The Quintessential Quinoa Cookbook: Eat Great, Lose Weight, Feel Healthy [Hardcover]

Wendy Polisi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2012

Superfood quinoa finally gets its own cookbook! Start cooking healthy today!

With over 200 pages of quinoa-inspired cuisine, The Quintessential Quinoa Cookbook is unlike any other quinoa cookbook. Inside you’ll find Wendy’s exclusive, hand-crafted recipes, photographs of every recipe, nutritional information for every recipe, and alternative ingredients and preparation methods. Included are vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free, fast & easy, eating clean, quinoa recipes for kids, and even desserts! Let’s take a quick peek at the recipes included: Strawberry Spinach Quinoa Salad, Black Bean and Quinoa Tostadas, Quinoa Burgers, Almond Fudge Quinoa Brownies, Sun-Dried Tomato and Goat Cheese Pizza, and much more! 150 color photographs

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Quinoa is called the “perfect” protein for a reason: it contains all nine of the essential amino acids humans need to stay healthy. In addition, the wonder grain is rich in lysine, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, but getting the average American to try quinoa hasn’t been easy. Polisi, whose website, CookingQuinoa.net, gets 200,000 visitors a month, knows a thing or two about taking the fear (or yuck) factor out of cooking with this South American quasigrain. With her debut cookbook, she shares her favorite recipes ranging from breakfast to dessert. In addition to providing basic details on the different forms of quinoa and how to cook it, Polisi includes nutritional information for each dish as well as options for making recipes more quickly or even healthier. VERDICT Despite fierce competition from other cookbooks on the topic . . . this is bound to be in demand by both cooks looking for creative new ways to serve more nutritional dishes and anyone trying to live a healthier lifestyle.” (John Charles - Library Journal )

“Which protein “substitute” might be the star of Polisi’s first-ever cookbook? It’s quinoa (pronounced keenwah), a hearty grain few people know how to pronounce, let alone cook. Although nearly all of her more than 80 recipes are meatless, to the author’s credit, she doesn’t go overboard vegan; she uses dairy and eggs . . . most [recipes] are the healthier version of such favorite dishes as pancakes, hummus, burgers, and brownies. Every recipe includes a color photograph and complete nutritional information, often accompanied by recommendations for quicker preparation or to make it vegan, gluten free, or with fewer calories. Although she’s a real aficionado of the grain and has used it for years, she makes no claims to being a gluten or vegan expert.” (Barbara Jacobs - Booklist )

“The Quintessential Quinoa Cookbook is highly recommended. In addition to alternative ingredients, preparation tips and nutritional information, recipes are divided into eight main sections: Quinoa Breakfast Recipes; Appetizers; Soups & Salads; Entrees & Sides; Quinoa Pasta, Polenta & Pizza; Breads & Muffins; Desserts; and Quinoa for Kids. The full-color illustrations add just the right touch. It is user-friendly and the section for kids will inspire even youngsters to have fun in the family kitchen.  I tested four recipes from this excellent collection and have begun to develop an appreciation for what I think is a super food. . . All four recipes were tasty and fairly easy to prepare.” (Larry Cox - The Tuscon Citizen )

“In her new cookbook, The Quintessential Quinoa Cookbook, author Wendy Polisi demonstrates that one such atypical grain, quinoa, can be put to work in myriad tasty and healthful dishes.” (Sauce Magazine )

About the Author

Wendy Polisi’s goal is to create whole nutritious foods that are also exceptionally delicious. She came across quinoa by accident—as a busy mom, she felt run-down and out of shape, but after trying out a quinoa recipe one day she was hooked—and she’s never looked back. Author of the bestselling The Quintessential Quinoa Cookbook, she lives in Arizona with her family.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing; 1 edition (April 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1616085355
• ISBN-13: 978-1616085353
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,444 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #6 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Cooking by Ingredient > Rice & Grains

More About the Author

Hi! I'm Wendy! I'm a homeschooling mom of two young boys and I've been in love with cooking since I was 15.

Like a lot of you, I love food. My tastes have always leaned toward the indulgent, but in the last few years I've learned that healthy food can also taste fantastic. This was amazing for me because taste just isn't something I'm willing to sacrifice.

A few years ago, I ran across quinoa and fell in love with its versatility. To me, it is like a blank slate because it can use it in most any type of dish.

