This is a celebration and a disclaimer–a sad one, because I love quinoa.
Quinoa is one of those superfoods that’s almost perfect in every way. It’s a complete protein, delicious, and reminiscent of couscous, only with a nuttier, grassier sort of flavor and a slightly chewier texture. I loved that you could cook it with almost any sort of broth and that you could eat it with all kinds of flavorings, from soy sauce to cheese.
And here is my story and a warning.
For years we bought quinoa at the supermarket and I would throw it into boiling water, simmer for about 15 minutes, fluff and eat. It was easy. Wonderful. And then, the other day, I did as usual and almost immediately after finishing my meal, I felt my stomach knot and burn and I was soon in a fetal position, which I would remain in for the next four hours. Oh, and I developed a headache that three ibuprofens couldn’t kill along with it.
It seemed impossible that quinoa–a harmless little seed and one that’s recommended for people with digestion problems and wheat intolerance–could do this to me, but I looked it up online (which, granted, is quack medicine for dummies) and it turns out that quinoa can indeed cause intense stomach aches, vomiting, and headaches. This is in part due to a natural yet toxic chemical that coats the plant called saponin. You are supposed to rinse the quinoa several times (until the water runs clear and a foam ceases to form on the surface of the water) in order to eradicate the saponin–a step I had never done before. This mystified me because it seemed strange that after years of ignoring such a step I would suddenly have a problem with it, but as a friend of mine pointed out, some allergies progressive. Furthermore, people reported anecdotally over the Internet of the same experience–never had a problem until one day…And the allergy/intolerance was more likely to develop in people who were lax about rinsing their quinoa. This is not to discourage you from eating or trying quinoa, because it is supremely good for you and it does taste so, so good. Plus it’s filling. I mean, I can’t even eat the stuff anymore and I’m still celebrating it on the blog. No, this is just my friendly service announcement: if you eat it, just make sure you clean it beforehand.
Sigh. I hate it when a romance goes sour. But it was perfect while it lasted.
RECIPE: T.’s Italian-Inspired Quinoa
Filed under: Clean Food Daily, allergy, grains, quinoa, saponin, seed
