Tuck Takes Off

Quinoa: good stuff that's good for you

You know those people who say sure, “I’ll share dessert with you, but I only want one bite” … and when the molten chocolate cake appears, they ONLY TAKE ONE BITE? Well, that’s me. And I don’t tell you this to brag (or to torture you.)  I only take one bite because chocolate just doesn’t turn me on. For me, chocolate is, well,  beige. In my world, end of meal confections are just a vehicle for good coffee and more good conversation.

BUT, the START of the meal, wow, that’s another story. Put a basket of warm crusty bread in front of me and I practically need to close my eyes and think of baseball stats to quiet my desire to jump in.  Carbs delight me: give me pasta, bread, grains, sticky rice and on and I’m yours.  Loyally. Forever. Yummmmy.

Even though a lot of people think carb is a bad word, we need them for energy.  In fact, carbs should be the biggest percentage of a balanced diet – the Mayo Clinic, for example, says between 45-65% of your daily caloric intake (protein should be 10-35% and fat 20-35%.)  I like how the Mayo clinic gives ranges, btw – I think that’s realistic and, well, human. I mean, who walks around with a calculator every day figuring out the stats of his/her diet? A little flexibility, people, helps and as long as you’re in the ballpark, you’re golden. But I digress…:)

It was a good moment for me, then, when I was introduced to quinoa. I was at The Island Experience in Brazil (see this post, Paradise Island,  for more info) and had just kayaked and hiked for a few hours, and I was HUNGRY. For lunch we were served about a cup and half of this special grain with some diced veggies in it. Eying my little Tupperwear container, I thought the portion was small and I wondered how I was going to have the strength to hike and kayak back to our lodge. I mean COME ON.

Turns out, Quinoa is a miracle food. It provides both complex carbs and an unusually high amount of complex protein. It looks like a grain, but it’s actually a seed and it is LOADED with nutrients. It is the original power food: The Incas used it to fuel their armies. So I took a bite and that was it – deeeeelightful – it triggered all of my carb receptors and I was in my happy place, and the small portion was okay as the stuff was filling. Paddling home was smooth sailing…

Incan man. Don't mess with him - he's got energy for days.

So here’s my mom, Joanne’s,  fail-safe quinoa recipe that I have recently adopted. I make it often and freeze what I know I won’t gobble up. Quinoa is dense and caloric so I’d say, don’t sit down with a big bowl in front of the tv and zone out as you spoon it into your mouth. I serve it – maybe 4 heaping tablespoons – on top of a huge green salad, as a replacement for chicken or tuna. It’s also great as the grain in your meal paired with protein like chicken or fish (or it can BE your protein) and a green vegetable – so healthy you could die and  again, YUM. And so, without further ado,  here’s MAMA JO’s CROWD-PLEASER QUINOA:

Mama Jo's Crowd-pleaser Quinoa. Tastes great, trust me. I need to go to food styling school. Sorry folks:)

Ingredients:

1C quinoa, red or basic varieties (some need to be washed or soaked)

2C low sodium chicken broth

Dressing:

1/4 C Canola oil

3T brown rice vinegar (can mix 1/2 and 1/2 with white wine vinegar)

2T soy sauce

1 1/2-2t curry powder

1/2 t salt

1/2 t celery salt

Add-ins for quinoa:

1/2 C green onions (scallions) chopped

1/2C celery chopped

1C frozen peas

4 oz. raw cashews (fabulous extra protein source!)

Cook quinoa according to the instructions on the box – until all of the chicken broth is absorbed.

Let cool.

Add add-ins.

Mix dressing ingredients together in a separate bowl and slowly add to quinoa to taste. I do not use the entire amount of dressing – I add about 3/4 of it but that’s me. The quinoa will taste best if it has a chance to absorb the dressing and rest.

Yield: 8 servings

Calories per serving: 239 (it’s a little hard to tell you exactly how much this is – it is 1/8 C of dried quinoa but when it cooks it gets fluffy so just eyeball a serving that looks like, say, a cup.)

Fat: 15 gms

Carbs: 23 gms

Protein: 7 gms

Enjoy! xoxoSteph