Miracle food!

[MyOwnWoman]

I've become hooked on quinoa!! Every morning I eat quinoa with chopped spinach, and I swear - I can't believe how good I feel compared to two weeks ago!

The hopeless depression that had me trapped a couple weeks ago is GONE. I've started losing weight. I have more energy, my body feels stronger, my brain sharper. Quinoa is high in tryptophan and I believe that is what has helped my mood so much. I mean, this morning I was dancing in the kitchen all by myself! I haven't changed anything else the past couple weeks - it must be the quinoa.

It's a seed of a plant related to spinach, chard and beets. And it's one of the few plant foods that is a complete protein, thus ideal for vegetarians.

Here's a discussion of quinoa on my second favorite Web site:
WHFoods: Quinoa

[MyOwnWoman]

Oh - this morning I added a whole clove of crushed garlic to my quinoa and spinach (the spinach and garlic are uncooked, so of maximum nutrients). Whew! I feel so ALIVE.

[Finding My Self]

That's brilliant MOW. I am so pleased for you. I will dig my box out of the cupboard! Can you remind mw how it is pronounced though....then I can 'talk the talk and walk the walk'!!!! Isn't it something like 'kee-now' or....?!

[MyOwnWoman]

FMS - it's "keenwa". I hope it does as much for you as it has for me!

[lushy]

MOW, I swear we were foodies seperated at birth. I have been on a huge quinoa kick in our house and in fact we will be having it again for dinner this evening with spinach. I LOVE it. Cook it in a little chicken broth and it is so good. I have the leftovers for breakfast as well because I cannot stand sweet stuff in the morning. Tonight I am going to add some cubed zucchini and shredded carrots to it and put on top of the spinach with a nice white fish. Yum!!!

[beatle]

Thanks MOW for that tip. I have long known about this "miracle" food (tho I must admit I thought it was a grain), but have only cooked it once or twice. Thank you for the reminder and the informative link.

Here are my questions:

1) Is it okay to cook it the day before and eat it in the morning, or does it lose some of its nutrients if you do not eat it right away? (I barely have time for a banana in the morning, much less cook up a pot of quinoa and spinach!)

2) Do you steam or fry the spinach (or put it in the pot with the quinoua)? And can you use frozen spinach? (fresh spinach is a rarity in the shops here.)

3) I have some quinoa in the pantry that is a few months past its best-by date. Do you think it matters?

Sorry for such trivial questions, but I am a novice at this.

[MyOwnWoman]

Oh - Lushy, that reminds me - did you notice that CM has Heirloom Farms pomegranate juice on sale - 2/$5. I'm just having some with Gerolsteiner (my favorite naturally sparkling mineral water). YUM.

I'm going to have to try other ways with quinoa - with the fish sounds divine! And I've not tried it cooked in chicken broth - sounds good. Though I did make a chicken veggie soup and put leftover quinoa in it.

I make a pot of quinoa every 3-4 days and reheat each morning.

[beatle]

oh, one more question...

any other suggestions for easy recipes using quinoa?

[beatle]

ha ha, guess our posts crossed. But some of the questions remain pertinent.

[MyOwnWoman]

Beatle - I answered one of your questions above, before I saw your post.
How sad that you can't get fresh spinach! I'd have to move. LOL
I chop a huge handful of fresh baby spinach and mix it with the hot quinoa so it's just wilted. I'm sure frozen would be fine... just don't cook it too much so you get max nutrients! Or are there any other greens you can get fresh? Chard maybe?

I wouldn't eat it if it's past the best by date. Grains and seeds can go rancid, and it's just not worth the risk of putting rancid food in your body (IMHO).