Who likes/eats quinoa?

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Hi,

Do you eat/like quinoa? What do you have it with? How do you cook it? Do you have it for health reasons? Do you feel bad about depriving Bolivians and Peruvians of their nutritious staple food? Do you think it's just a fad? How much does it cost where you live?

I've been eating it since earlier this year. I have it cold (cooked and cooled) with various vegetables that I happen to have in the fridge. Sometimes only with rocket leaves, salt, pepper and olive oil. I find it very delicious. I have it almost every day. I recently found a way to cook it to the right texture (al dente). I am health conscious but I eat quinoa because it's delicious. I'm not very sure about the ethical issues surrounding quinoa. A 500-gram bag of quinoa costs $9.99 here in WA.

Quinoa is delicious, I eat it in much the same way as you do, as well as hot. It's also good with a selection of herbs and vegetables cooked in olive oil that you could also eat with pasta, rice, couscous or other beans or pulses.

I wasn't aware of any ethical issues with quinoa, so thanks for raising this. But $9.99 for 500 grams is very expensive, in the UK 300 grams costs £1.20 ($1.83). Maybe I should send you a consignment!

Thank you for responding. Wow, that's very inexpensive! You are lucky. I wonder why it's so expensive here. Maybe someone's being greedy in the process of distributing it to consumers.

Yes, I think quinoa can pretty much replace most other grains. I've actually never tried it hot though. I'll give it a try next weekend. I'm thinking of a tomato-based pasta sauce or maybe simple soy sauce and spring onion.

I realize that most articles about the ethical issues of quinoa are from 2013. I'm wondering if the situations are changing. I think many other things that come from rather poor countries tend to come with some ethical issues (environment, cheap labor etc). But I don't know exactly what I should do about them.

I forgot to mention that the cooking instructions printed on the bag that quinoa is sold in are complete rubbish. If you follow them, you'll end up with overcooked soggy quinoa.

Hi, yes, I eat quinoa. I like it best cold in the morning with almond milk, nuts, and berries for a healthy breakfast.
My physician suggested I do not eat bread, muffins, pasta, in an attempt to lower my blood fats and sugars
(father died at age 48 of heart attack) which is why I gave it a try. It's tasty! I buy mine for around the same price
here in California.

Thank you for responding. Never thought of that way of eating quinoa. So it's pretty much like breakfast cereal. It actually sounds good. I will give it a try, too. I might use soy milk and blueberries/raspberries.

I think processed wheat products such as bread, muffins and pasta don't have much dietary fiber. Does that have anything to do with blood fats and sugars? I've also been avoiding bread, muffins and pasta (although they are tasty) because I'm trying to be gluten free.

Hello. Yes, bread, pasta, bagels, cake, etc are often low in fiber but high in sugars, fats, and gluten. Since I dropped
processed carbs (also rice and potatoes) from my diet, I lost 15 lbs and my labs have improved greatly without using
statins to lower cholesterol. My skin looks better, too, and I feel good. For me, it's just an attempt to over ride
my known genetic tendency to heart disease and stay healthy. Whatever I eat, it's for health, not for taste, though
it's a plus when, like quinoa, it also tastes yummy!

My parents eat it, so I eat it sometimes when I am home.
It doesn't taste good to me, not good texture either, I wouldn't buy it myself.

Glad to hear you actually had noticeable improvements in your health/well-being. I envy you your strong determination to stay healthy. But I guess you have a very good reason for being extra cautious about your health. I am rather health conscious but I sometimes fail to resist the temptation of some tasty poisons (cakes, cookies, pies etc), although I have significantly reduced my intake of them for the last six months. For me it's both health and taste. Luckily I love fruits and vegetables. Quinoa is a nice addition to my healthy diet.


I guess quinoa doesn't have a very distinct taste. It could taste rather boring for some people. I wonder what kind of texture you are talking about. Depending on how it's cooked the texture can be very different. But I don't blame you for not wanting to buy it yourself. It's not cheap and you don't particularly like it.

I've have Quinoa before I just washed it before cooking for 10 minutes or so. Tried it for breakfast with a little honey and chopped apple slices. It was okay nothing spectacular or anything, and I would have it again if given the time but I'm certainly not rushing to buy more. I believed the store I bought it had the price about $ 5.99/ lb. Which is probably cheap, but I wouldn't know if it slapped me in the face. I basically tried it on a whim to see what it was like again I didn't hate it, but I wasn't exactly impressed.

I love it. I have it with brown rice and chicken. I cook it in a rice steamer and douse it with teriyaki sauce.

Yes, my mother introduced it to me, as she is from Peru. Quinoa is pronounced keenwa and the word is quechuan in origin.

Several ways of eating it: You can make a gluten free Tabbouleh. It works well with citrus and herbs like cilantro/coriander, mint, parsley. Some cook it in orange or tomato juice. It works well hot with cold dice cucumber and tomatoes. It is also for soaking up stews, or with fish. Some have it for breakfast, with milk or fruit juice.

Make sure the center is fully translucent and the perimeter ring is partially detached. Don't lave it more than a day in the fridge it will go mushy.

Some people like it crunchy, but it is not nice hard IMO. You need to pre-boil, then you can crisp some up in the oven to add crunch to something like poached egg, but use sparingly.

There are few ethical issues with eating it, however it is not high yield and the area of cultivation is small. My parents have seen it growing. It grows in high panes in South America. The Incas called it the mother grain, though it not a grain but a seed.

You need to think of it as in between a pulse and a grain. Like lentils it can take on more flavour than grains becuase it not starchy. I pre-boil, then introduce flavor after it is softened. If it is bland it is because you haven't seasoned it, or added flavour.

Red Quinoa is harder to come by and like red rice, is more resilient, and requires more cooking.

...Hm .

I absolutely love it! My favorite recipe to make is a mix of Beet, Blood Orange, Kumquat, and Quinoa.
Two ingredients Kumquats&Blood orange work so well with quinoa. I typically add it together with Beets, avocado, and fresh cilantro with an extra citrus pressed on top. This reply made me want to make some

Yes

Nothing, just on its own

Boil

All food I eat I only eat for health reasons

Do you have any statistical data confirming demand for quinoa is depriving Bolivians and Peruvians of their staple food?

If it isn't popular shops will no longer stock it. Your question is impossible to answer with any certainty.

£2:35 for a 300g bag