Best Quinoa Pilaf Ww 4 Pts Recipes

QUINOA PILAF

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat, then add the shallot, fennel, carrot, and a pinch of salt and sauté for about 3 minutes, until the vegetables start to sweat. Stir in the quinoa, turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, ginger, and cardamom, then stir in the broth and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed and the quinoa is tender.
• Remove from the heat and fluff with a fork, then add the parsley and fluff again. Do a FASS check and add a spritz of lemon juice to amp up the flavor if needed.
• rebecca's notes
• Rinse, rinse, and rinse again! Quinoa is naturally coated with a bitter-tasting resin. To get rid of the resin, put the grain in a bowl of cool water, swish it around with your hand, then drain it in a fine-mesh sieve.
• Quinoa is gluten free, which makes sense when you consider that botanically, it isn't a grain at all; it's more closely related to beets. It makes a great replacement for couscous in Orange Pistachio Couscous (page 145). It's also a great hot cereal; try it in place of oats in Best Oatmeal Ever (page 128).
• storage
• Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days.
• nutrition information
• (per serving)
• Calories: 270
• Total Fat: 9.9g (1.3g saturated, 5.7g monounsaturated)
• Carbohydrates: 39g
• Protein: 8g
• Fiber: 6g
• Sodium: 180mg
• WHO KNEW? Chemo and Carbs and Diabetes Risk
• By now, most of us know that chemo can cause muscle loss. But it can also lead to diabetes if you're not careful. Less muscle mass is a double whammy: You burn less sugar than with normal muscle levels, and you also store less sugar, in the form of glycogen, in those muscles, meaning all that unused consumed sugar stays in your body (usually in the liver, blood, and kidneys), elevating overall blood sugar levels and forcing you to use more insulin.
• Dr. Jeanne Wallace says that on top of that, "when you're given chemo, you're often given a steroid that really increases the glycemic response," creating the type of blood sugar spikes and insulin surges that can predispose people to diabetes. Wallace's suggestion? While you're in treatment, forget the USDA food pyramid. It suggests 6 to 11 servings of carbs per day. You want to eat fewer carbs, so shoot for half of that if not less. When you do eat carbs, avoid refined white flour and sugar and stick with whole grains, as their higher fiber content slows the release of their sugars into the body. This may have direct anticancer benefits too, as some studies have shown that lowering blood sugar levels in animals suppressed tumor growth.

QUINOA PILAF

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the shallot, tomatoes, peppers and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring often, until slightly softened and aromatic, about 4 minutes. Season with the salt and add the quinoa. Using a wooden spoon, stir to coat the quinoa in the oil. Add the chicken broth, stir and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan and cook until the quinoa is tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Stir in the spinach to wilt and serve drizzled with olive oil.

QUINOA PILAF

Steps:

• Toast rinsed quinoa in medium saucepan for 5 minutes.
• Remove from pan.
• Add oil, onion, mushrooms and garlic to pan and cook until onions are soft, about 4 minutes.
• Add boiling water, peas and toasted quinoa to pot.
• Cover pot and simmer 15 minutes.
• Stir before serving.
• Note: edited on 5/30/05 to include covering pot in step 5.

QUINOA PILAF

Steps:

• Heat the fat in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute the onion until translucent and fragrant. Add the quinoa and stir to coat. Add the liquid and bring to a simmer for about 20 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa is tender. Combine with the herbs, spices, or seasonings and season with salt, and pepper, to taste.
• Quinoa Pilaf Variations:
• Coconut-Lime Quinoa: Cook the quinoa in 1 cup coconut milk and 1 cup chicken broth. Season the quinoa with fresh lime zest and lime juice.
• Mediterranean Quinoa: When the quinoa has finished cooking, add chopped fresh parsley, diced tomatoes, kalamata olives, fresh lemon juice and zest. Top with feta cheese.
• Lemon-Thyme Quinoa: Cook the quinoa in 1/4 cup lemon juice and 1 3/4 cups chicken broth. Season the quinoa with chopped fresh thyme leaves.

QUINOA PILAF

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine broth, quinoa, bay leaf, turmeric, salt, pepper and olive oil in a saucepan. Stir in preserved lemon and cover. Simmer until water is absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes. Turn off heat. Add tomato, artichokes, onion, olives and currants, mix well to combine. Top with mint and serve.

QUINOA PILAF (WW 4 PTS)( 5 PTS FOR WW+)

Steps:

• Heat oil in nonstick pan and cook onion, celery and carrots for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Rinse quinoa with cold water, drain well and add to pan.
• Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
• Add water, bay leaf, lemon rind and juice.
• Add squash, if using.
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover then simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and quinoa is tender.
• Discard bay leaf and stir in peas.
• Season with salt and pepper.