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Quinoa pilaf recipes

January 28th, 2011

Pilaf was originally a dish in which rice is cooked in seasoned broth. However you probably by now that quinoa is a great rice substitute. Of course you can cook pilaf with quinoa. It’s basically a healthier option.

The following recipe is one of my favourite quinoa pilaf recipes.

Quinoa Pilaf – roasted

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots or onion
• 6 cloves garlic, minced (1 tablespoon minced)
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cups quinoa, rinsed and well drained
• 3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup bottled roasted red bell peppers, diced
• sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions
1. In a large saucepan cook shallots and garlic in hot oil over medium heat until tender. Carefully stir in quinoa. Cook and stir about 5 minutes or until quinoa golden brown. Carefully stir in broth, thyme, and bay leaf Bring to boiling, reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 20 minutes or until quinoa is tender and fluffy.

2. Discard bay leaf. Gently stir in roasted peppers. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper

Nutrition Facts  per serving  125 cal, 3 g total fat (0 g sat fat), 0 mg chol., 169 mg sodium, 21 g carbo, 2 g fiber, 4 g pro

Recipe by Connie Guttersen from the author of  The Sonoma Diet
4842543650 c6f9352f47 Quinoa pilaf recipes

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Chicken quinoa recipes

January 27th, 2011

Chicken quinoa recipes are pretty easy to prepare. There are a lot of vegan or vegetarian quinoa recipes but there are many exciting quinoa recipes cooked with meat, with chicken too.

I came across this great recipe and I think it’s pretty good so I’d like to share it with you:

Coconut chicken with quinoa
Serves 3

You’ll need the following ingredients:

  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs (or use any cut of chicken, with or without bone and skin)
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 5 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 chipotle pepper in adobo, minced
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp allspice
  • pinch of sea salt and pepper
  • 3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup coconut milk

Method:

  1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large sauté pan.  Add chicken to the pan and brown for a few minutes.  Then flip it over, cover the pan, and cook for 5 more min.  Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
  2. Add onion, garlic, and chipotle pepper to the pan and cook until the onion is tender.  Then stir in curry powder, cumin, allspice, salt and pepper, and quinoa, and cook for a minute or so, stirring constantly.  Add the water and coconut milk, bring to a boil, and place the chicken thighs on top of the quinoa.
  3. Cover the pan, reduce heat to low, and cook until chicken is no longer pink (about 20 min for boneless, skinless thighs).

Recipe by Katie

coconut chicken quinoa 300x241 Chicken quinoa recipesPhoto by Katie

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Healthy quinoa recipes

January 26th, 2011

Reading my blog you probably agree with me that all quinoa recipes healthy. You usually cook quinoa with different vegetables or with chicken or even with fish.

There are a lot of healthy quinoa recipes out there, you only have to choose from them.

I chose 2 recipes that you can easily prepare for lunch or for dinner in no time:

Quinoa with Herbs and Mixed Olives

You’ll need the following ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups quinoa, well rinsed
  • Seasalt
  • 1/2 cup pitted and thinly sliced black and green olives
  • 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
  • 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
  • 1/3 cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped
  • 1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
  • Rinse quinoa at least 3 times to remove its bitter resin.

DIRECTIONS:

  1. In a large saucepan or deep skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the quinoa and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
  2. Stir in 2 1/4 cups water, season with salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat, cover and simmer until the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add the olives, pine nuts, basil, cilantro and parsley and toss with a fork to combine; season with salt.

Recipe by Susan Jaslove

The other recipe is quinoa salad with grapes.

