superfood quinoa

Quinoa is currently the only complete nutritional grain in the world confirmed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations that a single plant can meet the needs of all nine essential amino acids of the human body. It is suitable for people who control sugar, fitness enthusiasts, and babies in the complementary feeding period as a staple food supplement. However, it does not have a "fat-reducing magic effect", and there is no need to buy imported products at a premium. You can buy it as needed. It does not count as an IQ tax and is by no means a "universal super food."

The first time I came into contact with quinoa was when I was working out in 2018. It ranked first on the list of staple food replacements given by my personal trainer. At that time, imported quinoa was fried for fifty or sixty yuan per pound, so I gritted my teeth and bought a pound. I had no experience in cooking it for the first time. I didn’t soak it and didn’t wash it well. It tasted bitter and raw. At that time, I thought this was some Internet celebrity food, and it was purely IQ tax. Later, when I talked about this with a friend who works in clinical nutrition, I realized that I had stepped into the trap of eating methods. Moreover, the quality of domestic plateau quinoa in Qinghai and Gansu has long been as high as that of imported ones. Ordinary white quinoa only costs more than ten yuan per pound, which is cheaper than many organic rice.

Nowadays, the opinions on quinoa on the Internet are completely polarized. Some people eat it every now and then and say they lost five pounds after eating it for half a month. Some people look up the nutritional label and say that it has about the same calories as rice. This is pure speculation. Let’s be honest, the complete protein content of quinoa is about 14%-18%, which is more than double that of rice, which is about 7%. It is also the only grain that contains all essential amino acids in a single plant. It is especially friendly to vegetarians who cannot eat eggs and milk. This has been verified by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in actual experiments, and it is not bad. But saying it can "burn fat and reduce fat" is really an exaggeration. My nutritionist friend specifically emphasized to me that quinoa has about 360 calories per 100 grams, which is almost the same as rice. Its advantage is that the dietary fiber content is more than three times that of rice, and the glycemic index (GI) is only 53. It is a low-GI food. Eating less than half a bowl will make you feel full, which invisibly reduces the total intake. If you show off two large bowls of quinoa rice in one meal, you will still be fat.

My best friend was diagnosed with gestational diabetes last year when she was pregnant. The doctor asked her to replace one-third of the white rice with quinoa. She found it troublesome at first, but later found out that it was enough to soak it for 20 minutes in advance, throw it in the rice cooker with the rice and cook it normally. It tasted slightly nutty. After a week of continuous post-meal blood sugar testing, it was really stable. Now that her baby has just started to eat complementary food, she mixes boiled crushed quinoa into rice cereal. She says it is more nutritious than just eating rice cereal, and the baby loves to chew it.

Of course, not all quinoa products are worth buying. Previously, I saw a blogger recommending quinoa crisps, saying that they are low in calories and healthy and suitable for snacks. I bought them and ate them sweetly. When I looked at the ingredients list, sugar came second. I checked the relevant nutrition tests and found out that this kind of added Processed quinoa crisps and quinoa energy bars add a lot of sugar and fat for taste, and the GI can reach over 70, which is higher than white rice. They are not suitable for people who control sugar. I ended up feeding my colleagues in the office, and I paid the IQ tax in vain.

Let me talk about my own experience in stocking up. When choosing quinoa, you don’t really need to check whether it is imported. As long as it is clean and free of impurities from Qinghai and Gansu, white quinoa has the softest texture and is suitable for braised rice and added to rice. Red quinoa and black quinoa are chewier and are especially suitable for mixing with salads after cooking. Before cooking, be sure to rinse it with a fine sieve two or three times to wash away the saponins on the surface, otherwise it will definitely become bitter. If you have enough time to soak it for 15-20 minutes, it will be softer and will not be cooked. I also like to drain the cooked quinoa and freeze it in the refrigerator. I take it out in the morning and mix it with Greek yogurt and sprinkle some blueberries and chia seeds. It is much more filling than eating sweet bread.

I keep a pound of quinoa in the storage jar in the kitchen at home all year round, and I don’t deliberately eat it every time. Sometimes I stew a handful of rice, and sometimes I sprinkle it on a salad. After all, food itself has no distinction between high and low. There is no need to tout it as an all-powerful super food, and there is no need to beat it to death just because it has stepped on a trap once. Suitable for your own taste and needs is more important than any gimmick, right?