Be sure to check out Appendix A to find out where you can purchase these items.

Chapter 2

Funny Name, Serious Super Food: Nutrition Facts about Quinoa

In This Chapter

arrow Understanding the nutritional composition of quinoa

arrow Eating quinoa as part of a gluten-free diet

arrow Looking at quinoa’s disease-fighting power

arrow Quinoa’s role in a vegetarian or vegan diet

We are all food experts — to some degree — because we eat every day. What many people don’t realize is there is much more to food than the smell, taste, texture, and satisfaction it brings. The nutrients in the foods you eat affect your body in powerful ways — sometimes in ways that are good and sometimes in ways that are, well, not so good. You are what you eat, after all. To look and feel your best, you must fuel your body with the right things, and when it comes to fuel, super foods like quinoa are high-test.

So welcome to team quinoa. You may be pleasantly surprised by the abundance of nutritional bang quinoa packs in such a small package. I give you the details in this chapter.

It’s a Seed! It’s a Grain! It’s Super Food!

You may not even know how to pronounce it, but you’ve seen it popping up on menus, on grocery shelves, on TV, in magazines, and in conversation (with all sorts of pronunciations — for the record, it’s KEEN-wah), but you’ve heard that quinoa is the latest so-called super food. Or maybe you’ve just decided to go gluten-free (for health reasons or because you want to cut out processed wheat flour). Or perhaps you are a bored vegetarian. Or maybe, just maybe, you picked up this book because you just love quinoa. Whatever the reason, you’ve made a super choice because quinoa earns its place as a super food through its superior nutritional