Lunch Time!

Since my last post involved breakfast, I figured I would continue with that theme and post a gluten-free lunch. I stumbled upon a delicious recipe for Gluten-free Greek Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) salad.

Don’t know what quinoa is? Not to worry, here’s a bit of information about quinoa.
Quinoa has been compared to couscous, but quinoa is a seed, not a grain. Its high in protein, which is great, if you’re a vegetarian (like me) or if you just need extra iron in your diet; and high in fibre. It has a creamy and crunchy texture and has a slight nutty flavour. It also tastes great hot or cold. Quinoa is growing in popularity, this can be attributed to its health benefits.

As said earlier, quinoa is high in protein, which is great because you can supply your body with the protein it needs, without all that saturated fat that you can get with eating meat. It’s also high in magnesium which has been found to help in preventing hypertension. Magnesium helps to relax the muscles that clamp our blood vessels. A deficiency is magnesium can increase a hormone, called angiotensin II, which is responsible for increasing our blood pressure.

Another health benefit of quinoa is high in riboflavin, a B vitamin. Riboflavin has been found to increase the transport of oxygen to cells, which can eliminate and prevent migraines from occurring.

Recipe for Greek Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 cups gluten-free chicken broth
• 1 cup quinoa (rinsed and drained, if necessary)
• 1/2 cup red pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup green pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup cucumber, diced
• 1/4 cup green onions, diced
• 1/4 cup black olives
• 1/4 cup red onion, diced
• 3 ounces reduced-fat feta cheese

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, bring stock to a boil.
2. Stir in quinoa.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover.
4. Cook until the liquid is absorbed (about 15-25 minutes).
5. Transfer to a large bowl and cool.
6. Stir vegetables and cheese into cooled quinoa.
7. Whisk together the dressing ingredients.
8. Pour over quinoa mixture and toss.

Recommendations: The recipe calls for chicken broth, you can substitute it for vegetable broth, and make sure you grab the low-sodium broth, or better yet, make your own! Making your own broths can save you alot of time looking for a gluten-free broths or bouillon cube. If you have any extra time to make broth, you can store it frozen as ice cubes and use them at a later time.

Happy Eating!

References:

The Baking Beauties. (2011, January 11). Greek quinoa salad. Retrieved October 29, 2011, from http://www.thebakingbeauties.com/2011/01/greek-quinoa-salad.html

Daniluk, J. (2011, May 2). Five health benefits of eating quinoa. In Chatelaine. Retrieved October 29, 2011, from http://www.chatelaine.com/en/article/27232–five-health-benefits-of-eating-quinoa

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