The Mother of All Grains -- Quinoa

Did you know that the 66^th session of the UN General Assembly deemed 2013 as The International Year of Quinoa?  Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is known by the indigenous people of Bolivia and Peru, where 90% of the world’s quinoa is produced, as “the mother of all grains” – chisiya mama.  This whole grain is one of few plant foods that provide all 9 essential amino acids in just the right balance and therefore is considered a complete protein.  It also is gluten-free and is a terrific source of potassium, a mineral that helps stabilize blood pressure.  Most quinoa is also Fair Trade and organic.

Quinoa cooks up quickly in just15-20 minutes and works well in a host of different dishes.  You know quinoa is “done” when the white tail, the germ of the kernel, is visible. Consider giving it a try in one of the recipes gleaned from the April 2013 issue of Eating Well magazine.  I especially adore the Strawberry Rhubarb Quinoa Pudding and the Sopa de Mani (Quinoa Peanut Soup) is on my list to try, as my husband loves most dishes where peanut butter debuts as an ingredient. To learn more about quinoa and dive into more scrumptious recipes visit the Whole Grains Council website at http://wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grains-101/quinoa-march-grain-of-the-month. 

Quinoa Peanut Soup (Sopa de Mani) from Eating Well, April 2013

2 teaspoons canola oil

¾ cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup sliced carrots

1 cup diced potatoes

½ cup quinoa

4 cups vegetable broth or reduced-sodium chicken broth

2 cups water

½ cup chopped red bell pepper

¼ cup peanut butter

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon hot sauce, like Tabasco

Freshly ground pepper to taste

1.   Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in onion and cook, stirring, until softened, 4-5 minutes.  Stir in garlic and cook for 30 seconds.  Stir in carrots, potatoes and quinoa, then add broth and water.   Bring to a boil over high heat.

2.   Reduce heat to maintain a simmer, cover and cook until the quinoa is cooked and the vegetables are tender, about 18 minutes.  Stir in red pepper and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes more.  Stir in peanut butter until it is combined into the broth.  Remove from heat.  Stir in parsley, hot sauce and pepper.

3.   Serve with cornbread for a delicious meal chalked full of Vitamin C & A.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Quinoa Pudding from Eating Well, April 2013

2-¼ cups water, divided

1-½ cups chopped rhubarb, fresh or frozen

1 cup chopped strawberries, fresh or frozen, plus more for garnish

1/3 cup quinoa

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch of salt

½ cup sugar plus 1 tablespoon, divided

½ teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.    Combine 2 cups water in a medium saucepan with rhubarb, strawberries, quinoa, cinnamon and salt.  Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to maintain a simmer.  Cover and cook until the quinoa is tender, about 25 minutes.  Sir in ½ cup sugar and lemon zest.  Whisk cornstarch with the remaining ¼ cup water in a small bowl.  Stir into quinoa mixture, return to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute.

2.    Remove from heat.  Divide the pudding among 6 bowls.  Refrigerate until cool, about 1 hour.

3.    Just before serving, combine yogurt, vanilla and the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in a small bowl.  Top each serving with a generous dollop of the vanilla yogurt and fresh strawberries, if desired.

Submitted by Lisa Sadleir-Hart, MPH, RD, CHES

Food & Nutrition Educator

Purchasing Honey

Surprisingly, buying honey is one of the best examples of the first law of economics: caveat emptor (buyer beware). That is because there is virtually no consumer protection in the USA for purchasers of honey. Under current law, there are no regulations defining honey, raw honey, or organic honey. So, the labels on the jars of honey you buy are meaningless. “Honey” may be anything from the real thing to artificially colored and flavored high fructose corn syrup. “Raw honey” may be anything that is very close to the condition it was in when it left the beehive to honey that has been filtered and heated to near pasteurization temperatures. “Organic honey” may be just about anything from anywhere.

Raw Honey

1. honey produced without exceeding its maximum beehive temperature (approximately 96 degrees F.). Most experts claim that the honey will not lose any of its benefits and can still be considered raw if it is maintained through production and storage at 118 degrees F or lower.
   
   
2. unfiltered honey. Some producers allow the honey to seep slowly through a coarse strainer before bottling it, just to remove any sizeable debris, which doesn't alter essential properties, but purists say that the best raw honey is totally unfiltered, which means you get little shards of honeycomb and grains of pollen still clearly visible in the jar – a very good indication that you have the real thing.

Labels like “Grade A” and “Grade 1″ and the word “pure” are totally meaningless for assessing honey and should be ignored.

Organic Honey
If you want a glaring example of Orwell Newspeak, then organic honey in the USA is one of the best. Honey is not included in the USDA’s National Organic Standard according to USDA’s National Organic Program. So, there are no criteria for establishing organic status. The USDA states that you can certify any product as organic as long as you comply with existing regulation, but there are no regulations for honey. That means the green USDA organic sticker on honey is misleading, at best.”

USDA does allow honey to be labeled “organic” provided its producer has had its honey certified as organic by one of the 120 or so USDA-accredited certified agents (whose decision is arbitrary and personal); typically this applies to honey imported into the U.S. Although the USDA policy states that a non-U.S. producer’s certifying agent must apply rules as strict as the U.S. Rules, there are no U.S. rules specifically for honey, which is why some people argue it is easier to gain organic status for non-U.S. honey, some of which would not be considered organic by the average consumer. Fact; virtually all “Organic” honey sold in the USA is from foreign countries, which comes in bulk and is repackaged and labeled in the USA. Thus, there is not only any way of knowing anything about its ingredients, it is impossible to ascertain its origins. 

Unfiltered, unheated raw honey is available through the Sitka Food Coop. It is listed in the UNFI catalog as Honey Gardens Raw Honey. Search: Grocery, Apitherapy, Honey Gardens, Raw Honey. A Sitka Food Coop Board Member called Honey Gardens and confirmed that this product is as advertised.

by Dr Ronald E Dick