Quinoa


If there's one thing i have been obsessed with recently it's quinoa. This obsession was created by my university flatmate, who has introduced me to so many types of food and healthy recipes. University was a difficult time for me to be healthy, junk food and take aways seemed so appetising after those long lectures and all day revision.
I did want to be healthy but i didn't have the energy, however being a university graduate those days are now over. After experiencing my family members go through some health problems i decided to tweak a little bit of what i eat.

One thing i fell in love with was Quinoa, i have no idea why but i loved how it tasted alongside salad and many other dishes. It was almost like a replacement for rice and the best bit is that it's healthy!

There are so many nutritional benefits of Quinoa, which i was completely unaware of until i did some research.

For those of you that are probably unaware of this fact, but i am a vegetarian. One thing that i lack and am always in search for is protein, since i do not eat meat protein has to come from somewhere. Quinoa is in fact all protein, being made of nine amino acids, as well as being completely wheat free! Which is not only a great option for vegetarians but also vegans.

Alongside this benefit here are some others:

  • It is beneficial to treating and preventing some diseases
  • Gluten Free
  • Highly nutritious 
  • Good for blood sugar control
  • Apparently it might actually help you lose weight
  • High in antioxidant 
I'm pretty sure there are more benefits to Quinoa than i have listed but, as good as it is to eat, many individuals struggle in knowing how implement in their diet. There are many ways to incorporate Quinoa in your everyday life and no it does not always have to be alongside salad.

Recipes:

The classic Quinoa salad -great for lunch and if you want to have something light to eat:

Ingrediants:
  • Quinoa
  • 2 cups of water
  • 1 chopped red bell pepper
  • 1 chopped yellow bell pepper (can pick green depends on your preferences)
  • 1 Avocado 
  • Sweet corn 
  • Garlic and ginger paste
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt 
  • ground pepper to taste 
  • other herbs and seasoning preferences to taste
  • lettuce
  • cucumber
Step 1 - Using a saucepan, pour first the Quinoa and then two cups of water, leaving it to slightly slimmer untill the water has been absorbed. I preferably like to put a lid on the saucepan to let the steam also cook the quinoa and make it more fluffier. Check every few minutes and fluff up the quinoa using a fork. This should take approximately 5-10 minutes.

Step 2 - In a separate bowl, chop the bell peppers, add in sweetcorn, avocado, cucumber and lettuce alongside herbs and the garlic and ginger paste. Season slightly with a pinch of salt and pepper according to your taste. Toss this into a mixed salad. 

Step 3 - Once the quinoa has cooled down slightly, pour in into a plate. Then pour over the mixed salad that you made in step 3, adding any extras you would like to the plate. I preferably like to add balsamic vinegar to the salad. 

But that is it, and you have a tasty quinoa salad!

Off coarse there's more recipes, other than a quinoa salad and i follow these recipes on the website https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/quinoa which has so many dishes its quite unbelievable.

Make sure to let me know if you also love quinoa and the different recipes you have tried in the comment section below!





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