Quinoa: New to me. (soy, bottle, drinking water, substance)
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I want to shed about 30 lbs over the summer. I am not really looking to go vegan, nor adhere to some strict do-it-this-way diet. Been there, done that, got the tee shirt.
I simply have been adjusting my diet according to my career and schedule. From a drastic Atkins style diet last time, to a more subtle, less fat and meat regime, to more grains, veggies, etc. As much as I love to eat, I've been finding that going to Subway and getting a foot long veggie sub has become an everyday affair, and I enjoy them as much if not more, than a meat sub. Plus, I'm full afterwards and no guilt either.
I went from eating greasy bacon egg & cheese sandwiches in the morning a few weeks ago, to a bagel with "all natural" peanut butter on it, instead of butter. The all natural is a little effort to get used to, because it lacks that ever-so-present taste of sugar in it. I also bought a lb. of ground peanuts made into butter as well. That's another aquired taste, but I think I can handle the transition, and again, ridding myself of the sugar isn't a bad idea. I also have been eating apples, oranges and mangos instead of any junk.
I was recently introduced by a vegan friend, to quinoa...and I just bought a pound yesterday. Thought I'd cook it up tonight and see what the deal is. I like the protein content and the simplicity of the grain in general.
Another thing I picked up was a bottle of liquid chlorophyll. I added a capful to a liter of drinking water today for the first time. It turns the water a pretty green, but is completely tasteless. It is a supplement that does a whole host of positive things, such as detoxify the system, and rids the system of odors such as bad breath, etc. It's main job for me is to cleanse me of the recent pain meds I was on from an injury I sustained in March. I just wanted to flush myself out, and this seems to be a good way to do it.
Anybody have any suggestions on how to cook quinoa to enjoy it as a side dish/salad etc.? And, any input about the chlorophyll?
Can't help with the chlorophyll, but I've cooked up quinoa several times in the past. There are a number of easy recipes here, and I'm sure some of our creative chefs will have some other suggestions for you.
Liquid Chlorophyll is great stuff. Our midwife let us in on it many years ago and we've kept it handy since. We've even used it to treat pink eye!
Your bagel and nut butter breakfasts aren't doing you any good. You'd be better off having fresh fruit - grab an apple! Or what about some plain dry toast - at CostCo they have this really good whole grain bread that even my picky hates veggies meat&potatoes guy husband loves. It's called Innkeeper's bread, and I also sometimes get Dave's killer bread... he just toasts it and eats it plain with a cup of tea. He'll grab a piece of fruit and sometimes a little thing of yogurt and that starts his day.
We keep a huge tray of fresh fruit washed and ready to go front and center in our fridge. We also keep cut-up veggies in a tall container filled with a bit of water for munching, too.
Quinoa is great stuff. You can use it instead of Bulgar Wheat to make tabouleh - a delicious cold salad with tomato, cucumber, parsley, lemon.... which is one of our staples all summer long. We make a huge thing of it and it lasts at least a few days. Packs great in lunches and you can stuff it into pita with falafel and hummus for a delicious sandwich. You can also use in place of cous cous. We like it with greek salads, and also with soup. Every Monday I make some kind of brothy veggie soup (the veggies I use depend on what's fresh and in season) in our slow cooker. We do a grain like barley or quinoa or brown rice and do a scoop of that into our bowls and then ladel the soup over the grain.
I like quinoa. I don't particularly like it by itself, as a standalone side dish -- probably only because I haven't quite figured out how to season it to my liking to have it work for me as a standalone side dish -- but I ADD cooked quinoa to lots of things. If I make a salad, I always add quinoa to the salad, or I'll mix it into my tuna-pasta-salad or chicken salad. I'll mix it into my beans, or if I've made a soup that's a broth-based soup, I'll add cooked quinoa to my bowl of soup. Sometimes when I'm scrambling eggs, I'll throw in a spoonful of quinoa before the eggs have firmed up.
Did you buy bulk? It was probably previously washed, but just in case, it would be smart to by a fine-mesh strainer and WASH each batch of uncooked quinoa grain before you cook it. Quinoa is naturally coated in a substance that has a soapy flavor. All the boxes/containers I've bought have been labeled "pre-washed" but I still give mine a rinse, nonetheless.
