Jump to content
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

What Do You All Think Of Quinoa?


astrologer50

Recommended Posts

astrologer50 Rookie

What do memebers think? does it take nice? do you bake, cook, eat raw?

is it bland, tasty or worth bothering with. I know it's bet expensive in UK and am checking Ebay, but you have to pay p&p

Is it a *must have* item or just occasionally?

thanks


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Lisa Mentor

What do memebers think? does it take nice? do you bake, cook, eat raw?

is it bland, tasty or worth bothering with. I know it's bet expensive in UK and am checking Ebay, but you have to pay p&p

Is it a *must have* item or just occasionally?

thanks

I like it, although I cook it in chicken broth. It adds a lot of flavor.

psawyer Proficient

We like it as an alternative to our everyday stuff. It definitely benefits from being cooked in something besides plain water.

NikkiV Newbie

Love it! Eat it about 4X's a week. High protein, low cal grain. Great if you are dieting or work out at an intense level as I do. I add berries and protien powder as my breakfast. Can eat it in your salad as well and fills you up.

mushroom Proficient

I am intolerant of it.

Ellie84 Apprentice

Last month I bought quinoa flour, it has a strong, sharp smell which reminded me of liquorice. I tried to bake pancakes with it, but I started to cough while handling the flour. Somehow it irritated my throat. Maybe I'll try it in some other form (crackers or bread), but I won't buy the flour again.

IrishHeart Veteran

Not my favorite thing, but it is loaded with protein :) and fiber, so I eat it once and awhile.

It's not very flavorful, in my opinion, so I cook it in broth and herbs with veggies like chopped spinach.

I make the the Ancient Harvest quinoa flakes for breakfast and add some pure maple syrup and sliced banana. That's pretty tasty!


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



astor818 Newbie

I love quinoa. You can mix it with brown rice and make it in the rice cooker. Use like rice or pasta. It can be sweetened too for breakfast-style food. I don't cook it in anything but water, but soaking it may help with taste.

astrologer50 Rookie

We like it as an alternative to our everyday stuff. It definitely benefits from being cooked in something besides plain water.

what do you suggest? something like putting a knorr stock cube in there. I was told by celiac friend that OXO was a no no, but you can have Knorr stock cubes....

astrologer50 Rookie

I love quinoa. You can mix it with brown rice and make it in the rice cooker. Use like rice or pasta. It can be sweetened too for breakfast-style food. I don't cook it in anything but water, but soaking it may help with taste.

would you cook it first, then let it cool before adding to breakfast cereal? why would you soak it? what about flakes, would you still have to soak or could you eat it raw, as is???

thanks so much

astrologer50 Rookie

If I buy quinoa pasta, what kind of sauce would you make and most cans, jars(read made) can be out of bounds??

I am very sensitive to white chia seeds, I know they are a superfood, but immediately upset my tummy, make me bloated and gives flatulence.....

What do you use brown rice with?

Skylark Collaborator

We like it as an alternative to our everyday stuff. It definitely benefits from being cooked in something besides plain water.

I agree. Before I went totally grain-free, I was eating quinoa cooked in chicken broth. I like the flavor of it cooked with some canned tomatoes or tomato juice mixed in with the broth too.

Celtic Queen Explorer
If I buy quinoa pasta, what kind of sauce would you make and most cans, jars(read made) can be out of bounds??

You can use it in with any kind of sauce. There are quite a few jarred spaghetti sauces that are gluten-free. I bought some Prego, I think, that says gluten-free on the label.

I also like flaked quinoa in place of oatmeal for breakfast. And I'll cook the whole quinoa in my rice cooker occasionally and use it in place of regular rice but I agree with what everyone else said about adding some broth or spices to it.

astrologer50 Rookie

You can use it in with any kind of sauce. There are quite a few jarred spaghetti sauces that are gluten-free. I bought some Prego, I think, that says gluten-free on the label.

I also like flaked quinoa in place of oatmeal for breakfast. And I'll cook the whole quinoa in my rice cooker occasionally and use it in place of regular rice but I agree with what everyone else said about adding some broth or spices to it.

thanks for your help, any more tips anyone? I like museli so will probably try the flaed quinoa if I can get locally... :)

dandt Newbie

thanks for your help, any more tips anyone? I like museli so will probably try the flaed quinoa if I can get locally... :)

We use lemon juice in it and some vegies like capsicum, red onion, tomato etc. It tastes really good. It is a little pricey, especially down here in Australia but you don't need much! It is so filling. We've gotten like 8 main servings out of a tiny little box before.

