Quinoa Flour: The Super Flour Saga Continues
The most important aspect of maintaining good health is having a sustainable, healthy diet. And the first step to that is understanding what you put in your body. You should focus more on adding to your diet and making it more nutrient-dense, rather than subtracting taste and calories. You should consider making your diet more diverse and expand your palate and your plate beyond the traditional food options available. For example, healthy grains have always been available in the market but with the high abundance of wheat and rice, they are often overlooked and their benefits are not recognized.
Healthy millet and grains can have several healthy benefits on your diet and your general health and can help you shift to better alternatives. Grains like quinoa, for example, are high in amino acids and other essential nutrients, which make them a power-packed addition to your diet. Additionally, they’re gluten-free!
Quinoa has gained popularity as a health food in the United States and other Westernized countries, even though people have been cultivating it in South America since ancient times. Hundreds of years ago, the Inca people considered this ancient grain as a sacred food, and now, due to its benefits, it has regained popularity in the past decade or so. In this article, we shall be talking about the benefits of one healthy super flour that is known as quinoa flour. We at Rotimatic want to encourage all of you lovely readers to keep diversifying your diet, and we hope this article will encourage you to do so. Let us now dive deep into the super flour saga: quinoa flour edition.
What is Quinoa Flour?
Quinoa is a high-protein, nutrient-dense grain that contains many essential amino acids, and quinoa flour is a gluten-free, fine powder consisting of dried quinoa seeds or quinoa flakes. Quinoa flour is one of the many healthy flour alternatives used to boost the nutrient contents of many different foods. As it is gluten-free, this flour lacks the structure that regular wheat flour has, so it often has to be used in combination with other flour or additives in certain gluten-free recipes. You can also consume quinoa in its grain form after soaking it, and use it as a great addition to salads, savory bakes, or as an accompaniment to entree dishes or meat preparations.
But as we are discussing quinoa flour, let us first learn how to make quinoa flour from scratch, and then move to study its various benefits and information about quinoa flour nutrition.
How to Make Quinoa Flour
It is relatively very simple to make quinoa flour, and you can even do so at home. All you require is a mixer-grinder or blender, quinoa seeds, and skillet! The simple steps are as follows:
- In a dry skillet on the stovetop over medium heat, toast the quinoa until it’s light brown and smells nutty. This is to ensure there is no raw taste in your flour and any lingering moisture is removed.
- Transfer the toasted quinoa to a grinder or blender.
- Grind the quinoa until it’s a fine powder. You can choose to sieve the quinoa flour, depending on your preference.
- Store the quinoa flour in an airtight container in the pantry, refrigerator, or freezer. And there you go! Your delicious, nutritious, nutty quinoa flour is ready!
Nutritional Facts of Quinoa Flour
Now that we know how to make quinoa flour, let us look at some quinoa flour nutrition facts and its general nutritional composition. These are the nutrient values of one cup of quinoa flour (185 g):
| Nutrients | Quantities |
| Calories | 222 kcal |
| Protein | 8g |
| Fat | 3.55g |
| Carbohydrates | 39g |
| Fiber | 5.18g |
| Folate | 7.7 micrograms |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.228mg |
| Vitamin E | 1.16mg |
| Iron | 2.76mg |
| Copper | 0.355mg |
| Zinc | 2.02mg |
| Manganese | 1.17mg |
| Magnesium | 118mg |
| Potassium | 318mg |
| Phosphorous | 281mg |
Quinoa Flour Benefits
Now that we have understood the nutritional information, let us learn about some benefits of quinoa flour and the reasons why you should make it your new culinary staple.
1. Contains antioxidant and anti-inflammatory plant compounds: Quinoa flour contains several plant compounds like quercetin and kaempferol. They have anti-inflammatory qualities and act as antioxidants in the body, meaning they help protect cells from damage by free radicals.
2. Higher in fiber than many grains: 1 cup of quinoa flour contains 5.18 grams of fiber! That means it is a very rich source of fiber, especially compared to other grains like brown rice. Fiber-rich foods help you feel full and aid in digestion and controlling bad cholesterol in the body.
3. Gluten-free: Quinoa flour is completely gluten-free! It is an ideal addition to the diet of individuals looking to cut gluten from their diet or people with gluten intolerance or celiac disease.
4. Good source of protein: Quinoa is often referred to as an almost-complete protein. This is because it contains all nine of the essential amino acids that your body can’t make on its own. Quinoa flour is very high in protein content, which benefits your body by helping you feel full and boosting your health. Incorporating it into your diet can help you fulfill your daily protein needs as well.
5. High in important vitamins and minerals: Quinoa flour is high in several essential vitamins and minerals that are low in many people’s diets. Regularly eating quinoa flour can help you meet your needs for magnesium, potassium, iron, fiber, and folate, a vitamin that’s especially important during pregnancy due to its role in fetal growth and development.
