Quinoa vs Couscous

[Cookerhiker]

The main reason flaxseed meal is said to go rancid quickly is due to the abundance of healthy--but quick to degrade--omega 3 fatty acids. If they are claiming their product is shelf stable, chances are the healthy oils have been removed. In any case, I'd be a little suspicious.

Man that's a bummer - the Omega 3s are the primary advantage of flaxmeal. It also has a fair amount of fiber.

Walnuts - another good source. I have them every day at home and on the Trail.

[Second Half]

My main problem with quinoa is the price. At my local store a 1-lb bag is $8.50. I'm sure it can be found cheaper in bulk, but compared to couscous it is very spendy.

About the only thing in the supermarket I'll pay $8.50 per pound is called Delmonico...

[Buffalo Skipper]

Quinoa is grown in the upper altitudes of the Andes, and is a very difficult product to grow. Great care must be made to enrich the soil where this crop is grown. The wholesale price of quinoa has grown 7 fold in the past decade. Much less is now sold locally, because locals can no longer afford to purchase it. There is even evidence that malnutrition is on the rise in areas where quinoa was a dietary staple, but is now being substituted with less nutritious rice and noodles.

My wife told me about this about a month ago, and I later heard a report on NPR confirming what was said adding that increased production would reduct the sustainabily of the fields where this is grown. Ten years ago nearly 100% of this product was sold locally. Now nearly 90% is shipped abroad.

[sarbar]

https://www.flaxpremiumgold.com/shop...od&productId=2

That is the brand I buy at Costco - it contains Omega-3 btw.

Also, you can get organic Quinoa at Costco as well. MUCH cheaper!!

[Megan1125]

I bought whole, non ground flaxseeds in my store's bulk section and they don't need to be refrigerated. They are great to add to oatmeal!

[QiWiz]

Quinoa flakes can be used to make tasty almost instant oatmeal substitute. Add sugar, powdered whole milk. I like sliced almonds and coconut with it. Add hot water, wait a minute and eat. Must be flakes, not the slower cooking unflaked seeds.

[Dogwood]

NO, Quinoa IS NOT expensive, and neither are organic whole wheat cous cous, pearl cous cous, whole flaxseed, or flaxseed meal! Quinoa, both the white and black(sometimes also red) can often be purchased for about $2.99 per lb from bulk bins. Whole wheat Cous Cous can be bought in bulk(from bulk bins) for about $1.99 per lb. Flaxseed and flaxseed meal(a bit harder to find flaxseed meal in bulk purchased from bulk bins) for about $1.99 -2.99 per lb.

If you buy from bulk bins where there is a good turn over rate like at Whole Foods you will not get rancid product and you buy just the amount you want. Buy a small amount of Quinoa, see how long it takes for you to cook, flavor it up like you want, and go from there. No need to buy 1 lb prepackaged bags! To save on fuel while on trail I presoak quinoa and don't ccok it to death. I eat it a little crunchy. Just make sure the germ is exposed and the seedcase is cracked(thoroughly softened) or it will seem like you are eating bird seed! Quinoa is more nutritious than rice, especially white rice.

There are also pastas made from Quinoa! ALL PASTAS ARE NOT MADE FROM WHEAT! There are several other pastas along the no wheat line!

The human body does not digest whole flax seed! You need to thoroughly chew it to crack open the seedcase or eat flaxssed meal. Flaxseed meal can be placed in chilis, oatmeal, rice dishes, Katmandu curry, soups, etc

Some other HIGHLY nutritious seeds are sesame, hemp, and chia(sometimes listed as Saba). There are MORE! Check out raw sunflower and raw pumpkin seeds(pepitas) too;they are readilly available, nutritious and relatively cheap! You can buy hulled sesame seed for about $1.99 per lb. Hemp seed, both shelled(hemp protein powder/meal) and in the seed case, is pricey but HIGHLY NUTRITIOUS. I think I read somewhere hempseed is the most nutritious seed having a wealth of amino acids, the building blocks of protein. Again, you don't need to buy big quanities of this stuff if you buy from bulk bins! And, often a little, like hemp, sesame, flax seed, or chia go a long way, are relatively light wt, and pack a huge cals per oz ratio, with many other additional nutritional benefits.

I just was at the Reno Whole Foods and picked up dehydrated sprouted quinoa and mung beans, about $3.99 per lb. The sprouted mung beans I've had before. They need a short soak or as I do I just put them in my water first as I'm warming it up so they have additional time to soften up. A little goes a long way! I would imagine the sprouted Qunioa will cook faster. I'll take my dehydrated lentil soup mix, also bought on my recent trip to Whole Foods, add some cous cous or sprouted Quinoa(I'll test a batch at home first), hemp seed, perhaps a bit of some Lipton Sides brown rice, and a tablespoon of EVOO for a tasty killer high cals per oz, excellent source of complex carbs, protein and some good fats in a 5 - 5 1/2 oz trail dinner. Total cost about $2.25 - 2.50!

Another point I would like to make is that not all my trail b-fasts and dinners need to be hand made and weighed this way. It would seem overwhelming even for me to go about preparing all my trail meals this way. I like mixing it up a bit with some prepackaged Lipton sides with a packet of salmon, jazzing up even Ramen, rice or buckwheat noodles, or something similiar. Ocassionally when I get steep and cheap bulk deals on Mountain House or Mary Janes, I'll add them to my trail food grab bag.

[Dogwood]

I would imagine the sprouted Qunioa will cook faster than regular Qunioa.

[sarbar]

I agree on it being economical - upfront it may not appear to be cheap but things such as quinoa end up being a bargain. For example when I buy my organic quinoa at Costco it is $2.46 a lb (which is very cheap - out here it is often $3 to 6 a lb bulk or in stores). Even when I buy black quinoa at $6.50 a lb in bulk it is still cheap - compared to meat. 1 cup of raw quinoa makes 3 massive servings.

I use chia seeds in our breakfast daily (with oatmeal). While it can run $10 to 16 a lb for organic we only use 1 Tbsp each so again, it is affordable.

With flaxseed meal I use it a lot - in not-meat loafs, for faux egg slurries in baking, etc. Great way to add fiber ;-)

Now though....if a person isn't used to chia or flax your gut may hate you at first. But you get used to it.

This is a recipe I made recently. It was freaking good and the 13 year old boy apparently thought eating 9 1/2 muffins was normal after school. At least he got a gut ache from the fiber!


Pumpkin Chia Seed Muffins
Ingredients:

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp organic chia seeds, finely ground (use a spice grinder)
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 15 ounce can organic canned pumpkin purée
• 2 Tbsp flaxseed meal + 6 Tbsp water (see below)
• 1 cup pure maple syrup
• ¼ cup organic extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup finely diced pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° and spray two standard muffin tins with cooking spray (12 count each).
2. Mix the flaxseed meal and water together in a small bowl, let sit for 10 minutes.
3. In a large mixing bowl whisk the dry ingredients together.
4. Whisk the wet ingredients together, adding in the flaxseed slurry.
5. Pour the wet onto the dry, add the nuts on top, and whisk or beat till just combined.
6. Divide equally between the baking tins and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Let cool for a couple of minutes and then pop out, cool on a wire rack. Leftovers can be frozen tightly wrapped.

Makes 24.


I post my home recipes on my personal blog if anyone wants to see what I use all th stuff in: http://gazingin.com/