InFluential_Magazine_March_April_2017

Teen
SUPER FOOD:
Quinoa
It’s the food you don’t
know how to spell,
or how to say. The
food, when you see it,
you don’t quite know
what to call it. “Some
sort of rice? A grain?
I dunno, but it starts
with a “Q”.
Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah)
is making a rise in popularity,
earning a reputation of being
a “hipster” food. But, even though it
seems to be new to the spotlight, it
was actually a staple of the Incan diet as
long as four thousand years ago. Since
then, it has remained a staple of diets in
South America.
So what’s the big deal? Why does
everything think quinoa is so great?
In short, this gluten-free superfood is
abundant in a plethora of necessary
nutrients including fiber, magnesium
and iron. Also, it contains all nine essential
amino acids, which makes it a complete
protein. That can’t be said about the
majority of plant foods. You may be
kWRITTEN BY MIA DEDEAR
tempted to guess that it is a whole grain,
but it technically isn’t. Quinoa, believe
it or not, is a seed, but it’s still generally
counted as a whole grain food. That’s
always a plus, right?
So how do you eat it? Well, that’s a big
question, and there is an extensive list of
answers. For instance, it can be tossed
with other vegetables, sprinkled over
a salad, or even wrapped into sushi or
tacos. Of course, the very first step is to
cook your quinoa.
The process of cooking quinoa is very
similar to that of cooking rice. Bring one
cup of dry quinoa and two cups of water
to a boil. Then cover the pot and reduce
the heat to medium until the quinoa is
soft. This usually takes 15 to 20 minutes.
If all of the water is not absorbed, that’s
okay, just drain out the excess water.
Remove the pot from heat and let it
sit with the lid still on for another five
minutes. That last step is important
because it lets the quinoa dry off a bit, so
that it does not stick together.
Now that you’ve cooked your quinoa,
here are some ideas to get you started:
310 TEEN FLUENTIAL MARCH / APRIL 2017