Quinoa: queen of the grain-esque foods
April 5, 2016 Ashley 0 Comments
I remember the first time I tried quinoa.
I was too lazy to go grocery shopping and it was literally the last thing left in my house to eat. Thus, I whipped it up with some seasoned water in a rice cooker, watched it slowly expand into a granulated marshmallow cloud, let it cool, and… took a bite with my spoon. And then I took another bite. And then I finally put the spoon down and reached back for the serving scooper just so I could get the stuff into my oral orifice fast enough to quench my impatient taste lust. (Told you I had no food left. #GetOffMe) And, seeing as I was trying to go vegan and eat healthy at the time, I had nada to feel guilty about for my quin-binge. ’cause the stuffing stuff’s got heaps of health benefits. Granted, I didn’t care about that back when I was cracking my mandible joint from the rest of my face to accommodate one Leviathan sized scoop after the other. All’s I knew was that it was transcendentally delicious. In fact, I figured there was no way it could be good for me. Not with that tongue carnival it was causing. However, now that I’ve done a bit o’ eat research for this attempted health path I’m awkwardly ambling down, I’ve learned that this is one of those grain-like foods that only taste sinful. It ain’t remotely bad for you. Quite the contrary, actually.
And that’s why it’s now my preference over those brown or white maggots and worms.
(Otherwise known as rice and pasta.)
Why’s it so much better?
Well, first’ve all, there’s the glycemic index issue.
I just learned about this one recently. See, while many of my other faves (like dates or white rice) have a high glycemic index, quinoa’s low on the scale. This’s good because stuff that’s up on the gly-scale raise your blood sugar. And that’s bad because that means you’ll crave more food you don’t need, sparking excessive face-stuffery and eventually obesity. On the contrary, quinoa’s also high in fiber, filling you up so you won’t overeat on other stuff later. What’s more – its low G.I. number also helps avoid that fun disease which Americans love to cause themselves: diabetes.
In fact, some studies have even shown that quinoa might help regulate metabolism.
This was kinda cool, actually. Research done with both humans and rodent-folk nomming on this tasty grain yielded intriguing results. First, the people eating quin (that’s my new abbreviation for it, btw – pronounced “keen”) on the regular had lower blood sugar than the basic bishes with dishes full of the usual gluten-free breads or pastas. In addition, insulin and triglyceride levels normalized in the former group as well. Then, in the rat study (though I’d be interested to see it in my own species members, but I’ll bite if the spoon’s full of delicious micro-orbs), it had an astonishing effect. A high quinoa diet all but canceled out the negative effects of a high fructose diet.
Then, finally, there’s my fave factor: the protein.
At the start’ve this article, I recounted how my first date with my now fave grainy plant-eggs happened at a time when I was trying to go vegan. And, as a vegan, I’ll admit it: finding complete proteins in plants is a challenge and a half. To learn that this stuff’s packing a Popeye level punch of about 9 grams per serving, complete with minerals like magnesium, potassium, calcium (also tough to get on a vegan diet), and vitamin E was the most delicious bit of edification I think I’ve ever had. Also, aside from regulating all those internal body levels, it’s a fab fiber-y means’ve keeping you regular on the lower level as you dismiss dietary debris on the daily from your body rocket.
And that, collectively, is why quinoa remains queen of the seed-food in my fridge kingdom.
I highly recommend you crown her as yours too.