How to prepare quinoa: recipe

The Quinoa It was recognized by the (FAO), United Nations Organization for Food and Agriculture in 2013, as a food of great nutritional value and that year was named "International Year of Quinoa".

Quinoa is a grain, considered as "Golden Grain", It is not a cereal, we can say that it is a pseudo-cereal, however it is prepared like cereals. It was one of the main staple foods of the Andean people. At present its use has even reached the Gourmet kitchen.

The Quinoa is a natural source of proteins, and a food suitable for celiacs as it does not contain gluten. It is Easy digestion, pleasant taste and like even the smallest of the house its soft texture.

The nutritional properties of quinoa

From a nutritional point of view, quinoa stands out for its incredible richness in essential nutrients, among which we can mention and highlight the following:

Rich in essential fatty acids, Omega 3.
Proteins
Carbohydrates
Fiber.
Minerals: iron, magnesium, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, manganese, copper, and zinc.
Vitamins: especially vitamins of group B, E.

It is recommended for athletes, being rich in magnesium and zinc. Its consumption is also recommended for vegetarian diets and in cases where a contribution is needed when there are deficiencies of minerals, vitamins and proteins.

The most important quinoa benefits

As we knew in a previous note in which we talked about the benefits of quinoa for our health, especially within a varied and balanced diet, it stands out for the following medicinal, healing and nutritional properties:

Maintains blood sugar levels
Good cardiovascular health: precisely because of its high content of essential fatty acids, especially the presence of Omega 3 fatty acids, helps to prevent or lower high levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, being in turn very useful for maintaining good health of our system cardiovascular.
Rich in fiber: being rich in fiber acts as a light laxative, favoring intestinal transit.
Against constipation: for its richness in fiber not only helps prevent constipation, but it is useful to improve our intestinal transit completely and completely natural.
It is easy to digest.
Antioxidant: quinoa stands out for its incredible richness in natural antioxidants, especially for its high flavonoid content. I am means that it is an antioxidant food, useful to control the action of free radicals, and to prevent premature aging of our cells.

With the Quinoa we can prepare many recipes, accompanying different dishes, meat, poultry, fish, salads, soups ...

The Quinoa we can get it already washed, ready for consumption, without having to rub them and rinse them to remove the saponins, which gives them a bitter taste.

Next we indicate the steps to cook the washed Quinoa.

How to prepare and cook quinoa

The Quinoa can be prepared as rice (adding two servings of water per serving of Quinoa).

Ingredients you need:

A cup of Quinoa.
- 2 cups of water.
A pinch of coarse salt.
A splash of extra virgin olive oil tastes mild.
One garlic clove.

Preparation of the quinoa:

We put the water to boil with the salt, and the oil. When the water is boiling add the portions of Quinoa. We lower the heat, cover the pot and cook for 12 or 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, let stand covered for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and stir for the grain to come loose.

Now we peel the clove of garlic and chop it into pieces. In a pan put a teaspoon of olive oil to heat. Once hot we brown the tooth the garlic clove, a little bit. Sprinkle the clove of garlic over the Quinoa and stir.