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Quinoa should be taking over the world. This is why it isn’t

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Re: Quinoa should be taking over the world. This is why it isn’t

#121

Post by vacri »

windsurfer wrote: post #66
lukasb wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember seeing a headline in Thailand "rise in rice prices hits small farmers hard". I've seen similar things in Kenya: "high maize prices devastate small farmers." It turns out many subsistence farmers (of which there are roughly a billion) are net consumers of their staple crop. In order to survive, the poor diversify across a variety of agricultural products. Large industrial farming operations are growing the…

I still don't understand. If a farmer produces 10 units of quinoa and sell 4 every year, they'll still produce 10 units no matter what the price is. They'll still be able to sell 4 units, and still be able to consume 6. The only difference would be that farmers will make more of a profit selling the 4 units. The only possible explanation would be that the resources (farming equipment, seeds, fertilizer?) required to…

What if you're not a farmer? What if you're a ditch-digger, and now can't afford your staple food?

Re: Quinoa should be taking over the world. This is why it isn’t

#122

Post by lostlogin »

icebraining wrote: post #93
gohrt wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Buy quinoa, and find a way to support socialism in Peru.

Should we really try to influence their political choices, even if for what we perceive to be "their own good"?

It hasn't worked very well in the past... However the line needs to be drawn somewhere. Forced sterilization maybe? http://m.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/jun/17...

Re: Quinoa should be taking over the world. This is why it isn’t

#123

Post by bane »

Scaevolus wrote: post #98
etler wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oatmeal is very dense. Calorie for Calorie Quinoa has more protein and dietary fiber than oatmeal. 100 calories of Quinoa http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=83+g+quinoa 100 calories of Oatmeal http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=26+g+oatmeal However if you look at the vitamins, oatmeal wins. I also wouldn't call Quinoa a super food, but it does fill a gap left by other grains and is definitely a worthy addition to…

Side-by-side comparison: http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=26+g+oatmeal+vs+83g+qui... The vitamins is probably missing data-- Vitamin C is biochemically critical, so a plant would have some amount of it.

I checked, all the sources I found for it list 0.00mg of Vit C for any amount of Quinoa and .50mcg of Vitamin A per 100g.

Re: Quinoa should be taking over the world. This is why it isn’t

#124

Post by malandrew »

DigitalSea wrote: post #109
scythe wrote: post #80

Quinoa, famous for protein and fiber content, still contains less protein and fiber than, say, oatmeal. It's okay - hyperventilating paleo bloggers have raised concerns about saponins -- but the whole "superfood" frenzy about quinoa is just a tad off base. It's okay, not bad for you, probably better than white rice or processed food, but most of what quinoa has going for it is simply that it is real and unmodified. I…

Would you use Oatmeal in place of rice though? I couldn't picture a healthy curry or stir-fry that used Oatmeal instead of Quinoa in place of rice, could you?

Good question. I've never thought about why there aren't more savory foods out there that use oatmeal. Seems like all the oatmeal-based foods I've seen are sweet.

Re: Quinoa should be taking over the world. This is why it isn’t

#125

Post by Tloewald »

latch wrote: post #108
scythe wrote: post #80

Quinoa, famous for protein and fiber content, still contains less protein and fiber than, say, oatmeal. It's okay - hyperventilating paleo bloggers have raised concerns about saponins -- but the whole "superfood" frenzy about quinoa is just a tad off base. It's okay, not bad for you, probably better than white rice or processed food, but most of what quinoa has going for it is simply that it is real and unmodified. I…

" Probably better than processed food" ? It's gluten free, which is important for some people (a lot if you buy into wheat belly). It's another source of a complete protein, which is important for vegans. Not all popular health foods get converted into crap. There might be unhealthy variants of these, but fruits, vegetables, legumes, fish and soy tend to be popular and healthy. I'd even say that processed foods which…

French fries are a disaster. Higher glycemic index than, say, simply eating sugar (far worse than chocolate).

http://www.diabetesnet.com/food-diabetes/glycemic-index

Re: Quinoa should be taking over the world. This is why it isn’t

#126

Post by Tloewald »

malandrew wrote: post #124
DigitalSea wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you use Oatmeal in place of rice though? I couldn't picture a healthy curry or stir-fry that used Oatmeal instead of Quinoa in place of rice, could you?

Good question. I've never thought about why there aren't more savory foods out there that use oatmeal. Seems like all the oatmeal-based foods I've seen are sweet.

Don't the Scots eat their oats salted?

Re: Quinoa should be taking over the world. This is why it isn’t

#127

Post by bane »

elemeno wrote: post #30
cgh wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Add quinoa to water (ratio: 1:2), bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer for ~20 mins. I should have added a time parameter to my storage comment. We typically make a bunch of rice, like 6 cups uncooked and keep it in a big container for the week. With quinoa, by the end of the week it's pretty gross, kind of a big blob.

I'd be a little weary of keeping cooked rice for a week, even in a good fridge (my fridge stays at a solid 2C, which keeps most things good to eat for long than you'd think!). Rice is a surprisingly good vector for food poisoning due to it's often carrying Bacillus Cereus spores which are heat resistant and can then germinate and grow in the fridge - most of the sources I've seen suggest that you shouldn't keep cooke…

Do what Asians do. Cook a weeks worth of rice all at once in your rice cooker, portion it into rice bowls with plastic wrap on top and freeze it. For each meal nuke each portion for a minute and a half (or so) with the plastic on (you might like it with it off depending on how it steams).

It's almost as good as fresh cooked rice and keeps for weeks and weeks in your freezer.

Re: Quinoa should be taking over the world. This is why it isn’t

#128

Post by SteveGerencser »

jessaustin wrote: post #17
aaronblohowiak wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>That easily lets them sell the crop and buy other food like everyone else. [citation needed].

Did you miss the part where they make six times their previous income?

And what about the people that used to buy it as their primary food source? Their incomes did not increase six times, just their monthly food bill.

Re: Quinoa should be taking over the world. This is why it isn’t

#129

Post by D9u »

Meh... Cannabis seed is more nutritious, and has more uses, as does the cannabis fibers, that quinoa pales in comparison. Cannabis is easier to grow as well.

If our governments weren't so afraid of people getting stoned the economic benefits of cannabis would make it a major cash crop capable of outperforming quinoa in every aspect.

Re: Quinoa should be taking over the world. This is why it isn’t

#130

Post by kevinconroy »

CCs wrote: post #85
kevinconroy wrote: post #79

For anyone looking to add a nutritional grain to their diet at a low cost, I highly recommend millet. It has similar nutritional value to quinoa but because it isn't trendy (and thus doesn't have the same supply issues) it can be 80% cheaper than quinoa in most stores.

It is better than oatmeal or wheat? It looks a lot like white flour to me: http://skipthepie.org/cereal-grains-and-pasta/millet-flour/c... Some say goitrogens in millet is bad for you (if you eat large quantity) http://www.womentowomen.com/hypothyroidism/goitrogenicfoods-... http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/beware-of-millet/

Millet is a grain and can be ground into flour. I'm talking about cooking it as a grain (like most uses of quinoa).

http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=100+g+millet http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=100+g+quinoa

Also, having too much of any one food is bad for you. I'm not suggesting that you start baking your own bread with millet flour - just that the next time you would cook up some rice or quinoa, give millet a try. It's a very healthy whole grain and can be a welcome part of a well balanced diet for many people trying to eat healthier.

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