Good morning all! Thank you again for all the exercise encouragement. It helps so much to feel your support and I’m focusing on bottling up all the positivity to use in the future on a day when I go, UGH, I don’t want to put on my running shoes!
Mom came up yesterday to spend time with me with Hailey, so I stayed busy and didn’t even think about my exercise frustrations. We got out of the house for a while, which is always fun and guess what I ate… finally… after 10 months… TCBY!!!
Clearly I couldn’t decide between fruity or chocolatey- so I did both! It was everything I had hoped for 
We ate out again for dinner. I highly recommend the Bells Oberon- mmm!
PS- All this eating out will be discussed in my post baby body update… gulp.
I also worked on a new recipe to share today!
…but it was a FAIL. Not blog worthy. It happens.
So instead, let’s talk quinoa.
How to Prepare Quinoa
The greatest thing about quinoa? That it is easier to prep than to pronounce. Plus, it’s a complete protein, which is rare in the plant world.
New foods are intimidating though, and quinoa had me nervous until I tried to make it. Now I love it! Quicker than rice and with a fun texture to boot! (Side note: where does ‘to boot’ come from? What does it mean??)
Anyways, if you’ve been shying away from this delicious psuedo-grain, STOP! Here’s the easy breakdown on how to prepare perfect quinoa.
1. Measure out 1 cup of dried quinoa.
2. Cover it completely with water and let it soak for about 15 minutes.
3. Then rinse it and put it in a pot.
4. Add 1 1/4 cup liquid. Plain water works perfectly, or use a broth for more flavor.
5. Bring to a simmer, then reduce to low and cover.
6. 30 minutes later… perfection.
Fluff with a spoon or fork and let sit for about 5 minutes.
Then dish it up!
It works great as a bed for stir fry, a side dish or the main event, mixed with lentils. Add leftover quinoa to a salad or eat it plain. I love it!
What grain most intimidates you?
My answer is amaranth. I’ll conquer it one day!
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
I dont make Quinoa that often (I should though!) and prepare it just like you do!
Ahh! My hubs and I LOVE Oberon, a great Michigan beer. We always look forward to the first batch of the year–it means summer has officially arrived.
Thanks for the tutorial!
I have not tried quinoa but I have some amaranth at home and it is a BEAR.
I’ve never thought to soak the quinoa for 15 minutes before cooking…do you know the reason behind doing it?
I tend to stick to quinoa or rice when it comes to grains because I am a little intimidated by others!
Soaking it helps break down the hard outer shell so it cooks more evenly and doesn’t taste as bitter. I’ve not soaked it before and been fine with it, but I soak it if I can
i love quinoa! hmmm what intimidates me? eh, it’s not a grain, but tofu freaks me out. wouldn’t have a clue what to do with it.
Completely agree on the tofu — I’ve basically been told there’s good tofu and bad tofu. You just gotta figure out which one it is (in the recipe). I’m not brave enough to figure it out!
I’ve tried making quinoa several times and I just can’t find a way that I actually like it haha I want to like it, it’s just too bitter (even after many many rinses)
Did you soak it before? Soaking is supposed to reduce bitterness.
Yum, I love quinoa. I would say steel cut oats intimidate me. I never cook them enough so they are too chewy. One day I will conquer them…
I love, love, love quinoa! I definitely think it tastes better when made with stock. Though sometimes I use 1/2 water and 1/2 pineapple juice if I’m making a sweeter dish.
Love the idea of using a juice when making a sweeter dish!
oops.. I totally never rinse mine. am I going to die now?
I didn’t want to be the one to tell you, but yes, not soaking quinoa has been known to lead to sudden death. Good luck.
I LOVE your coat!!
I’m a huge fan of Bells and of quinoa. We eat a ton of quinoa in my house mainly because it cooks so much faster than rice. (me = lazy)
I love quinoa! I’ve never tackled amaranth though, so I guess I’d pick it as one that intimidates me. Congrats on getting to eat some TCBY!
THANK YOU for posting the Quinoa prep…It didn’t work out so much for me the first time I made it….I didn’t do it right. At all.
OH MY. I love love love me some froyo!! (: Thanks for the quinoa recipe! I’ve never made it before and need to give it a try!
Just visited your blog and saw that you may be interested in going to UGA? As a 2006 graduate, I must say to DO IT!!! It’s the best college town there is and I had the BEST time there. Go Dawgs!!
I love quinoa!
I second amaranth… while it´s easy to prepare I think, I have failed several times when creating recipes (I read it was great with o/j, so I gave that a try and I hated the taste of the final result…).
Why can’t you eat tcby while pregnant?
If the soft serve machines aren’t cleaned properly, there is a risk of listeria. I chose to avoid it because I’m crazy like that, but everyone should do what works best for them
Oh man, TCBY rocks my socks. Congrats on your beautiful family!
YAY For fro yo!!! And I love quinoa but I haven’t cooked it in quite awhile! I need to make some!
haha I do the same thing with my froyo, I can never decide. Thanks for the quinoa tutorial!! I know how healthy it is and Ive been dying to try it for a while now.
There isn’t a grain which intimidates me and the thanks go to my mom cause she have taught us well in how to prepare all grains. Thanks mom.
I miss TCBY SO much! We used to have one in town, but they went out of business
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