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Mondays are always tough for me trying to figure out what we are going to have…different…for dinner after the big Sunday Meal. Jenna at Kid Appeal! is here to the rescue! When I asked Jenna to do a guest post, I knew from being a regular at her blog it would be something really cool and delicious. Here is the awesome dish Jenna came up with:
Quinoa-the side dish that looks like balls with squiggle tails.
Guest Post by Jenna Pepper, Food With Kid Appeal!
Quinoa Stir Fry
What’s a kid not to love? The cook in your family is bound to fall head over tails for this super grain too!
Quinoa is a “good carbohydrate,” like brown rice but it only takes a quarter of the time to cook! When dry, the grain looks small and round like millet-these are the tiny light yellow beads you see in your multigrain bread that have a small crunch when you bite into them. When cooked they are a light beige ball with a squiggle tail. Little piggy anyone?
I use them in recipes in lieu of rice, especially on quick supper nights when I don’t have an hour to wait for brown rice to cook. Their versatility allows them to be added into soups, served in stir-fries, baked into casseroles, tossed in cold salads, made into porridges, or just steamed-drizzled with olive oil or dotted with butter.
Here’s some food trivia: quinoa is actually a relative of spinach and Swiss chard, and was once considered the “gold of the Incas.”
Kid-Appeal Tip: Read this with your kids (provide cliff notes for younger kids) about the sacred grain of yesteryear. At dinner have each child toast one of the special health powers of super grain (go first if they need inspiration). Then ask them what special health power they hope to get from it after they’ve eaten their dinner.
Not only is it higher in protein that other “grains” it is considered a “complete” protein, meaning that it does not have to be paired with a legume to contain all nine essential amino acids required by our bodies.
This makes it great for vegetarians (aka tots and preschoolers who haven’t figured out how to chew and swallow meat). It also contains a good amount of the amino acid lysine that is essential for tissue growth and repair. If your kids are sporting any band-aids when you introduce this grain, let them know the lysine in the quinoa will help new pink skin grow faster!