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The Health Benefits of Quinoa

By Mandy Kernmore

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 03Dec2011
Word count: 577
Viewed: 120 time(s)

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Quinoa is a highly nutritious food from South America that was once considered "the gold of the Incas." Quinoa has many healthy benefits. If you look at quinoa nutrition facts, you'll discover that it is higher in amino acids and protein and can be easily substituted for almost any grain, as it is gluten free. Here are a few health benefits of using quinoa.

Health Benefits Of Eating Quinoa

Quinoa promotes healthy bone growth: Quinoa contains all nine essential amino acids used by the body as building blocks for the development of muscle tissue and necessary metabolic enzymes.

Quinoa's high magnesium content promotes cardiovascular health: Magnesium has been the subject of many studies for its role in preventing hypertension through its ability to relax the small muscles that clamp down on our blood vessels. It also provides relief from migraine headaches.

Quinoa is a great benefit for people suffering from Celiac Disease: The grain is great for people who are allergic to wheat and are suffering from Celiac disease, as it is gluten free.

Avoid gallstones by eating quinoa: It is a good source of fiber that helps avoid gallstones, especially in women who are more prone to them.

How to Make Quinoa

In order to get all the great benefits of eating quinoa, you have to know how to cook it. The seed of quinoa has a coating of saponin that imparts a bitter taste and is quite toxic. It needs to be soaked for a minimum of 15 minutes and rinsed under cold running water to guarantee a pleasant and delicate flavor. Because it has become so widely popular, most store bought versions have already been pre-rinsed and just need to be soaked for a bit. Check your package to make sure.

An Easy to Start with Recipe Using Quinoa

To grab all the added benefits of using quinoa in your diet for healthy eating, here is an easy to fix recipe for those crazy mornings around the house. Be sure and fix plenty as it will not last long at all!

Quinoa Granola

Ingredients

1 large ripe banana

2 tablespoons of your favorite nut butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2-3 tbsp honey (depending on how sweet you like it)

2 cups rolled quinoa

3/4 cup sliced hazelnuts

2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

1 tablespoons ground flax seed

1/2 cup cranberries

Directions

Preheat oven to 275 F.

Mash the banana in a large bowl with a fork. Add the rest of the wet ingredients, and stir to combine.

Add all the dry ingredients, except for the flax seeds and cranberries into the wet mixture. Stir it all together and spread onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Break up large clumps to ensure even cooking.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or longer if you have a cool oven. Stir every 15 minutes to ensure even browning, until the granola is starting to crisp up and the nuts are getting toasty.

Remove the granola from the oven and stir in the flax seeds and dried berries. Allow it to cool completely on the pan before transferring to an airtight container. It will get crunchy as it cools down.

Ready to learn more? I blog about all things Quinoa at HowToMakeQuinoa.com. One of the recipes I shared recently is this Tomato and Mint Quinoa Salad Recipe It's quick, easy, healthy and most importantly very yummy!

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