I have been consuming quinoa for years. I like that it has a much higher protein content than other grains, along with a more complete amino-acid profile. Additionally, it contains a good amount of iron and the minerals. It's just an overall more nutritious grain (even though it's not technically a grain, but let's not be too nitpicky.
I used to buy quinoa from places like Trader Joe's, Publix, and more recently Costco. Usually the quinoa was from Peru and it was pretty good, although it was occasionally a bit tough. Then, around a couple of years ago, I started having really bad luck with my store bought quinoa. I couldn't sprout it and it would start smelling really bad when I soaked it. This was the quinoa from Publix. I then tried quinoa from Costco, and in the bag it smelled horrible, like moldy/mushroomy, so I had to throw it out.
Now, let me say that sprouting quinoa is not only an amazing test to verify that you are getting good quality quinoa, but it's also a great way to further increase its nutritional value. I also often sprout beans and the grains before cooking them. This is not some kind of new-agey nonsense, there is good science behind the idea of sprouting grains and legumes in order to make them more nutritious. The most important thing is that you do it yourself (it's so easy) and you don't fall for the 3-times-the-price pre-sprouted grains you can find in healthfood stores, because they are a total ripoff (unless you are a high executive millionaire whose time is worth too much money).
To sprout grains (or legumes) you just soak them overnight in filtered water (you could use tap water but I'd really avoid it if possible), drain the water, and leave them in a bowl covered with a towel to keep out insects/dust. Within a day or two you will see some tiny little sprouts coming out and at that point the grains or legumes are ready to be cooked. To understand what sprouting does, just think about the fact that seeds are the way plants propagate. In order to be successful, the plants store a certain amount of energy in the seeds as complex carbohydrates, along with vitamins and minerals. And the seed is designed so that it will be viable under optimal conditions for centuries, until the seeds are exposed to water. Once the seed is exposed to water, enzymes inside the seed activate, and they start making the energy from the carbohydrates, the vitamins, etc, available for the creation of the new plant. Basically all the nutrition inside the seed becomes ready to use, but only after going through the sprouting process!
Like I mentioned before, sprouting is not only good for increasing the nutritional value of what you are eating, but it's also a great test to see if you got a good quality product. If the grains, seeds or legumes are fresh and well preserved, they are supposed to be viable, and as such they will sprout if you expose them to water. If the seeds or grains don't sprout, it means that they are probably dead, which can either be due to improper and prolonged storage, or to irradiation, or due to being some type of GMO designed not to be viable. Either way, it's not a good sign.
So, after a couple of years of not consuming quinoa due to the poor quality of what I could find in the stores, I decided to try ordering on Amazon. I also had a chance to test recently some quinoa from Bolivia instead of Peru and really liked it. I have to say, at the beginning I was not totally sold on the "Royal Quinoa" thing. It just sounded like marketing gimmick. When I got my first sample of Royal Quinoa from Bolivia and I liked it I thought it could be just luck, but now that I tasted a second batch of quinoa that is still "Royal Quinoa" but from a different brand, I can say that there is really something about the quinoa form Bolivia, and I believe it to be superior to the quinoa from Peru I used to buy before.
I'm including some pics of my quinoa from Viva Labs sprouting beautifully after just one day. All in all I'm very happy with this product and I will certainly continue to buy it, as it's comparable in price to the quinoa I can find in stores, but the quality is on a whole different level!
Lastly, let me leave you with a recipe I came up for cooking quinoa that I really like.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup white quinoa
- 2 strips of bacon
- half an onion
- extra virgin olive oil
- dry oregano
Cut up the bacon in small strips or squares. Also chop half an onion finely. Put the bacon inside a steel pot on medium heat. After a few minutes, the bacon will have released a good amount of fat and will have taken on a browned appearance. Take the pot off the fire and scoop out most of the fat with a spoon. Discard the fat. (You don't have to discard the fat, but I like to do it so that I reduce the amount of bacon fat I'm consuming, in favor of other healthy fats like olive oil).
Then put in the finely chopped onion in the pot with the bacon and sauté the onion stirring frequently. If you removed too much bacon fat and you see that the onion starts to stick, add a little bit of olive oil.
Once the onions are nice and yellowish/brown in color (a little brown is ok but don't burn them!), add the quinoa that you will have previously rinsed with fresh water along with 2 cups of water. If you are using sprouted quinoa, add just one cup of water instead. Add some salt, stir, and cover with a lid. Once the water starts boiling, lower the heat to simmer, and cook it for 25 minutes, or until the water has disappeared. If you find that it's taking too long, and the quinoa tastes done, you can take off the lid and let the water evaporate more quickly.
Once the water is gone, turn off the fire, sprinkle the quinoa with dried oregano and stir it well. Finally, put it in a bowl, and pour some extra virgin olive oil on top. You can stir the olive oil into the quinoa or start eating the quinoa without stirring the olive oil in. I prefer NOT to stir, as it allows you to really taste the olive oil, and as long as you are using really good extra virgin olive oil, I believe it's the best way to eat this dish.
Alternatively, you can also cook it in chicken broth instead of water, which will give it a great flavor! If you found this useful, please consider giving me positive feedback. And if you have any questions, let me know.
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