6. Beneficial effects on metabolic health: A 2020 study in 40 older adults had participants eat 0.5 ounces (15 grams) of quinoa flour biscuits daily for 28 days. By the end of the study, the participants who ate the quinoa biscuits had significantly greater reductions in bad cholesterol, total cholesterol levels, and body weight than those who ate wheat-based biscuits. Additionally, quinoa flour benefits range from weight management to regulating triglyceride levels and blood sugar spikes.
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7. Easy to incorporate into your diet: Quinoa flour is very easy to incorporate into your diet, as it can be added to several food items to give them an added nutritional boost. We shall be learning about some of the ways we can do so in the following section.
How to Use Quinoa Flour
There are several quinoa flour recipes you can use to incorporate this super flour into your diet. Quinoa flour has a nutty taste and can be easily adapted and incorporated into your diet and will take your meals from just tasty to tasty and nutritious. Listed below are some ways how to use quinoa flour in recipes.
1. Bread: You can mix quinoa flour with other gluten-free flour to create a gluten-free flour blend, or use quinoa flour alone to make gluten-free bread. As this flour doesn't function the same way as wheat-based flour, you may need to use certain ingredients to bolster the structure of your bread.
2. Brownies: Add a nutritional kick to your chocolate brownie by adding quinoa flour to the mix. Quinoa flour will give you delicious fudgy brownies due to its lack of gluten content. Due to its nutty taste and texture, you can even add other nuts to make a nut or walnut brownie, which packs loads of healthy benefits!
3. Cookies: Gluten-free peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and other gluten-free cookie recipes that use quinoa flour are light, airy, and a little nutty from the quinoa itself. Quinoa flour provides baked goods like cookies with softness and tenderness, whether they’re soft and chewy or thin and crispy.
4. Pancakes: Gluten-free pancakes and even waffles stay tender and soft due to quinoa flour, if it's added to the mix. You never have to worry about overmixing or accidental gluten development ruining your pancake batter now! This is a sweet and delicious way to incorporate quinoa into your diet and give it a delicious twist.
5. Pizza crust: You can also use quinoa flour to make pizza crust. Use quinoa flour instead of all-purpose flour or bread flour so the pizza crust still benefits from the flavor and texture of yeast but remains gluten-free. This makes your pizza indulgence turn into a healthy and delicious nutrient-rich meal.
6. Smoothies: You can even try sprinkling some quinoa flour into your smoothies or smoothie bowls. It will impart a nutty texture that will complement your ingredients, along with an added nutritional boost.
7. Soups: To thicken soups, make a roux with quinoa flour instead of gluten flour. It works differently since quinoa flour lacks gluten, but it still thickens soups, as well as sauces, due to its high fiber and protein content. Adding some ground flaxseed to the quinoa flour will enhance the thickening ability of the flour.
8. Tortillas: Using quinoa flour to make tortillas results in a tortilla that’s more similar in texture to corn tortillas than flour tortillas. If you like the texture and bite of corn tortillas but are looking for a healthier, lighter alternative, quinoa flour tortillas might be a good option.
Storage
You can store quinoa flour in an airtight container. It will store well for 2-3 months, as it does not have a longer shelf-life like that of wheat flour. You even freeze or refrigerate your quinoa flour to keep it fresh, if you have purchased or made it in larger quantities.
Concluding our journey in learning about quinoa flour benefits, we have realized that is a very viable, nutritious gluten-free alternative to regular flour. Making the shift to a healthy lifestyle starts with small steps, such as improving your diet and adding more nutrient-rich food to it. The first step in improving your diet is bolstering your flour so that you can extract the maximum benefits from it. So why not make the switch to quinoa flour today so that you can better your health and lifestyle?
FAQs
1. Can I use quinoa flour instead of all-purpose flour?
Yes, you can! Quinoa flour is gluten-free, making it a suitable alternative for individuals with gluten sensitivities or celiac disease. This makes quinoa flour a versatile option for baking and cooking, as it can be used as a substitute for all-purpose flour in a variety of recipes. Additionally, quinoa flour packs several benefits like a high mineral and protein content that make it a better option than all-purpose flour.
2. Does quinoa flour taste like regular flour?
Quinoa flour has a mild nutty flavor and is slightly bitter. It tastes very different from regular flour. Is it better to eat quinoa or rice? Quinoa flour contains fewer calories and carbohydrates than white rice. Unlike rice, quinoa fibers help to lower cholesterol and control blood sugar levels. Unlike rice, quinoa reduces your blood fat levels.
3. Is quinoa flour anti-inflammatory?
Yes, it is! Quinoa flour contains anti-inflammatory properties and is full of antioxidants as well. How do you get the bitter taste out of quinoa flour? To remove the bitter taste from quinoa flour, rinse it thoroughly before use or toast it lightly in a dry skillet to enhance its nutty flavor while diminishing bitterness.