We are on week 2 of Peak 313’s first challenge! I hope you enjoyed last week’s challenge, introducing Greek Yogurt into your diet and praying for your Pastors and church. Please, keep those up as we do the other weeks if you enjoyed them. I’d love to help you create some new healthy habits! Watch below for our new “Try It” item!
Quinoa was considered “the gold of the Incas’ and is native to South America. It is considered a complete protein meaning it includes all 9 essential amino acids. I’ve read that it’s great for migraines (due to the amount of magnesium in it), it’s awesome for your cardiovascular health, and even a great antioxidant! I seriously have not found one thing wrong with it, except that the taste may take some getting used to!
Here are a few reasons why I want you to “try” quinoa this week!
♦ It contains TONS of protein!!! Even a higher quality protein than any other grain! (We all know my love of a lean protein!)
♦ It has a double the amount of fiber than traditional grains.
♦ It’s gluten-free!
♦ It is quick and easy to prepare.
♦ It’s very versatile.
Let me give you some ideas of how to incorporate it into your diet this week.
– Eat it for breakfast. That’s right. I REALLY wanted to try this this last week, but since I didn’t have all the ingredients , I made this instead.(This is what I told my facebook fans what I had Friday morning that filled me up ALL morning long. I ate 1/4th of this bowl!)
– Substitute it for rice or pasta as a side. You can fix it conventionally per the box, or google some recipes for a pilaf.
– Use it in a main dish. I’ve seen stuffed peppers, meatballs, and soups made with quinoa!
♥♥♥
Spiritual Try It:
Try a podcast! I have experienced the beauty of the podcast over the past year and I love them!! I add them to my iPod so that when I workout, I can listen to them. (My hubby listens to them too as he works out!) My favorite thing is when the kids are napping or in quiet time, I turn on my computer and pick a podcast to listen to while I am cleaning the kitchen or prepping for dinner. You can find podcasts from just about any well known author/speaker and about any subject, so have some fun finding some to listen to. Think about an area you want to grow in and look for podcasts regarding that. I’m always up for information about marriage, parenting and growth in the spiritual life. If you don’t know where to start, here are a few of my favorite places to grab them:
♦ Maranatha Bible Church (my church!)
Please be sure to link-up if you have a blog (grab my button below!) or comment below if you don’t have one!
AWESOME food choice! LOVE Quinoa in our family 🙂 We’ve even found Quinoa flakes for breaky…I’m going to try your breaky, looks really great! Found the flakes at the Health Food store, a bit pricey but completely worth it. 🙂
Okay, I’ll be looking for it!
Week one was a huge success in our house. I posted the recipes I used.
Quinoa will be slightly more challenging for me!
Oh, I’m not sure about the button, but could it have something to do with the font in the “copy and paste” section? When I first copied and pasted the info into my blogger “edit html” tab it was normal, but then when I clicked over to “compose” and back to the “edit html” it had strange characters. So what I did is I typed everything exactly as you have it and then it worked. That’s what makes me think it has something to do with font.
I’m excited about this one! I just learned you can grind up the Quinoa to make COOKIES!!! I’m trying that this week.
I saw the Quinoa flour in a recipe too! I saw it in pancakes!
I first tried Quinoa last summer when we were on vacation and loved it. We ate it all summer and slacked off in the winter. I bought a big bag the last time we were at Costco and this gives me a great reason to bust it out! Thanks for this challenge.
I’m loving the spiritual challenges you’re doing. Last week I couldn’t participate (as I’m the pastor it seemed selfish to pray for myself – I did pray for other pastors though so I guess that kind of counts) but this weeks is great. I love listening to podcasts of sermons and have to remember to put them on! I’ll try this afternoon while my son is sleeping.
I’ve heard a lot about this, Clare. And I wanted to try it. I actually selected 2 rice dishes on my menus this week, so I will be substituting quinoa instead! (Too bad I just ran–don’t I wish, I mean drove–to the grocery store before I remembered to read your website this morning!)
