Foodie Friday: Quinoa

Well, it hasn’t been the best week here in The Doctors’ Rheum, food-wise. A busy week, travel and erratic schedule led to too much takeout and restaurant eating. I have no recipe to feature this week, so I thought I’d talk about a food find quite popular on the blogs. I knew about quinoa as a gluten-free “grain,” but have learned it is especially popular among vegetarians and vegans due to its protein content. Note the following from Wikipedia:

In contemporary times, this crop has become highly appreciated for its nutritional value, as its protein content is very high (12%–18%), making it a healthful choice for vegetarians and vegans. Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine), quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete protein source.^[4] It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten-free and considered easy to digest.

What to do with it? It is very quick and easy to cook. I tend to like sweet flavors and have made a wonderful “pilaf” type of dish using pantry items. To cooked quinoa, I added caramelized onions, toasted pine nuts, sauteed garlic, golden raisins and crumbled feta. This could be a good side dish or filling enough as a main dish with some salad. I have also tried this recipe from epicurious using corn and mint. More a summer dish, though. Maybe this quinoa stuffing recipe would work for Thanksgiving? You can substitute quinoa for rice, couscous or even oatmeal. I would love to have this fruit and nut quinoa for breakfast! (That site with the breakfast quinoa, www.101cookbooks.com, has multiple other quinoa recipes). I think “Foodie Friday” has served a purpose already . . . after writing this post I’m excited to get back in the kitchen and make a new quinoa dish!