Why We Should Use More Quinoa in Recipes Part 1

One of the reasons I am considering quinoa recipes is for all the nutritional benefits in just one cup. You are getting eight different vitamins and nine minerals with each serving! While not exactly a daily vitamin, these additional nutrients will come in handy in my diet (I seldom remember to take my vitamins anyway!). For a complete history of quinoa, as well as several chapters of recipes, check out this book: Quinoa the Supergrain: Ancient Food for Today.

What I am going to do for the next few post is list, one or two at a time, the vitamins and minerals in quinoa. I am also going to include information as to how these nutrients are good/bad for you. The information that will be giving on the amount of nutrients, serving size one cup, comes from elook.org. The benefits/negatives will come from vitamins-supplements.org.

Vitamins

For now, we are going to work our way through the vitamins in quinoa. The first vitamin on the list is Thiamin. Quinoa contains 0.198 mg of thiamin, which is 13% of the daily recommended value. Thiamin, also known as B1, is a very important vitamin that helps the body turn carbohydrates into energy. Here is a paragraph from the article:

"Vitamin B1 is needed to process carbohydrates, fat, and protein. Every cell of the body requires vitamin B1 to form the fuel the body runs on - ATP. Nerve cells require vitamin B1 in order to function normally. Vitamin B1 (thiamine) assists in blood formation, carbohydrate metabolism, and the production of hydrochloric acid, which is important for proper digestion. Vitamin B1 (thiamine) also enhances circulation and optimizes cognitive activity and brain function. Vitamin B1 (thiamine) has a positive effect on energy, growth, normal appetite, and learning capacity, and is needed for muscle tone of the intestines, stomach, and heart. Vitamin B1 acts as an antioxidant, protecting the body from generative effects of aging, alcohol consumption, and smoking. May improve glucose tolerance and retard arterial blockages, especially in diabetics."

The amount of thiamin needed on a daily basis is based on the number of calories that you intake daily. The above amount of 13% is the recommended amount for a 2000 calorie diet. Fortunately, according to vitamins-supplements.org, since thiamin is water soluble there is not a great risk of overdose.

Now that we know the benefits of thiamin, lets have a recipe:

Crunchy Quinoa Salad

Usually makes 2 lunch containers

This salad is a staple in my diet. It’s quick and easy to take for lunch, high in protein and super tasty!

Ingredients

• 1 cup Quinoa, sprouted
• 1 cup Baby tomatoes, halved
• 4 Kale Leaves, finely shredded
• 1 Red, yellow or orange bell pepper, diced
• ¼ Red onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons shredded basil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 pinch sea salt

Preparation

Sprout quinoa, being sure not to rinse immediately prior to making the salad (or else it gets too wet). add remainder of ingredients and mix well. i find that i get the best mix of flavours when i chiffonade the basil and kale together (roll the leaves into a cigar shape and slice thinly into strips).

Adjust lemon juice, salt and olive oil to taste.

Enjoy!

This recipe found at goneraw.com