Quinoa recipes? The fiber is your friend thread....

Because of the hot weather thread and my current obsession with healthier eating and fiber, I just made some Quinoa the other day.  I just made it with chicken broth and served it as a side to a ratatouille of sorts...I was wondering though what other creative ways people have cooked with it and if anyone had any other good high fiber recipes that are lower in fat and cals... I think this might be useful for low carb people too...

Great topic!! But don't you mean FIBRE?  

I can vouch for this recipe (for quinoa) http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/heathers-quinoa-recipe.html

In terms of just fibre in general, my chilli is scarily fibrous: a chopped onion, 4 cloves of garlic, loads of spice (I use cumin seeds, chipotle pepper powder, and paprika), a tin of aduki beans, a tin of borlotti beans, a tin of chopped tomatoes, a cup or so of frozen sweetcorn, and a packet of vegie mince (which is usually quite high fibre).... Serve it over brown rice and you've got a fibre-icious meal!!!!

ETA: veg. mince often soaks up liquid so I forgot to add about 600ml of stock....

That sounds so good, Anne...I might make it tonight!

DH made quinoa the other day for the first time.  I haven't tried any but I suppose I better start making it.  We need all the fiber we can get (A - since vnicepeeps and I are in the US we say FIBER!  ).

I love my quinoa mixed with oats for morning porridge., about a 50/50 mix and then the texture isn't anywhere near as gummy as you can get with oats alone, plus you get all the extra protein. I put the quinoa in first, let it boil for about 15min while I'm getting ready, then add in the oats, cook for 5min more, then take it off the stove and mix in whatever I fancy: honey, agave nectar, brown sugar, fruit, nuts, seeds, etc.

I'm making myself hungry now thinking about it!

That sounds so good, Anne...I might make it tonight!

It is!!

Here's a recipe from Martha Stewart for Quinoa Muffins.

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/quinoa-muffins

I haven't tried them but they sound pretty good. One of the people who commented on the recipe said they substituted dried apples for the raisins, which is probably what I would do since we're not big on raisins.

I make a cheese sauce for my quinoa, identical to the one I use for homemade mac and cheese.  But I think you could put any sauce on it, really. 

Great topic!! But don't you mean FIBRE? 

I can vouch for this recipe (for quinoa) http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/heathers-quinoa-recipe.html

In terms of just fibre in general, my chilli is scarily fibrous: a chopped onion, 4 cloves of garlic, loads of spice (I use cumin seeds, chipotle pepper powder, and paprika), a tin of aduki beans, a tin of borlotti beans, a tin of chopped tomatoes, a cup or so of frozen sweetcorn, and a packet of vegie mince (which is usually quite high fibre).... Serve it over brown rice and you've got a fibre-icious meal!!!!

ETA: veg. mince often soaks up liquid so I forgot to add about 600ml of stock....

Thanks Anne...I've just made it as a salad with feta and sun dried tomatoes.. very yummy!

I love Quinoa... and suprisingly, DH loves it too. I've been meaning to try it as with oats for breakfast.

This is my favourite recipe at the moment.  Instead of having it as a side dish, I add some torn chicken and some salad leaves for lunch.  Deelish and really filling.

Quinoa & Black Beans

INGREDIENTS

* 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
* 1 onion, chopped
* 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
* 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
* 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1 cup frozen corn kernels
* 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.

2. Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.

3. Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro.

Thanks Zen...I'll try that one too.... the site Anne gave me as some nice ones too.. to include breakfast ones...

I like the idea of combining it with steel cut oats...like squirrly suggests... also have cheese ones and muffins as something to try..

  thank you again everyone!

I know I gave a hot breakfast cereal recipe using quinoa on here some time ago.  I did a search but could not find it!

It's at home, so I can't post it    Sorry!  It's so good too!

Wow, that one sounds really good too, zenmomma!  These recipes are great!  Stace, hope you can post yours when you get back too.

Here is a lower fat version of that Martha Stewart recipe:

Quinoa Muffins
Makes 12.

Ingredients
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
3/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins
3/4 cup skim milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:
350 degrees. In a med saucepan, bring rinsed quinoa and 1 cup water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer; cover, and cook until water has been absorbed and quinoa is tender, 11 to 13 minutes.
Spray muffin cups (can lightly flour). In a medium bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, raisins, and 2 cups cooked quinoa; reserve any leftover quinoa for another use.
In a small bowl, whisk together applesauce, milk, egg, and vanilla. Add milk mixture to flour mixture, and stir just until combined; divide batter among prepared muffin cups.
Bake until toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool muffins in pan, 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container up to 5 days.

So, I've heard a lot about Quinoa and these recipes look pretty good - but I've never tried it before. What is it like? Does it have much flavour, or do you use stock and seasonings to flavour it? Just curious...

Quinoa salad with dried apricots and baby spinach. The Moroccan-spiced lemon dressing is so good, I could eat it with a spoon.

For the US crowd, I HIGHLY recommend Trader Joe's unsulfured Blenheim apricots - they're amazing. Only ones I'll eat.