Recently I've seen packet mix flavoured ones, like I see for mac and cheese. The flavours I've seen are tomato and basil, lemon and thyme and another one that has slipped my mind at the moment. Doing it like that could be nice.

My mum also makes a quinoa salad, though she hasn't told me what she puts in it.

Lisa Mentor

My mum also makes a quinoa salad, though she hasn't told me what she puts in it.

Oh yeah...must call mum and ask her recipe and post it here! :D

modiddly16 Enthusiast

We just made it last night for the first time. It was awesome. A quinoa stir fry... we cut up a sweet potato and cooked that, then cooked some chicken and mixed it with the quinoa, green pepper, peas, cumin and garlic. It was suprisingly good!

RiceGuy Collaborator

Last month I bought quinoa flour, it has a strong, sharp smell which reminded me of liquorice. I tried to bake pancakes with it, but I started to cough while handling the flour. Somehow it irritated my throat. Maybe I'll try it in some other form (crackers or bread), but I won't buy the flour again.

I also tried quinoa flour, and couldn't tolerate the bitter taste. Apparently, quinoa has saponins, which are responsible for the bitterness. A number of forum members has stated that rinsing the grain before cooking is essential to reduce the bitterness. Perhaps making flour from it prohibits such rinsing.

love2travel Mentor

I like it and infuse lots of flavour into it such as bay leaves, kaffir lime leaves, mushroom stock, chile pepper stock, veal demi glace, saffron and add crunchy elements to it such as crispy kale leaves or toasted pine nuts (or other nuts). Mushroom duxelles is lovely with it.

psawyer Proficient

I also tried quinoa flour, and couldn't tolerate the bitter taste. Apparently, quinoa has saponins, which are responsible for the bitterness. A number of forum members has stated that rinsing the grain before cooking is essential to reduce the bitterness. Perhaps making flour from it prohibits such rinsing.

Many suppliers of quinoa deliver it already rinsed. Bob's Red Mill is one of them. We buy theirs. I don't know why you could not rinse the quinoa and let it dry before milling it into flour. The flour will have a distinct flavor in any case.

RiceGuy Collaborator

Many suppliers of quinoa deliver it already rinsed. Bob's Red Mill is one of them. We buy theirs. I don't know why you could not rinse the quinoa and let it dry before milling it into flour. The flour will have a distinct flavor in any case.

Then perhaps their quinoa flour is made from rinsed grain. The one I tried wasn't BRM. I'd try milling it if it's soft enough to grind in a coffee grinder, as I don't have a grain mill. Any opinion on whether that'd work? I've been able to grind buckwheat this way, but not harder grains like sorghum.

squirmingitch Veteran

what do you suggest? something like putting a knorr stock cube in there. I was told by celiac friend that OXO was a no no, but you can have Knorr stock cubes....

Be careful with the Knorr. If you're talking about the new Knorr "homestyle stock" in those little tubs then the chicken is fine but the beef one contains wheat!!!!!!!!!

psawyer Proficient

Be careful with the Knorr. If you're talking about the new Knorr "homestyle stock" in those little tubs then the chicken is fine but the beef one contains wheat!!!!!!!!!

Knorr is a Unilever brand. Any gluten source will be clearly listed in the ingredients. All you have to do is read the label.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Recent Activity

    1. - suek54 replied to suek54's topic in Dermatitis Herpetiformis
      5

      Awaiting dermatitis herpetiformis confirmation following biopsy

    2. - trents replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      3

      how much gluten do I need to eat before blood tests?

    3. - catnapt replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      3

      how much gluten do I need to eat before blood tests?

    4. - trents replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      3

      how much gluten do I need to eat before blood tests?

    5. - catnapt posted a topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      3

      how much gluten do I need to eat before blood tests?