I like quinoa. I don't particularly like it by itself, as a standalone side dish -- probably only because I haven't quite figured out how to season it to my liking to have it work for me as a standalone side dish -- but I ADD cooked quinoa to lots of things. If I make a salad, I always add quinoa to the salad, or I'll mix it into my tuna-pasta-salad or chicken salad. I'll mix it into my beans, or if I've made a soup that's a broth-based soup, I'll add cooked quinoa to my bowl of soup. Sometimes when I'm scrambling eggs, I'll throw in a spoonful of quinoa before the eggs have firmed up.
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Did you buy bulk? It was probably previously washed, but just in case, it would be smart to by a fine-mesh strainer and WASH each batch of uncooked quinoa grain before you cook it. Quinoa is naturally coated in a substance that has a soapy flavor. All the boxes/containers I've bought have been labeled "pre-washed" but I still give mine a rinse, nonetheless.
I bought a 1 lb. bag from the health food store, that looks like they packaged it in small quantities for sale. I didn't wash it first (guess I should have,) but it didn't seem to have the bitter coating, so I was safe.
But I agree with you, Niftyb...quinoa by itself....not my favorite dish. I tried it for the first time last night. I went out and bought a strainer just for it, but still ended up with a bunch of it in the sink. (You definitely need to buy a fine-mesh strainer for this stuff, another lesson learned.)
I cooked 1 cup of it in 2 cups water. About 15 minutes, strained, added some salt, pepper, and finally had to put the butter to it to try and aquire a flavor that was tolerable to me. I almost had to call the rescue squad after taking a heaping spoonful of it, almost choked to death. The stuff's pretty small, so that's an issue.
I still want to experiment more with it, and your ideas of mixing it with tuna/chicken salad, soups, eggs, etc. are all appealing. But as far as a straight-up main course, well....for this guy...only if I were trapped overnight in the mountains of south America and needed a meal. Other than that, quinoa alone isn't my idea of a comfort food.√
I see recipes on savvyvegetarian.com where they make quinoa burgers, and lots of other tasty things. I'm not a vegan eater, so I should be able to mix it in with a lot of goodies to benefit from the high protein content it posesses. I did notice, after I regained conscienceness from the choking episode, that I felt fuller longer after indulging in a bowl of the stuff. That's another plus.
one trick for making good quinoa is to flavor the cooking liquid. the recipe i posted uses pineapple juice and soy sauce along with the water it's cooked in, and it is pretty delicious all on its own, even before you add the rest of the stuff.
you could also cook it in broth, then saute it with some vegetables or something like that.
I could see that being the trick to good tasting quinoa. By itself I find it a bit tough. Not inedible, but just a bit bland for my taste.I'll try kicking the cooking liquid up a notch next time.
Thanx!
I cooked 1 cup of it in 2 cups water. About 15 minutes, strained, added some salt, pepper, and finally had to put the butter to it to try and aquire a flavor that was tolerable to me.
I use the 1:2 ratio (quinoa:liquid) but I use vegetable broth instead of water. I also chop up a small shallot very finely and throw that in there, plus a pinch of sage and a small amount of olive oil. Sometimes I add a bit of chopped fresh parsley -- I tend to throw parsley into EVERYTHING because I like the color. (Plus, parsley is good for your kidneys.) The vegetable broth flavors the quinoa a bit. You could try chicken or beef broth, I suppose. I find that I just prefer cooking with vegetable broth.
I'm not very knowledgeable about the different spices and their flavors. I don't know why I use sage -- I use it when I make brown rice, too -- except that I LIKE sage and tend to use it a lot. You could try some of the other spices and see if you find a winner.
I prefer the red quinoa over the white. The taste is the same, I believe. I just like the look of the red. My local "fancy food" store also carries black quinoa, but I've never tried it.
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(Plus, parsley is good for your kidneys.) The vegetable broth flavors the quinoa a bit. You could try chicken or beef broth, I suppose. I find that I just prefer cooking with vegetable broth. 
