Mealtime Monday’s Mouthwatering Quinoa Side Dish by Kid Appeal!

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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!

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!

Other nutrients include manganese, magnesium, tryptophan, phosphorus, copper, iron. Quinoa has been shown to be beneficial by reducing frequency of migraine headaches, providing cardiovascular health, offering antioxidant protection, protecting against childhood asthma, preventing gallstones and lowering type 2 diabetes risk.

Quinoa is getting a lot of press lately, so you might be able to find it in the whole foods/organic section of your store. I get mine at a health food produce market. Rinse grains well in a fine mesh colander before cooking. Use one part grain to 2 parts water. 1 cup cooks in 15 minutes; you might need 20+ minutes for 2 cups. Turn to low and cover after the water comes to a boil. Due to their shorter shelf life, when buying whole grains you want to:

• Buy them from a store that has good turnover of product. This will ensure you’re getting fresh grains and not those sitting on the shelf for long periods of time.
• Buy small packages, what you could use in 1-2 months. Or store larger packages in the fridge or freezer to extend shelf life.

For the white and green quinoa stir-fry, I sautéed half an onion over med-low heat with a drizzle of olive oil, then added half a head of cauliflower florets. Cook the cauliflower about 5 minutes covered until fork tender (less if you prefer it crisp).

Add a cup of frozen green peas, and a couple handfuls of fresh sugar snap peas (you can find these in bags along with the bagged salad in the produce section.) I let the sugar snaps and green beans turn a bright green (maybe 1-2 minutes), and then dumped in about a cup of cooked quinoa.

Salt and pepper to taste, and that’s it. (Hubby wanted the quinoa stir fry with a splash of soy sauce which he added at the table.) You could cook it with soy sauce instead of salt and pepper to add another dimension of flavor.

Substitutions-use what veggies you have in the crisper or ones you think kids will go for. No need to stick to my suggested color palette.

Time-saver Tip: Make 2 cups of quinoa with this meal, reserve one cup of cooked quinoa, and serve it with a can of red or black beans and green salad/raw veggie tray later in the week for a super quick meatless supper. We are organic meat only in our family which is cost prohibitive when eating meat every night.

For the main course, serve this white and green stir-fried quinoa dish with sautéed fish (tilapia or salmon).

For the fish, preheat a non-stick skillet on medium with a little butter or oil of choice. Salt and pepper both sides of a fillet. Then cook on one side for a few minutes. Watch the side of the fillet. You want to flip it when the cooked “line” comes up half way. Then flip and cook on the second side a little less time.

Fish is very delicate. It will continue cooking after you take it off the heat. Take it off BEFORE the cooked/raw line disappears and you will have tender, flaky fish even hubby and kids can’t refuse.

This meal can be made in 30 minutes, with tots helping!

Kid Appeal Tip: get your kids to use their fork to pry of layers of fish flakes. Talk to them about how the meat lines up and flakes off in little rows, and how each row is a tasty muscle builder. Dinner’s been on for 10 minutes and no one’s touched their fish? Reach over and grab a bicep and tell them their muscles don’t feel quite strong enough. Have them finish a bite then re-check the muscle for strength. See how many bigger muscle bites they’ll eat!

I really enjoy the tasted of sautéed onions with rice or quinoa. You really should try it. How do you take your quinoa? Have a recipe? I’m always looking for new ways to enjoy this super grow food with my kids, so go post your recipe in the healthy recipes section of the Kid Appeal Forum.

About Jenna Pepper: Jenna’s blog focuses on giving parents real tips they can use at the table with kids to encourage them to choose healthy food to fuel their bodies.  She writes about what she’s feeding her family, whether they eat it or not!  And when they do eat, Jenna shares they techniques she uses to get the healthy food down the hatch.

Don’t forget to visit Food With Kid Appeal! for more col Kid Friendly Recipes!

Let me know what you thought of Quinoa Stir Fry and if you would like to Guest Post on Mealtime Monday use the Contact Form and tell me about your favorite recipe!

Thanks Jenna!