Quinoa is a gluten-free nutritional powerhouse. It is often called a ‘grain’ but it is actually a seed and is pronounced keen-wah – just in case you go asking for it and they look at you like you are a twit for pronouncing it how it’s spelt 🙂 Quinoa is a complete protein source containing 9 essential amino acids and is particularly high in Lysine which is responsible for healthy tissue growth and repair (if have a coldsore- get lots of Lysine into you! Read more about this here .Quinoa is also a great source of magnesium, is low in fat and is a lower carbohydrate solution to grains.
2 cups Quinoa- rinsed in cold water well
Vegetables- whatever you like, I used mushroom, red onion, capsicum, zucchini, pumpkin, cherry tomatoes, squash and purple carrots
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp Garam Marsala
1 tbs cinnamon
Juice and zest of 1 orange
Juice 1 lemon
Continental Parsley- chopped roughly
Good glug of Extra virgin olive oil or flaxseed oil
Chop the veges in rough chunks, spread on baking paper on some baking trays and sprinkle with cinnamon. Roast at about 170 degrees C until they are cooked then put aside. Cook quinoa according to package instructions (usually 1 cup quinoa to 2 cups water) and add the cumin, Garam Marsala and orange juice to the pot at the very beginning, I do mine in the rice cooker. Once it is done cooking, remove from heat and place a clean, dry tea towel over the top of the rice cooker/pot and replace the lid and allow to stand for 5-10 minutes. This will absorb any excess moisture and ensure you have nice fluffy quinoa, not gluggy. Place the quinoa aside to cool. In a container combine orange zest, lemon juice and oil and whisk to combine. Toss together veges, parsley and quinoa and drizzle with dressing. You can add some grilled chicken or beef or even a tin of tuna or salmon for a quick and easy meal. This stores well in the fridge for a few days so great to make a big batch and use the leftovers for lunches.
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