Super foods ~ Quinoa. Recipes- Quinoa Pizza and Porridge

Quinoa would have to be one of my favorite seeds. Yes, I said seed Quinoa is a seed it is often referred to as a grain. But like Buckwheat, Millet and Amaranth it is a seed that can be used like a grain! I avoid all grains in my family’s diet as they are difficult to digest and feed candida so it these grain like seeds make a great substitute. Not only are they a powerhouse of nutrition but they can be used as healthy substitutes for grain based products. Quinoa is available in flakes, flour and whole seed in red and white .  And this is why I love it some much.

  I hold just as much importance on my kids being able to interact and be social with other kids as I do their nutrition. No, I lie their nutrition comes first but social interaction is a very close second! But not many people we meet eat the way we eat. So it can be a bit stressful for me when we do go to gatherings where food is being served but I try to limit how much they eat when out by feeding them my food on the way so they are not hungry when they arrive so they won’t eat as much of the food on offer and if I know what food is being served I will have my version of that food in my bag to slip to the kids so they don’t think they are missing out. Quinoa can be great substitute in cakes, porridge, picklets, pizza bases, rice ect..

Health Benefits of Quinoa

   -   Complete protein. Quinoa contains all 9 essential amino acids that are required by the body as building blocks for muscles.

   --Magnesium helps relax your muscles and blood vessels and effects blood pressure. Quinoa contains high levels of this vital nutrient.

    -Fiber. Quinoa is a wonderful way to ensure that you consume valuable fiber that eases elimination and tones your colon.

    -Manganese and copper. Quinoa is a good source of these minerals that act as antioxidants in your body to get rid of dangerous cancer and disease-causing substances.

    -Calcium  Quinoa Contains  more calcium than milk

    - Quinoa acts as a prebiotic that feeds the microflora (good bacteria) in your intestines.

    -Quinoa is easily digested for optimal absorption of nutrients.

    -Quinoa is gluten-free and safe for those with gluten intolerance, people on a celiac die

Quinoa, in its whole grain form, may be effective in preventing and treating these conditions

       ~ Artherosclerosis

        ~ Breast cancer

        ~Diabetes

        ~Insulin resistance

Resource  http://bodyecology.com/articles/quinoa_benefits_guide.php

Some ideas on how to incorporate Quinoa into your diet

1. Use Quinoa flakes instead of oats to make porridge

         ~Tip – if you are a lover of oats (my son was!) slowly add Quinoa to your oats and each   time add more Quinoa flakes and less oats till you are eating all Quinoa. This is how I got my son eating his Mean Green Porridge for breakfast –recipe below

2.Replace Rice with Quinoa rinse the seeds and boil

3.Sprout Quinoa – Use on salad and makes a really yummy filling in sushi with salads

 ~super easy to sprout place quinoa seeds in a glass jar cover with water and leave on window sill or bench normally after 1 day they have sprouted if not rinse seeds drain and put back in glass jar on bench next day there should be heaps of yummy nutritious Quinoa sprouts

4.Replace plain flour with Quinoa flour

~ if baking something sweet I will use half quinoa flour and half coconut flour

There are so many uses for Quinoa. Below are my favorite recipes using Quinoa.

I would love to hear how you use Quinoa so feel free to post below

Pizza !!!!

My Green Quinoa Pizza Base

Makes about 6 8 inch bases and 6  4 inch mini bases

2 cups Quinoa covered in water and soaked overnight

½ cup water

1 tsp himalayan salt

1/4c. Macadamia oil

1 cup kale

2 Tbs Parsley (more more I love parsley so always add extra)

2 Tbs Basil

2 Tbs Chives

1-2  cloves of  crushed garlic ( to taste)

Throw everything in a blender and blend till smooth. It should look a bit like pancake batter.

Cook on a hot fry pan just like pancakes. ( I always cook one side till crispy and add my toppings to the crispy side and the other side crisps up while the toppings are cooking)

Once cooked add your favourite pizza toppings

Bake in the oven till toppings are cooked

I make them in different sizes Larger ones for family pizza night and individual size ‘mini’ pizza size.

These freeze really well and defrost very quickly. If wanting it warm, they toast really well  in the toaster

The kids love these! I also use them as a flat bread for lunches or on Sunday mornings cooked breakfast of gooey eggs and soldiers just cut the base into dippy fingers.

Vegan Pizza

1 Green Quinoa Pizza Base

Basil & Macadamia Pesto spread on base- Recipe to come

Topped with diced red capsicum, diced swiss brown mushrooms, diced zucchini, roasted sweet potato, baby spinach, sprinkled with dulse flakes and topped with Notzarella vegan cheese.

