Wednesday 5 August 2015

What The F*** Is Quinoa?

I've heard lots about Quinoa [keen-WAH] (yes, really, it's not pronounced Quin-noah), so I thought I should investigate it.


The Incas called it the 'mother grain' and The UN says it contains all eight of the essential amino acids we need. They consider it to be a supercrop that's packed with dietary fibre, phosphorus, magnesium and iron. It is also gluten-free and easy to digest. 

I tried a ready-prepared batch from Sainsbury's first. I ate it cold with salmon and some salad. The grains were white and red, with the red ones looking very like cress seeds. It tastes a bit nutty really. It doesn't have a particularly strong flavour, so if you like things like rice or couscous, I can't imagine you'd struggle with this. The grains are quite solid and chewy, but again, that's all fine.

Next, I tried heating it up. Two cups of water to one cup of quinoa, simmering it for around 15 mins. You need to rinse the grains first because the outside is quite bitter. I haven't tried flavouring it yet, but I'm sure you can in the same way that you'd flavour rice.

It's quite nice warm too.

I can't dance around the house with excitement over something so utility, I mean - it's not exactly chocolate cake, but I am excited about it because it seems to be pretty healthy and gives me something new I can bulk my food out with that isn't starchy. Yippee!

I'm going to experiment with flavouring it, but am just pleased to have something else to add to my repertoire.

It seems to be available in various forms in the major supermarkets and also in the health food shops, so it's pretty easy to find. The first lot I tried came from a little high street Sainsbury's.

Let's see how I'm doing today...

Menu


Breakfast: Yakult and a pink grapefruit.

Lunch: Chicken and baked beans
Dinner: Tuna mayo salad with some quinoa ;)
Snack: Ovaltine Options hot choccie drink. 
Drinks: 1.5l of tap water
This little lot adds up to about 620 calories according to FitBit. 

FitBit Stats From Yesterday

Steps: 21,548
Distance: 8.54 miles

Active minutes: 171

My Stats

Current weight: 11st 7.8lbs (Somehow I'm a pound heavier than yesterday. Perhaps I've retained some water, or turned lots of fat into muscle with all that walking. I wonder if I can get away with blaming my sister's birthday cake on Monday? Annoying.)

Next weight target: 11st 5lbs (I'll have lost exactly 3st at this weight.)

Next: Weight Loss Plateau

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