Warm quinoa stir fry

I'll be frank with you. I ate so much quinoa over the summer in the form of quinoa salads that as of late, I've felt 'quinoa-ed out'. Yes I know I just turned a noun into a verb, but that's just indicative of how much quinoa I consumed! I ate all types of quinoa salads and I loved them all.  Quinoa is so  versatile and can be adapted into so many recipes and that's just what I did.  I threw it into my kale salads, avocado and tomato salads, my bean salads and my simple field green salads. I ate quinoa at least every other day until I reached a point that I didn't even want to look at quinoa anymore.

Until...I was out at a local restaurant last week and I ordered a grilled cod over a quinoa 'pilaf'.  I was really looking forward to having the fish and I prepared myself to tolerate the quinoa.

The dish arrived and the cod, as I expected was spectacular! However, much to my surprise my favorite part of the meal turned out to be the quinoa! I had forgotten how much I enjoyed quinoa. Not only that, I loved the warmth of this dish and the medley of fresh vegetables. The dish was so protein rich that it didn't even require the cod.  The next day, just as you might anticipate, I tried to replicate the dish with a few tweaks.

The results were spectacular! A hit with my hubby for sure!

Why quinoa? Why was I obsessed with it over the summer and what's the big deal with it anyway? Why has it received so much press? Why would the UN declare 2013 as the 'International year of quinoa'?!

Here are a few reasons why quinoa is so loved:

• Easy to cook.  No soaking or pre-preparation required.  You can whip up a bowl of quinoa in less than 15 min.
• Complete source of protein (8g per cup) - provides sufficient amounts of all essential amino acids. Most grains aren't a source of complete protein and are low in lysine and isoleucine, however quinoa provides sufficient amounts of both of these amino acids and is therefore considered a complete source of protein.
• Is a source of essential fatty acids and heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, specifically oleic acid. About 28% of quinoa's fatty acids come in the form of oleic acid, and about 5% come in the form of alpha-linolenic acid which is the omega-3 fatty acid most commonly found in plants and associated with decreased risk of inflammation-related disease.
• Full of antioxidant flavonoids such as quercetin and kaempferol. In fact, the concentration of these two flavonoids in quinoa can sometimes be greater than their concentration of high-flavonoid berries.
• A good source of fibre (5.2g per cup - 21% of DV), folate (19% of DV), iron (15% of DV), magnesium (30% of DV), phosphorus (28% of DV) manganese (58% of DV).
• Gluten free.

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Warm quinoa stir fry

Yield: 4

Author: Lara

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 40 Min

Warm quinoa stir-fry that's high in protein and full of flavour!

Ingredients

• Cooking the quinoa
• 2 cups of pre-rinsed quinoa
• 1 large onion cubed
• 1/2 tbsp. sea salt or herbamare
• 4 cups of water (filtered or spring)
• Sir-fry
• 1 tbsp. coconut oil
• 1 large onion cubed
• 1 lb of cremini mushrooms sliced
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 cup of frozen corn (certified organic)
• 1 cup of frozen green soybeans (certified organic)
• 1 bunch of coriander chopped finely (approx. 1/4 cup)
• 1/2 tbsp. of sea salt or herbamare

Instructions

1. Cooking the Quinoa
2. Place the 2 cups of quinoa in a deep cooking pot
3. Add 4 cups of water, cubed onion and salt or herbamare
4. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cover
5. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes on low until all the liquid is absorbed
6. Stir-fry
7. While the quinoa is cooking, melt the coconut oil in a separate large skillet and add cubed onion and salt
8. Cook over medium heat for a few minutes until the onion is translucent and some of the liquid has been released
9. Add mushrooms and cook for a further few minutes until some of the liquid from the mushrooms is released
10. Add and stir in all other veggies excluding the coriander
11. After a few minutes once all veggies are cooked to your liking, add the cooked quinoa and coriander, mix to incorporate
12. Serve and enjoy!

Notes:

 

Calories

642

Fat (grams)

19

Carbs (grams)

92

Sugar (grams)

12

Protein (grams)

34

Sodium (milligrams)

395

Created using The Recipes Generator