Quinoa Salad with Grapes
Serves 4

  • 1 cup quinoa, rinsed at least 3 times
  • 2 cups water
  • 1/4 cup slivered almonds
  • 1 cup grapes
  • 2 teaspoons fresh marjoram
  • 2 tablespoons verjus
  • 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
  • 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
  1. Rinse and drain quinoa in a fine strainer. Place quinoa and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until water is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy. Transfer quinoa to a bowl and cool at least to room temperature.
  2. Toast almonds in a skillet until golden brown (watch them carefully and shake the pan; they will toast quickly!). Set aside to cool.
  3. Cut grapes in half and coarsely chop the marjoram. Set aside.
  4. In a small bowl, whisk together the verjus and grapeseed oil. Add salt and whisk to combine.
  5. Once quinoa has cooled, add grapes, almonds, marjoram, and dressing. Toss to combine. May be served at room temperature or chilled.

Recipe by Emily Ho

quinoa with grapes 300x199 Healthy quinoa recipesPhoto by Emily Ho.

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Easy healthy quinoa recipes

January 25th, 2011

It’s not complicated to find easy healthy quinoa recipes. Most of the quinoa recipes are easy to prepare and pretty healthy too.

You can eat quinoa for breakfast, for luch or for dinner. You can’t really go wrong with it. I love its texture and taste.

This recipe is pretty easy to cook but it has an exotic twist.

Quinoa with Beans and Capsicum

Ingredients:

1/2 cup quinoa, washed
1 1/4 cup vegetable broth
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 medium red capsicum, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 can black beans or kidney beans
1/8 cup chopped cilantro
Method:

  1. Bring the quinoa and 1 cup of the broth to boil in a medium saucepan.
  2. Reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed.
  3. Cook the garlic, ginger, cayenne pepper and cumin over medium heat for 2 minutes.
  4. Add the onion and capsicum and cook until tender.
  5. Stir in the beans and the remaining 1/4 cup of broth.
  6. Cook for another 2 minutes.
  7. Stir in the cilantro and serve immediately.

I told you it’s so easy. Enjoy quinoa!

3855198371 c8517a4bb1 Easy healthy quinoa recipes

Source:

http://funnfud.blogspot.com/2010/10/quinoa-recipes-easy-healthy-low-calorie.html

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Quinoa low carb diet

January 21st, 2011

Quinoa can be part of all sorts of diets. You can eat quinoa when you are on a low carb diet too.

But what is a low carb diet?

According to Wikipedia low-carbohydrate diets or low-carb diets are dietary programs that restrict carbohydrate consumption usually for weight control or for the treatment of obesity. Foods high in digestible carbohydrates (e.g. bread, pasta) are limited or replaced with foods containing a higher percentage of proteins and fats (e.g., meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, eggs, cheese, nuts, seeds, peanuts, and soy products) and other foods low in carbohydrates (e.g., most salad vegetables) although othervegetables and fruits (especially berries) are often allowed. The amount of carbohydrate allowed varies with different low-carbohydrate diets.

The following cooked grains  are acceptable when you are ie. on a South Beach Diet:

  • Amaranth – ½ cup for all grains
  • Barley, pearled
  • Buckwheat (kasha)
  • Bulgar
  • Oats, whole kernel
  • Rice, brown
  • Rice, wild
  • Rye, whole kernel
  • Quinoa
  • Wheat, whole kernel

Quinoa is there too. I love the Dr. OZ Show and on his site I found this great low carb quinoa recipe:

Berry Creamy Quinoa Parfait

Ingredients

1/3 cup cooked quinoa

1/2 cup fat-free plain yogurt

1/2 tsp honey

1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 cup fresh or frozen and thawed blueberries

1/4 cup frozen pure unsweetened acai berry puree, thawed

Directions

Mix quinoa, yogurt, honey, vanilla extract and cinnamon in small bowl. In another small bowl, fold blueberries gently into acai pulp, stirring to coat. Spoon 1/3 of the quinoa mixture into a tall glass, then 1/3 of the blueberry mixture on top. Repeat layers twice, ending with acai-blueberry mixture.
Makes 1 serving

Protein 20%, carbohydrate 68%, fat 10%

Source: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/low-fat-diet-recipes

2781595507 0f7d976f71 Quinoa low carb diet

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