For the last two years I have had a lot of fun creating new quinoa recipes and sharing them with my amazing readers. If you have questions about cooking with quinoa please don't hesitate to drop by my website (www.cookingquinoa.net) and ask! I'd love to hear from you!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 47 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Yummy and easy to follow recipes February 18, 2012

By Sybille Yates

Format:Hardcover

'The Quintessential Quinoa Cookbook' certainly lives up to its title. With over 200 pages of content it covers pretty much everything when it comes to cooking, and baking!, with Quinoa. The pictures of the recipes, all by the author herself, are gorgeous and give you a good impression what the finished meal will look like. The recipes themselves are easy to follow and have all nutritional information included.

A nice touch are the recipe variations for people that follow a special diet, like vegan, gluten free or eating clean. Each recipe follows a clear set-up with list of ingredients needed, a photo (or more!) of the finished meal, cooking and baking directions, the necessary additional steps to make it vegan, gluten-free or cleaner and the relevant nutritional information. The directions are easy to follow, detailed without getting boring and there are also some useful general cooking and baking tips interspersed, like how to make perfectly brown pancakes.

A well thought out index, the food photography and some beautifully designed transitional pages make this book real eye candy, but its true value lies in its recipes that prove over and over again that healthy food can be yummy and doesn't have to be boring at all. This Quinoa cook book really made me run to the next health store to stock up on my Quinoa supply and start out to try some of the recipes!

If you care, like me, for healthy eating AND don't want to compromise on taste and visual appeal of your meals, this cook book is right for you. Whilst the book is aimed mostly at vegetarians, there also a few dishes included for 'meat eaters' and obviously, all the side dishes, salads and so on can be easily combined with a nice steak or healthy steamed fish. Healthy food has never tasted so good! Here a few of my favorite recipes so far:

Quinoa Black Bean Soup
Quinoa Salad with Goat Cheese, Raspberries and Balsamic Walnuts
Sweet Potato, Quinoa and Butternut Squash Gratin (that one especially made my hubby's mouth water, served with a nice steak of course!)
Lentil, Chickpea and Quinoa Burger with Cilantro Garlic Cream
Chocolate Chip Cherry Quinoa Cookies (try to say this five times fast in a row ;-))

Sorted from breakfast to dessert, it would be easy to prepare a whole menu based on Quinoa with this cookbook without it getting boring. If you are looking to add one more 'healthy cooking book' to your collection and / or if you are looking for a gift for a 'health nut', this is the book for you! And seriously, even if you are not into healthy living, this book's recipes are just too yummy to miss.

As no review is truly complete without mentioning also some negative points and caveats with a product, here they are:

Whilst the book concentrates mainly on cooking from scratch, what I am a big fan of, a few recipes involve using pre-made food like 'tubes of Quinoa Polenta'. Not a great deal for some, but I thought I mention it. Nothing else, really, sorry, this cookbook is as perfect as you could wish for.

Oh yes, one more, you will develop a healthy appetite by just looking at the images of the prepared meals ;-)

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't know how it could be better.. February 18, 2012

By Anna Seeger

Format:Hardcover

This cookbook is very good and very well laid out. The author's writing style makes the subject interesting and easy to understand.

I had heard about the benefits of quinoa, the super food, however I didn't know about any recipes using it. The author educates you about the benefits of quinoa and why it should be a part of every diet.

She also includes mouth-watering photographs of the different dishes. Another positive to this book is the recipes include ingredients that I normally already have in my kitchen.

The downsides to the book are twofold. One, I can't decide which recipe to try first, and two; the author doesn't come with the book to prepare the dishes.

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great introduction for a quinoa newbie February 20, 2012

By David C. Huckabay

Format:Hardcover

With my recent numbers coming back bad (total cholesterol over 250, and a triglyceride count in the stratosphere) I have been looking for a way to eat healthier. I also lift weights, and I have to keep my protein numbers up - I try to eat about 1 gram of protein for every pound of lean body weight.

So - I have to drop the weight and stop eating crap - but chicken breasts only take you so far. Enter Quinoa - one of the few (the only?) plants that has a complete protein profile, meaning that you can get all of the essential amino acids from it.

Now I have something I can substitute for my formerly meat heavy diet that won't leave me wondering about my protein profile. The only question is how to keep it interesting.

That's where this book comes in. Wendy does a great job of incorporating enough different kinds of dishes and flavors to keep even me satisfied. A bonus is the book's quality - beautifully photographed, so you can get a real idea of what the dishes will look like. First up - tomato pizza!