Ecuador Quinoa Tabouleh
Jun 12th, 2010 by Gary
Qunioa the Andean grain that is a complete protein.
Ecuador, Health and looking fit!
By Jean Marie Butterlin
Why do you feel better and why do you lose weight, when living in Ecuador?
Of course everyone in Ecuador will tell you that one of the reasons is exercise (a lot of walking) and the other is living at higher altitude, which makes you burn more calories but…..
I have been living in Ecuador for a few months and was wondering, why some Ecuadorians were looking thin and healthy, while others looked a bit overweight even in Cotacachi;
I got some answers, while watching the Ecuadorian eating habits in restaurants;
I was surprised to find out that the Ecuadorian most eaten foods were 2 starches : potatos and rice ; there is a reason to that : they are produced locally and they are very cheap !
Every meat or fish dish in the restaurants come very often with both « pappas » and « arroz » .
What do the slimmer Ecuadorian eat then ? I quickly found out, that they ate less of the potatos and rice and more of the traditional foods like quinoa and amaranth as well as a lot of vegetables…all fresh and wonderful.
Amaranth and Quinoa, the 2 forgotten cereals even by the locals; they are considered as vegetables (yes some scientists classify these 2 cereals as vegetables because they are close to the spinach family) ;
Why will eating quinoa and/or amaranth make you thinner ?
Quinoa and Amaranth both contain about 16 percent protein, E and B vitamins, calcium, iron and phosphorous. They are much more filling than other cereals and use quite a few calories just for the digestion. Because they are not true cereal grains, they can be eaten by people who suffer from cereal grain allergies.
You can even find in Ecuador young quinoa and amaranth greens that are even more nutritious and make for tasty salad material and are high in vitamins (especially calcium and iron), minerals and protein.
Here is what Wikipedia says about nutriiotnal value of quinoa :
Quinoa, uncooked
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |
| Energy | 1,539 kJ (368 kcal) |
| Carbohydrates | 64 g |
| Starch | 52 g |
| Dietary fibre | 7 g |
| Fat | 6 g |
| polyunsaturated | 3.3 g |
| Protein | 14 g |
| Water | 13 |
| Thiamine (Vit. B1) | 0.36 mg (28%) |
| Riboflavin (Vit. B2) | 0.32 mg (21%) |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.5 mg (38%) |
| Folate (Vit. B9) | 184 μg (46%) |
| Vitamin E | 2.4 mg (16%) |
| Iron | 4.6 mg (37%) |
| Magnesium | 197 mg (53%) |
| Phosphorus | 457 mg (65%) |
| Zinc | 3.1 mg (31%) |
| Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults.Source: USDA Nutrient database | |
Quinoa was of great nutritional importance in pre-Columbian Andean civilizations, being secondary only to the potato, and was followed in importance by maize. In contemporary times, this crop has become highly appreciated for its nutritional value, as its protein content is very high (12%–18%). Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine), quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete protein source among plant foods.[4] It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten-free and considered easy to digest. Because of all these characteristics, quinoa is being considered a possible crop in NASA’s Controlled Ecological Life Support System for long-duration manned spaceflights.[4]
They have both a very nice flavour.
Amaranth is known as the Chinese Spinach because of its popularity as a green vegetable in Asia.
Quinoa grains and amaranth grains look so similar that you wonder sometimes if they are in fact the same product.
They do come from the same family of plants and nutritionally they are quite similar but there are some differences.
Both of South American origins the Aztecs grew amaranth, while the Incas grew quinoa known as chisaya mama or mother of all grains. They considered quinoa a sacred plant.
The conquistadors forbade quinoa cultivation for a time, and so the Incas were forced to grow corn instead,
Here is a good recipe for tabouleh quinoa, that I have made for Pascale’s birthday last week as well as for our Ecuadorian friends, who seemed to like it very much.
Recipe:
Bring equal volumes quinoa and water to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until all water is absorbed. Amaranth takes about 10-12 minutes and quinoa 12-15 minutes. Experiment to find the texture you prefer.
Let it cool to room temperature and then add thinly cut tomato, thinly cut red onions, olive oil, lime and lemon juice, plenty of cilantro with salt and pepper.
Here are our Ecuadorian friends enjoying our Quinoa tabouleh ! (“The best they’ve ever eaten!”, they said.)
Here is a close shot of the quinoa tabouleh….
Jean Marie Butterlin, was born in France and after graduating in 1977 from the engineering college ICAM in Lille (France) moved to United States where he developed a homeopathic and dietary supplement business in Houston TX, with an aim at exporting the US made products into Europe, with emphasis towards Belgium and France.
Jean Marie Butterlin
After living part time on both sides of the Atlantic he moved back in 2002 to Europe where he has a prosperous business in the natural health field i.e. phytotherapy, mineral supplements, specialty cosmetics, as well as Quantum medical technology, internet publishing for the anti-aging market.
This quest for anti-aging remedies, products and techniques has lead him to discover Ecuador with its valleys of longevity, where he is researching and developing new approaches to live longer and better and bringing the new products and techniques to more and more people in the United States and Europe.
Jean Marie moved with his family to Cotacachi where he conducts the Ecuador real estate, shamanic minga and export tours that we support.
Meet Jean Marie June 24 to 27 at our Quantum Wealth course in North Carolina.
We’ll look at the importance of Ecuador’s history… food…. taste… color… sound… smell… and feel to health and wealth in our Quantum wealth sessions this June 24 to 27.
Learn about Ecuador, international investing, business and global health secrets at our June 24-27 Quantum Wealth plus International Investing and Business Course in North Carolina
June 28-29 Ecuador Travel & Andes
June 30-Jul 1 Coastal Real Estate Tour
July 3-4 Imbabura Real Estate Tour
July 6-7 Quito Mindo Real Estate Tour
July 9-10-11 Cuenca Real Estate Tour
Aug. 31-Sept. 1 Ecuador Shamanic Minga
Sept. 2-6 Ecuador Export Tour
Sept. 8-9 Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Sept. 11-12 Coastal Real Estate Tour
Sept. 14-15-16 Cuenca Real Estate Tour
Oct. 7 Quantum Wealth plus International Investing and Business North Carolina
Oct. 8-10 International Investing & Business North Carolina
Oct. 11-12 Travel to Quito and Andean Tour
Oct. 13-14 Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Oct. 16-17 Coastal Real Estate Tour
Oct. 19-20 Quito Real Estate Tour
Oct. 22-23 Cuenca Real Estate Tour
Nov. 4-7 Super Thinking + Spanish Course Florida
Nov. 8-9 Travel to Quito and Andean Tour
Nov. 10-11 Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Nov. 13-14 Coastal Real Estate Tour
Nov. 16-17 Quito Real Estate
Nov. 19-20 Cuenca Real Estate Tour
Dec. 3-5 Ecuador Shamanic Mingo
Dec. 7-8 Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Dec. 10-11 Coastal Real Estate Tour
Dec. 13-14 Quito Real Estate Tour
Dec. 16-17 Cuenca Real Estate Tour