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,256
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Christie Fassel
    Newest Member
    Christie Fassel
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):
  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • suek54
      Thank you all for your advice and the dermatitis herpetiformis article. The latter made me realise I had stopped taking my antihistamine, which I will restart today. The Dapsone has cleared the rash entirely but I still get quite a bit itching, absolutely nothing to see though. I know its notoriously hard to clear and its still relatively early days for me.  The iodine issue is very interesting. I do eat quite a bit of salt because I have Addison's disease and sodium retention is an issue. I also have autoimmune hypothyroidism, not sure how a low iodine diet would play into that? Because of my Addison's I am totally steroid dependent, I take steroids 4 x daily and cannot mount any defence against inflammation. I need to increase my meds for that. Now that I know what is wrong I can do just that if Im having a bad day. Life is very sweet, just so damn complicated sometimes! Hey ho, onwards. Thank you again for your advice.  
    • trents
      So, essentially all of the nutrition in the food we eat is absorbed through the villous lining of the small bowel. This is the section of the intestinal track that is damaged by celiac disease. This villous lining is composed of billions of finger-like projections that create a huge amount of surface area for absorbing nutrients. For the celiac person, when gluten is consumed, it triggers an autoimmune reaction in this area which, of course, generates inflammation. The antibodies connected with this inflammation is what the celiac blood tests are designed to detect but this inflammation, over time, wears down the finger-like projections of the villous lining. Of course, when this proceeds for an extended period of time, greatly reduces the absorption efficiency of the villous lining and often results in many and various nutrient deficiency-related health issues. Classic examples would be osteoporosis and iron deficiency. But there are many more. Low D3 levels is a well-known celiac-caused nutritional deficiency. So is low B12. All the B vitamins in fact. Magnesium, zinc, etc.  Celiac disease can also cause liver inflammation. You mention elevated ALP levels. Elevated liver enzymes over a period of 13 years was what led to my celiac diagnosis. Within three months of going gluten free my liver enzymes normalized. I had elevated AST and ALT. The development of sensitivities to other food proteins is very common in the celiac population. Most common cross reactive foods are dairy and oats but eggs, soy and corn are also relatively common offenders. Lactose intolerance is also common in the celiac population because of damage to the SB lining.  Eggs when they are scrambled or fried give me a gut ache. But when I poach them, they do not. The steam and heat of poaching causes a hydrolysis process that alters the protein in the egg. They don't bother me in baked goods either so I assume the same process is at work. I bought a plastic poacher on Amazon to make poaching very easy. All this to say that many of the issues you describe could be caused by celiac disease. 
    • catnapt
      thank you so much for your detailed and extremely helpful reply!! I can say with absolute certainty that the less gluten containing products I've eaten over the past several years, the better I've felt.   I wasn't avoiding gluten, I was avoiding refined grains (and most processed foods) as well as anything that made me feel bad when I ate it. It's the same reason I gave up dairy and eggs- they make me feel ill.  I do have a bit of a sugar addiction lol so a lot of times I wasn't sure if it was the refined grains that I was eating - or the sugar. So from time to time I might have a cookie or something but I've learned how to make wonderful cookies and golden brownies with BEANS!! and no refined sugar - I use date paste instead. Pizza made me so ill- but I thought it was probably the cheese. I gave up pizza and haven't missed it. the one time I tried a slice I felt so bad I knew I'd never touch it again. I stopped eating wheat pasta at least 3 yrs ago- just didn't feel well after eating it. I tried chick pea pasta and a few others and discovered I like the brown rice pasta. I still don't eat a lot of pasta but it's nice for a change when I want something easy. TBH over the years I've wondered sometimes if I might be gluten intolerant but really believed it was not possible for me to have celiac disease. NOW I need to know for sure- because I'm in the middle of a long process of trying to find out why I have a high parathyroid level (NOT the thyroid- but rather the 4 glands that control the calcium balance in your body) I have had a hard time getting my vit D level up, my serum calcium has run on the low side of normal for many years... and now I am losing calcium from my bones and excreting it in my urine (some sort of renal calcium leak) Also have a high ALP since 2014. And now rapidly worsening bone density.  I still do not have a firm diagnosis. Could be secondary HPT (but secondary to what? we need to know) It could be early primary HPT. I am spilling calcium in my urine but is that caused by the high parathyroid hormone or is it the reason my PTH is high>? there are multiple feedback loops for this condition.    