East meets West

Quinoa.

An ancient South American staple. Known as " The Mother Grain

It's actually a seed and not a grain. .It's known as one of Natures complete plant protines.

I'm substituting Quinoa for bulgur wheat in a Taabouli salad for a community pot luck. I think it will be a good substitute for the wheat , as we have some Celiac disease suffers in our group.

The Middle East meets South America.

Pictures to follow Sunday after I "build" it..Stay tuned...

I'm off now to make up a batch of P-nut butter cookies

[Niao]

Enjoy!Yep, Quinoa, great for vegans! And of course, non vegans too! Look forward to Sunday! 😊👍

[Imaaan]

Bought some quinoa last time I went shopping. Is diz a case of good minds...scratch dat ...GREAT MINDS think alike ????? A question for Sherlock, me think.

Cant wait to be blown away by your pic.

[Hidden in reply to Imaaan]

I believe you're right GREAT MINDS.Nancy Drew might want to add a comment as well.

S to a picture Ill try to remember

[Imaaan in reply to Hidden]

Shhhhh about Nancy drew...lol

🤫

[Isinatra in reply to Hidden]

Nancy Drew here. Dead or alive.

[happytulip]

Ok, I'm going to hold my hands up here and say that I have never been able to create a tasty meal out of quinoa. I've had others create tasty meals for me. Can anyone give me any tips or advice please?Also, I'm not sure if it's Low FODMAP?

I want to learn about new foods and quinoa is sitting in my pantry and I have no clue what to do with it so I'm looking forward to seeing the thread on your post Laz. I need inspiration please!

[Imaaan in reply to happytulip]

I hope you soak them to remove the saponin . It helps to better digest them.

[happytulip in reply to Imaaan]

Saponin?

[Imaaan in reply to happytulip]

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

It basically is an outer layer coating on the seed that the plant uses to protect itself. Its bitter and can cause digestive upset in some. Soaking helps to reduce it and phytic acid as well. I like to soak mine for about 2-3 hours.

[happytulip in reply to Imaaan]

Thanks for that too, it explains a few things!

[Hidden in reply to happytulip]

Yiu can " toast " it a fry pan with a very small amount of oil.. I also rinse it like you would rice prior to cooking

[Hidden in reply to happytulip]

Saponin is an anti nutrient that quinoa produces on the outer layer of its seeds to protect them from predators. All plants have anti nutrients to protect themselves from predators as unlike animals they cannot run away!

I have not seen unwashed quinoa in the UK for at least a decade.

When you washed un-washed quinoa in a fine mesh sieve the water would be milky white just like plant milk for a couple of minutes and then when the water was running clear the quinoa had the saponins washed off.

Being a coeliac I wash quinoa and lentils before cooking to make sure that there is no wheat flour dust on them and I haven't had any that have still been coated in saponins for a long time.

[Hidden in reply to happytulip]

Try some chicken or vegetable broth in stead of water to cook it in.

[happytulip in reply to Hidden]

Thank you I will certainly give it a go.

[Hidden in reply to happytulip]

Hello happytulip I love quinoa and we have lots of posts on it on here please see:

healthunlocked.com/healthye...

I hope this gives you inspiration.

[Hidden]

I often have Quinoa in place of rice or potatoes

[happytulip in reply to Hidden]

That's an idea. I am trying to reduce my carb intake.

[happytulip]

I love pilaf!! I have a wonderful recipe that I used to live off when I was on nights. But it isn't as good now as I can't use garlic. I used to out tomatoes, aubergine, peppers, courgette and onions in. But I miss the garlic. I need to put something else instead. Any ideas?

[happytulip]

Looking forward to seeing it!

[Hidden]

I love quinoa Hidden and I like to cook it with lentils.

I also buy quinoa flakes and grind quinoa into a coarse flour for baking so it’s very healthy and versatile.

Quinoa is a complete food as all the food we eat is broken down into base amino acids, our bodies need 23 base amino acids but only produce 15 so we need the remainder from food and quinoa contains ALL 23 base amino acids.

Hence it’s superfood status. 👍

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Jerry I didn't have opportunity to get pics of my Tabbouleh Go figure

[Hb2003]

I love Taabouli/ Tabbouleh salad with fried pita bread it’s so darn good I do not like Quinoa but my brother loves it I wish I could eat it . Can’t wait to see your salad ☺️

[Hidden in reply to Hb2003]

I eat just about any and everything. If my salad isn't too embarrassing I'll post a pic to this forum/ room

[Hidden]

Follow up on my original Tabbouleh post. I couldn't /didn't get any pictures to share I was caught up in our BBQ.. Which btw was a huge success! The Quinoa made a perfect substitute for Bulgar