It’s easy to get stuck in a cooking rut when trying to feed your family quickly and easily. You also have to consider the nutritional value you sacrifice when serving the same old snacks time and time again. But when it seems impossible to avoid the standard spaghetti and meatballs syndrome, this healthy alternative will help bring a little something different to the table.
In the frenzy to establish whole wheat bread as a healthy alternative to white breads, Quinoa, a rich nutty grain, has also made its own comeback. And its resume isn’t too shabby. Quinoa is known for its use by the Incas thousands of years ago, earning itself an early reputation as the “mother of all grains”, as they called it.
But Quinoa is different than the rice and flour that you’re probably used to incorporating into dinner. While Quinoa is grain-like, and a great substitute for cereal or stir fry for instance, it is actually more closely related to vegetables than it is to grasses or wheat. Their relatives include spinach and beets. Quinoa is also unusually rich in protein, containing all nine of the amino acids essential for a healthy diet. This makes it a good choice for vegans concerned about including protein in their daily intake that they would otherwise have missed from lack of meat.
This Food Network recipe by Ingrid Hoffmann yields a stir fry-like meal, but is fluffier and more flavorful than rice, and can even produce a creamy but crunchy texture that is sure to win over your entire family.