Food Review: Quinoa and Where to Buy it in Perth!
September 21, 2011 | Posted by Annette @ Wellness WA 
♥ Keeen-Waaah! AKA Quinoa
Perfect for the gluten intolerant, vegetarian or just plain health conscious. Quinoa is a must try!
10 fast facts you need to know about Quinoa:
♥ The seed/grain-like protein, pronounced keen-wah, was originally grown in the Andes mountain range in South America and was a staple food of the Incas
♥ It is a pseudocereal & is closely related to beets & spinach
♥ Known as quinoa in English, the spelling and pronunciation differs depending on the region in South America. In some parts it is known as ‘kinwa’ or ‘keen-wah’ or ‘kwi-NOH-a’
♥ Quinoa is a complete protein source for vegetarians which means no food combining! It is also high in iron and dietary fibre, it is used in place of grains in the same way as rice and couscous & can be used for both savoury & sweet dishes
♥ It has a delicate, nutty flavour all of its own
♥ Texture wise think somewhere between barley & cous cous
♥ It has a low Glycemic Index (35)
♥ It is completely Gluten free
♥ It comes in white, red and black varieties
♥ It can be bought puffed, flaked or whole.
Quinoa can be substituted for just about any grain in any recipe and is a healthy alternative to rice and cous cous. I use it instead of rice with stir fries, instead of oats in porridge and instead of burghul in tabouli. You could also use it instead of barley in soups. What a versatile little seed indeed!
What does it look like?
Raw
Cooked
Where can I find it?
In the health food aisles Woolworths and Coles or any health food store.
How much does it cost?
Between $6 -$10 for a 500g packet.
How do I prepare it?
Quinoa is ridiculously easy to prepare. Just make sure you rinse*!, boil 1 part quinoa, 2 parts water and simmer for 10-12 mins or until or all the liquid is absorbed. Alternatively Fluff with a fork & voila!
*Before cooking Quinoa must be rinsed to remove the toxic (but naturally occurring) bitter coating, called Saponins.
A personal favourite recipe of mine adapted from Michelle Bridges’ version.
Quinoa Porridge with Cranberries and Raisins (I swap the raisins for dates!)
3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
500ml water
375ml low fat milk/soy milk/extra water
1/3 cup dried cranberries and 2 tablespoons raisins or chopped dates
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
Combine the quinoa and water in saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, covered for 10 minutes. Stir in 1 cup of the milk and the dried fruit and nuts. Cook, covered, for another for another 10 minutes and then stir in the remaining milk.
Add grated apple, fresh or frozen berries & top with cinnamon &/or honey to taste for additional yum factor!
Link love for oodles of inspiring recipe ideas for you to try!
♥ http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/collections/quinoa+recipes
♥ http://www.cookingquinoa.net
♥ http://www.101cookbooks.com/ingredient/quinoa
Bon appetit!
Are you a quinoa lover? Been pronouncing it wrong? Looking to get some into your life… lets talk about this below!
Article by Jasmin Chipper, quinoa advocate!
Be well,
xoxo
Categories: Food, Products, Reviews | 
Tags: cooked quinoa, quinoa perth, quinoa porridge, raw quinoa | 
16 Comments »
My husband and I tried quinoa for the first time a month or two ago. We didn’t mind it… but we weren’t jumping over the moon about it. Maybe it was just the recipe we used – it was a chicken quinoa salad recipe I found in a magazine.
I was quite surprised hubby was willing to give it a go, since he hates cous cous – he’s not a fan of the texture. I love it, though, and I had heard quinoa was similar.
I had a really hard time finding it – couldn’t find it at the Coles or Woolies near work but Farmer Jack’s in Subiaco had a couple of different brands, although I had to ask a staff member to point it out. The price was a bit of a shock!
Hi Lauren,
It’s a lot like rice in that it really depends what you put it with that makes it taste ‘wow’!
I think you should give the porridge a go! It tastes really yummy with sweet things.
I shop there too, however I think it’s cheaper to buy it from health food shops. You also need to make sure you rinse it really well first, as if you don’t there can be a bitter coating left on there x
I’ve been trying to incorporate more Quinoa into my life (and I never pronounce it right either!).
I find its nice if you cook it in vegetable, etc, stock instead of just water if you are using it instead of rice for dinners, it really soaks up the flavour 🙂
I never thought to use it instead of oats, I’m definitely going to try that!
Awesome, thanks for the article! I was just talking about it last night with hubby as apparently it’s a good food to start giving bubs (7mo) 🙂
I think another great way to have it is cook by absorption with coconut milk too! 🙂
Great idea Krys! Just make sure you wash wash wash it, also it can be exy 🙂 xx
it’s real cheap at kakulas and the angry almond in subi. the fancy packaged ones at woolies and health food stores are a rip job!
Thanks Sasha, that’s a good idea! I haven’t been to those places for ages. Should get down there and save some dollas! xx
I’m a recent convert too & I was going to mention the same thing as Sasha. It’s about $12/kg at grocery stores but I picked some up yesterday from a store in Malaga markets for $2.99/kg. So much cheaper (& it supports locals).
You can also ground up quinoa in a food processor (I use a Thermomix) to make quinoa flour. It can be used in cakes and pastries too!
Hi Liv!
Thanks for your comment 🙂
It is very expensive in stores, I agree, I think I paid $9 for 500 grams the other night, though that was organic!! Need to get myself down to the markets, stat. Thanks for the reminder, and great to hear about the Thermomix, anytime you would like to whip me up a quinoa cake… I’ll be waiting 😉 xox
Hi There.
Just wanted to reiterate what the other were saying – buy it in places like Kakulas. It is so much cheaper! All their dried goods like flour, steel cut oats etc are so much cheaper than in the supermarket.
They have organic chia seeds as well which are about 1/4 of chia co. price. I have been using them daily for a few months and they seem to make a big difference to how full you feel.
I have been buying almonds, sultanas and banana chips and making homemade trail mix for work. Much cheaper than the supermarkets and you can control the portions easily as well.
I’m all for healthy eating but not paying over the odds!
Thanks for all the great articles. :0
Gillian
Thanks Gillian, some great tips in there!
No worries – let me know if there is anything specific you’d like us to cover on Wellness WA – it’s a work in progress! 🙂 xox
Thanks for the awesome article! Was shown quinoa about 5 years ago(from kakulas!) but living at home wasn’t cooking for myself & ended up forgetting about it till reading this! Great recipe, made it last week & was delish! Have also been adding it to salads (cooked in massel chicken stock-yum!) and it is sooo filling! L.O.V.E it 🙂
I bought mine from local good life health food store, can’t recall price think it was slightly cheaper than Coles/WW, agree with all above will definitely make sure I head back to kakulas to re stock. Next to try.. Coconut milk, thanks for another great idea 🙂
Im a recent convert to Quinoa. It’s super tasty & really versatile. Last night I cooked it Mexican style – simmered in stock with sauted spices, capsicum, corn, zucchini, tomato & kidney beans topped with avocado, sour cream & coriander – yummo! I’m yet to try it sweet but this porridge recipe looks great so I’m keen to give it a try soon.
I agree it can be pretty pricey so kakula’s is a great tip – thanks.
yep very expensive but great with everything…will have to try it for breakfast.
Hubby and I live in the outback and its expensive in the stores about $10 for 500gms so tried Malaga markets when we were in Perth after reading here it was about $3 a kg….couldn’t find it for $3 but did find it for $9.99 a kg.
we use it in stirfrys, salads as a base where you would normally use rice we use Quinoa instead. put it in soups. its a great all round food