Baked till cheese is nice a gooey

Topped with Raw Hemp seed sour cream – Look out for this recipe coming soon it is just DELISH!

                                                                                                NOM  NOM  NOM  

Mean Green Porridge 

1/2 cup Quinoa Flakes cover with water cook until it looks like runny porridge 

1 tablespoon Chia Seeds - I make the porridge a little runny as the chia seeds absorb the extra water if the chia seed absorb to much and make the porridge to dry just add touch more water

1-2 Tbs Goji Berrys

a generous pinch of cinnamon 

Once the porridge is cooled a bit I add

-1Tbs Hemp seeds

-1/4 sea minerals

-1 tsp bee pollon

-1 tsp chlorella  spirulina powder

-1tsp Bovine Colostrum

-1stp raw local honey

Stir it all together and Bon Appetit !

Both my kids eat this every morning for breakfast. It did take me some time to get this. With little adjustments each morning they got used to the changes and now they devour this my 3 year will polish this off in no time and some mornings will ask for more. Some days he even asks to have it for dinner!  

Pumpkins a super food ? Yummy Pumpkin Stew!

When you think of super foods Pumpkin doesn't come to mind but not all super foods need to come from exotic destinations and cost an arm and a leg. 

  The orange colour of pumpkin signals beta carotene, a plant pigment that's a potent disease-fighter.   

  Pumpkins are loaded with fiber, potassium, magnesium. They are rich in vitamins C and E, can lower the risk of several types of cancers.  And the best bit pumpkins are budget friendly and can be very easily grown organically in the backyard ( if you have a small yard look for dwarf varieties).    

Health benefits of Pumpkin

-  It is one of the vegetables which is very low calories;  provides just 26 cal per 100 g and contains no saturated fats or cholesterol; but is rich a source of dietary fiber, anti-oxidants, minerals, vitamins. Recommended by dieticians in cholesterol controlling and weight reduction programs.

-  Pumpkin is a storehouse of many anti-oxidant vitamins such as vitamin-A, vitamin-C and vitamin-E.

-  With 7384 mg per 100 g, it is one of the vegetable in the cucurbitaceae family with highest levels of vitamin-A, providing about 246% of RDA. Vitamin A is a powerful natural anti-oxidant and is required by body for maintaining the integrity of skin and mucus membranes. It is also an essential vitamin for vision. Research studies suggest that natural foods rich in vitamin A helps body protect against lung and oral cavity cancers.

-  It is also an excellent source of many natural poly-phenolic flavonoid compounds such as α and ß carotenes, cryptoxanthin, lutein and zeaxanthin. Carotenes convert into vitamin A inside the body.

-  Zea-xanthin is a natural anti-oxidant which has UV (ultra-violet) rays filtering actions in the macula lutea in reitina of the eyes. Thus, it helps protect from "age related macular disease" (ARMD) in the elderly.

-  Rich in B-complex group of vitamins like folates, niacin, vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine), thiamin and pantothenic acid.

-  It is also rich source of minerals like copper, calcium, potassium and phosphorus.

Super Pumpkin, Chickpea & Goji Berry Stew

The orange colour of pumpkin signals beta carotene, a plant pigment that's a potent disease-fighter. And this is a meatless stew, so the total fat content is minimal. Like all good stews, this is a fine make-ahead recipe.

  

Ingredients

Serves: 4

·         1 tablespoon macadamia oil

·         1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced

·         3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

·         500 g butternut pumpkin, peeled and cut into 2 cm chunks

·         1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder

·         1 teaspoon ground coriander

·         Pinch cayenne pepper

·         250ml tomato puree

·         400g soaked chickpea* or 1 can (420 g) chickpeas, rinsed and drained

·         1/4 cup goji berry

·         1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander, to garnish

* I prefer to use dried chickpea and soak them for a day before. Canned works just as well but I avoided canned foods as the lining in many of  the cans contains BPA.

Optional extras

- 1 tablespoon Dulse flakes (I add these to everything savoury I cook just to get more sea vegetables into my family)

- A good handful of baby spinach stirred just before serving YUM!

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Heat the macadamia oil in a flameproof casserole dish over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is golden-brown.

Add the butternut pumpkin, curry powder and ground coriander, cayenne pepper stirring to coat. Add the tomatoes, chickpeas, goji berry and 1/2 cup water. Bring to the boil over medium heat.

Cover the casserole with the lid, transfer to the oven, and bake until the pumpkin is tender, about 20 minutes. If using soaked chickpeas cooking time may be longer.

 Stir in the chopped fresh coriander just before serving.

Serve with Quinoa 

This was a winner with the whole family !!