Quinoa?

[notkevinmyrick]

I want to try this Indonesian dish that offers a unique blend of lemongrass, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, all kinds of seasonal vegetables too, I want to throw in chicken or salmon but the dish also includes Quinoa, whichi thought is a grain, but now hearing online its a part of the beet family and it's a common misconception. So what is this stuff?

[Derval]

Quinoa isn't allowed on W30, it's come up before, it's a pseudo-grain.

[notkevinmyrick]

Awesome Thanks for the quick feed back I willopt for something else today.

[MamaToMyMunkins]

Why not try replacing the quinoa with riced cauliflower?

[Susan W]

And when you figure it out, post recipe please. Cute new avatar by the way.

[praxisproject]

Cauliflower rice would probably go very well with that

[Elisa]

Quinoa isn't allowed on W30, it's come up before, it's a pseudo-grain.

I read this same term in the guidelines too and it left me just as baffled as it did now. What do you mean by "pseudo-grain"? Something is either a grain is it isn't. Quinoa isn't. It's a seed. With a good amino acid profile. If the issue is that it's high in carbs, well, don't nuts and seeds generally present us with a similar problem?

Not spoiling for an argument, just trying to understand the logic behind some of the guidelines.

[Robin Strathdee]

Pseudo-grains are foods that, while they may not technically be "grains", contain similar compounds and pose similar problems to botanical grains.

[Guest]

I read this same term in the guidelines too and it left me just as baffled as it did now. What do you mean by "pseudo-grain"? Something is either a grain is it isn't. Quinoa isn't. It's a seed. With a good amino acid profile. If the issue is that it's high in carbs, well, don't nuts and seeds generally present us with a similar problem?

Not spoiling for an argument, just trying to understand the logic behind some of the guidelines.

Elisa, "pseudo-grain" is a seed that, while technically (botanically) not a grain, has a similar structural and biochemical makeup. So quinoa is a dense source of carbohydrate, but it's not micronutrient-dense compared to many vegetables and fruit. Furthermore, it contains compounds called saponins, which are known to elicit abnormal permeability in the cell membranes (including those in your gut). We don't recommend against quinoa because it's a categorically a pseudo-grain - we recommend against it because it has minimal benefit when weighed against the potential downsides. And concerning the "amino acid profile" - that's a fallacious argument. There's 4 times as much carbohydrate in quinoa as there is protein, so unless you're a hard-training Ironman athlete using quinoa as your post-workout recovery carb source, you're getting waaaaaay more carbohydrate than you'd need (to get enough protein), when you'd be better off eating a few ounces of naturally-raised/fed meat and eating some vegetables and fruit for the micronutrients. Win/win.

[Elisa]

Thanks Robin and Dallas, for clarifying.