Monday 22 July 2013

Superfood of the day: Quinoa



So our healthy eating plan took a slight back seat over the weekend as the sunny weather demanded us to have a BBQ and a picnic full of gluten free treats (recipes from the picnic will be posted later). Today however, is the start of a new week which means we are back on the healthy eating regime.

Today our superfood is Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah). In recent months, quinoa seems to have become the 'in-vogue' food choice. With celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Anniston praising the health benefits of this wholesome grain, we thought its about time we put the strange sounding food to the test.


Unlike wheat and rice, quinoa is all protein - Packed with dietary fibre, phosphorus, magnesium and iron, this grain is probably the healthiest ingredient on supermarket shelves. Naturally gluten-free and easy to cook with, we decided to put a quinoa spin on our reliable 'vegetable stir fry' recipe using Canton Chef's Black Bean and Garlic sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients:

200g quinoa
3 tbsp sesame oil
2 cloves of garlic (crushed)
1 cup frozen peas
3 carrots (sliced)
1/2 butternut squash (peeled and chopped- or cheat and buy an already sliced bag of squash!)
2 peppers (any colour you fancy)
Any other vegetables that take your fancy (I like to add broccoli!)
1 handful cashew nuts (chopped)
A pinch of salt
1 Black Bean and Garlic stir fry sauce


*Boil 600 ml of water in a saucepan and add a pinch of salt. Once boiling, add the quinoa and leave to cook fo approx. 20 mins (most of the water will be absorbed and the germ should be separated from the seed).
*Boil a saucepan of water and add the butternut squash, leave to cook for about 10 minutes.
*Heat the wok and add the sesame oil and the crushed garlic
*Add the carrots and peppers to the pan and leave to simmer for 5 mins (stirring along the way)
*Add the peas, cooked butternut squash and cashews
*Once the quinoa is cooked (it should still be al dente) add it to the pan and stir
*Pour in the Canton Chef sauce and stir for 2-3 minutes
*Now just serve it up and enjoy!

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