BROCCOLI CHEDDAR QUINOA ROUNDS






BROCCOLI CHEDDAR QUINOA ROUNDS

These are gorgeous to serve to company!  I loved these and the texture is marvelous.  What a fun side dish.  Quinoa is a favorite with some low-carbers.  It is higher in protein than rice and many low-carbers use it judiciously as an addition to their low-carb diets, and instead of rice.  I like to use it with cauli-rice to make it go further - added to the cauli-rice it gives great body and a nicer texture.  I’ve even seen it in flourless chocolate cake to give it body.  It does not have much of a flavor, so it takes on the flavor of whatever you add to it, which is great.  Quinoa has a slightly chewy texture like barley.  I use white quinoa.  I have tried quinoa flour ... using it instead of oat flour in my Gluten-free Bake Mix.  It works nicely, but the flavor of the flour was completely off-putting to me - I have read how some people successfully toast quinoa flour to create a much milder flavor - Google it (even a blog devoted to using this flour).  I have discovered that Buckwheat flour (also a seed and not a grain like quinoa) by Anthony's has a sufficiently mild flavor to be able to use in my Gluten-Free Bake Mix - Grain-free Low-Carb, Gluten-free Bake Mix. Quinoa that one buys (not the flour) is typically washed and the bitterness is removed.  It tastes just fine...bland, in fact.  My husband buys me a huge bag (cheaper!) of prewashed white quinoa...pretty sure he found it on Amazon.  Yep, here it is - the exact one he bought for me!  CLICK HERE

Quinoa is not a grain.  Read about it over HERE.

Nutrition Facts for cooked quinoa - Find it HERE.  

It is true that many low-carbers use quinoa in their diets. My friend, Char Cunningham, a successful long-term low-carber uses it in maintenance. Usually it is used during pre-maintenance and maintenance, because people always think it is a grain - it is not. 1 cup COOKED quinoa 39 g carbs and 5 g fiber = 34 grams net carbs.

Here is the nutritional analysis for uncooked quinoa

I used 1/2 cup dry quinoa for the nutritional analysis of this recipe....the yield was 1 3/4 cups, not 2 cups as I initially thought.  

4 cups chopped, cooked broccoli (1 L)
  (make sure your broccoli is soft)
1 3/4 cups COOKED quinoa (425 mL)
  (no salt added)* - see how to cook in the note below
2 cups grated sharp Cheddar cheese (500 mL)
1/cup chopped onion (125 mL)
4 eggs
1 tsp crushed garlic (5 mL)
11/tsp salt (6 mL)
1/2   tsp black pepper (2 mL)

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). 

In large bowl, combine broccoli, quinoa, Cheddar and onion. 

In small bowl, beat eggs with fork and stir in garlic, salt and black pepper.  Add to broccoli mixture and stir well to combine.  Place one ice cream scoopful in well-greased (this is necessary) nonstick muffin top pans (12 molds in each pan) OR use regular muffin pans.  Pat down to fill circular mold.  (If you don’t have the pans, simply place in neat rounds on a cookie sheet lined with greased parchment paper - you can use the ring of a canning jar to make them uniform).

Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until turning golden brown in places and when they are fairly firm to the touch.

How to cook quinoa: I cook quinoa the same way I make regular rice. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). In large pot, bring 4 cups (1 L) water to boil.  Add 2 cups (500 mL) quinoa (or you can halve this recipe), 2 tsp (15 mL) chicken bouillon (or seasoning salt) and about 1/2  tsp (2 mL) turmeric (however, for this recipe, add NO seasonings); stir and bring to boil again.  Place lid on pot and cook quinoa in oven about 25 minutes.  Fluff with fork and stir some quinoa into your Cauli-Fried Rice, if desired.  Quinoa is lower on the glycemic index than rice, has more protein, and is great for maintenance levels.  Many low-carbers incorporate quinoa successfully into their diets.

Yield:  22 rounds
1 round
78.2 calories
4.9 g protein
4.8 g fat
0.7 g fiber
3.5 g net carbs 

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