Thanks! ~Kim
I managed to “try it” 2 days last week, because I only managed to get to the store Saturday. The Greek yogurt was great! I’m looking forward to trying quinoa as well! I’ve heard a lot about it, and I always need more protein. I’ll do a blog post later linking up and telling about my experience with Greek yogurt. 🙂
Wow, that’s a new one to me. Never heard before but right away got some and tried it out this morning: Super! Had it as a Müsli with Strawberries, Bananas, dried grapes and nuts… yummy! Thanks for the idea! Am am again linked up and will do the spiritual challenge as well this week!
Katja
Have already been eating Greek yogurt since November in an attempt to get more protein in, and less hydrogenated corn syrup. LOVE it, although it did take some getting use to!
Will try the quinoa this week.
Have been eating Greek yogurt since November in an attempt to get more protein in, and less hydrogenated corn syrup. LOVE it, although it did take some getting use to!
Will try the quinoa this week.
Great ideas! I have been eating nothing but Greek Yogurt now for a coupld of months and find it to be a great fulfilling snack/meal. I am looking forward to trying out some new ideas with Quinoa. I just boght a big bag of it from Coscto and haven’t done anything with it because I didn’t know WHAT to do with it! Now I know! Thanks for sharing! Looking for ways to mix things up and kick up my weight loss!
I also had a question for you. I am trying to add your button to my blog. I am a newbie in the world of blogging and have no idea how to add it. Was wondering if you could help so I could add it to my post today? Thanks! And thanks for the challenge!
yay! i just bought a bag at Walmart last week because i had been wanting to try it! i’ll let you know how it goes! I also am looking forward to the benefits of the magnesium for my migraines. I take several supplements everyday for migraine prevention (magnesium, calcium, and Vit D) and so far it is helping dramatically! glad to find more whole foods that i can naturally feed my body for better health and energy!
Somehow I managed to completely miss week 2’s post until Friday, but I’ve been curious about quinoa and now am encouraged to give it a try. I’m still holding out on the greek yogurt until I get my new blender though. 😉 Looking forward to what tomorrow brings.
p.s. I’ve left a little something for you on my blog!
http://coffeeandcaramel-bobbey.blogspot.com/2011/04/feeling-very-stylish.html
We tried “the gold of the Incas” this week…I kept calling it that, because I couldn’t always remember how to pronounce quinoa (although remembering your “Keen-wah” sign in the vlog was helpful!)
The kids said the texture was like “bubble wrap in your mouth!” (minus the cool popping sound that everyone likes so much! LOL!)
And for “extra credit” I made a casserole (originally supposed to have sour cream and rice, but I subbed plain greek yogurt AND quinoa) with BOTH of your “new” ingredients!! 🙂
LOL Kim! That is so funny and I also love the “bubble wrap” reference.
You need a blog girl!! I’d love to see your recipes on there!
Hi Clare – I do love your comments on my Tuesday posts ;-)!!! Just digging into the podcast idea and tried it out during my last “ironing session” which was such a great opportunity to really use this time for something that matters – ok, ironing matters, too but it doesn’t last for very long (guess it’s because it’s my least favorite chore). Looking forward to your next weeks challenge – why don’t you think about extending it into May or keep on doing it once a month on a regluar basis??? Katja
I know I’ll have more challenges in the future–of different natures. Stay tuned!
Quinoa is amazing stuff. The breakfast recipe you mentioned is SO GOOD! By the way, it’s pronounced KEEN-wah (with the emphasis on the first syllable). 🙂
Hi Elli! Glad you stopped by. When I was researching it, I saw it pronounced both ways, although my initial inclination was to say it the way you have it. I guess the hillbilly in me changed it a bit! LOL
Thanks!
Clare
Interesting! I’ve been going by the pronunciation explanation on the bag of quinoa I usually by (kind of funny that they put a pronunciation guide on it!). I get my quinoa at Costco for about 2.50/lb (or about 0.16 cents per ounce). It comes in a 4-lb bag that lasts for a couple months (usually). Because it’s a complete protein it’s remarkably filling. I’ve made it into “burgers,” served it instead of rice when I would normally have served rice, served it chilled with oil, vinegar, and scallions or other chopped vegetables, added it to soups and breads, and now I’ve made it for breakfast following those recipes you posted. Thanks!