so I will keep eating the bread and some wheat germ that does not seem to bother me too much (it hasn't got enough gluten to use just wheat germ)    but I'm curious- if you don't have a strong reaction to a product- like me and wheat germ- does that mean it's ok to eat or is it still causing harm even if you don't have any obvious symptoms? I guess what you are saying about silent celiac makes it likely that you can have no symptoms and still have the harm... but geez! you'd think they'd come up with a way to test for this that didn't require you to consume something that makes you sick! I worry about the complications I've been reading about- different kinds of cancers etc. also wondering- are there degrees of celiac disease?  is there any correlation between symptoms and the amnt of damage to your intestines? I also need a firm diagnosis because I have an identical twin sister ... so if I have celiac, she has it too- or at least the genetic make up for having it. I did have a VERY major stress to my body in 2014-2016 time frame .. lost 50lbs in a short period of time and had severe symptoms from acute protracted withdrawal off an SSRI drug (that I'd been given an unethically high dose of, by a dr who has since lost his license)  Going off the drug was a good thing and in many ways my health improved dramatically- just losing 50lbs was helpful but I also went  off almost a dozen different medications, totally changed my diet and have been doing pretty well except for the past 3-4 yrs when the symptoms related to the parathyroid issue cropped up. It is likely that I had low vit D for some time and that caused me a lot of symptoms. The endo now tells me that low vit D can be caused by celiac disease so I need to know for sure! thank you for all that great and useful information!!! 
    • trents
      Welcome, @catnapt! The most recent guidelines are the daily consumption of a minimum of 10g of gluten (about the amount found in 4-6 slices of wheat bread) for a minimum of two weeks. But if possible stretching that out even more would enhance the chances of getting valid test results. These guidelines are for those who have been eating gluten free for a significant amount of time. It's called the "gluten challenge".  Yes, you can develop celiac disease at any stage of life. There is a genetic component but also a stress trigger that is needed to activate the celiac genes. About 30-40% of the general population possesses the genetic potential to develop celiac disease but only about 1% of the general population actually develop celiac disease. For most with the potential, the triggering stress event doesn't happen. It can be many things but often it is a viral infection. Having said that, it is also the case that many, many people who eventually are diagnosed with celiac disease probably experienced the actual onset years before. Many celiacs are of the "silent" type, meaning that symptoms are largely missing or very minor and get overlooked until damage to the small bowel lining becomes advanced or they develop iron deficiency anemia or some other medical problem associated with celiac disease. Many, many are never diagnosed or are diagnosed later in life because they did not experience classic symptoms. And many physicians are only looking for classic symptoms. We now know that there are over 200 symptoms/medical problems associated with celiac disease but many docs are only looking for things like boating, gas, diarrhea. I certainly understand your concerns about not wanting to damage your body by taking on a gluten challenge. Your other option is to totally commit to gluten free eating and see if your symptoms improve. It can take two years or more for complete healing of the small bowel lining once going gluten free but usually people experience significant improvement well before then. If their is significant improvement in your symptoms when going seriously gluten free, then you likely have your answer. You would either have celiac disease or NCGS (Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity).
    • catnapt
      after several years of issues with a para-gland issue, my endo has decided it's a good idea for me to be tested for celiac disease. I am 70 yrs old and stunned to learn that you can get celiac this late in life. I have just gradually stopped eating most foods that contain gluten over the past several years- they just make me feel ill- although I attributed it to other things like bread spiking blood sugar- or to the things I ate *with* the bread or crackers etc   I went to a party in Nov and ate a LOT of a vegan roast made with vital wheat gluten- as well as stuffing, rolls and pie crust... and OMG I was so sick! the pain, the bloating, the gas, the nausea... I didn't think it would ever end (but it did) and I was ready to go the ER but it finally subsided.   I mentioned this to my endo and now she wants me to be tested for celiac after 2 weeks of being on gluten foods. She has kind of flip flopped on how much gluten I should eat, telling me that if the symptoms are severe I can stop. I am eating 2-3 thin slices of bread per day (or english muffins) and wow- it does make me feel awful. But not as bad as when I ate that massive amnt of vital wheat gluten. so I will continue on if I have to... but what bothers me is - if it IS celiac, it seems stupid for lack of a better word, to intentionally cause more damage to my body... but I am also worried, on the other hand, that this is not a long enough challenge to make the blood work results valid.   can you give me any insight into this please?   thank you
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.