I must say that I’m a little late in arriving to the quinoa craze. It’s definitely not that I don’t like quinoa because I do. I’ve enjoyed quinoa flakes in my homemade muesli mix and my homemade granola for a few years now — but so far, that was the only way that I had tried it. My diet was always fairly well balanced to include many other grains and legumes, and let’s face it – we always stick to what we’re used to. Most recently, I was faced with a sense of urgency in providing easily digestible, well rounded meals for a family member — and lo and behold, it was quinoa that came to the rescue.
My mother’s health has been deteriorating since 2012, and a series of hospitalizations and nursing home stays have left her in a weakened condition. It turns out that an enlarged hernia is compromising one of her lungs and part of her stomach and she is only able to tolerate small meals without a lot of bulk. I needed to find a way to maximize her caloric intake by increasing the nutritional content to prevent muscle atrophy and excessive weight loss. I found that too many animal products were too heavy and rich for her to digest, so I looked into enhancing her meals with something that packed a nutritional punch, but was easier on her system.
My mother was never a picky eater, and always loved whole grains and legumes. We ate lots of different kinds growing up at home that included red, brown and green lentils, garbanzo beans, barley, bulgur wheat etc. One thing my mother always did was soak the grains and legumes before cooking them, even the tiniest lentils. Mum never really knew all of the reasons for adding this extra step, other than learning from her mother that it reduced the cooking time. For every grain and legume that ended up on our table, she always did the same thing.
As it turns out, research now tells us that whole grains are difficult for our bodies to digest. In some cases it’s because of the insoluble outer fiber in the outer husks of the grains and other times it’s because of something called phytic acid that is present in both the outer bran and the seeds of the grain.
Phytic acid is necessary for the survival of the plant, and primarily functions as a phosphorus store that provides assistance with energy transformation in the plant, and is also a source of myoinositol, a necessary component for cell wall development. This may all be a bunch of mumbo jumbo to you, but essentially, phosphorous is very important and helps regulate protein synthesis in both cell division and development of new tissue.
The problem for humans (and many animals) arises when you consume a grain with phytic acid. Some grains contain higher levels of phytic acid than others. In its natural state, phytic acid behaves like an anti-nutrient. What I mean by that is that it binds to important minerals (such as calcium, iron, and zinc) and prevents their absorption in the digestive tract. This is very important for those who follow a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle who are especially affected by deficiencies in iron and zinc. This has also become especially important for people in developing countries who depend on grains for much of their diets. What’s worse, phytic acid also behaves like an acid, and eats away at available niacin, creating a niacin deficiency in this part of the population.
So how do we fix this phytic acid problem that just so happens to exist in large quantities in quinoa?
In commercial farming, enzymes called phytases are added to animal feed to help prevent this from happening, but for humans, the problem is solved in a couple of different ways.
It has been hypothesized that the probiotic lactobacilli and other species of digestive microflora may be a sufficient source of the enzyme phytase to improve mineral absorption, but this has yet to be proven.
Cooking grains removes some of the dangers of phytic acid, but soaking grains in warm water or fermenting or sprouting the grain adds and extra safeguard with the addition of some acid, like lemon juice or vinegar (1 tablespoon per cup of soaking water).
These steps also help reduce quinoa’s unique raw flavor which bothers some more than others. If I am using whole quinoa grains in a recipe, I will use lemon juice or vinegar, but if I am using quinoa flour or other grain flour, I use a cultured dairy product, like yogurt, kefir or buttermilk as the source of acid. The addition of the cultured dairy creates a delicious sour note (as in sour batter or dough), so you might want to add some sugar or honey. This will add some sweetness, help with moisture and feed any wild yeast that you might have be picked up from your environment as the dough/batter ferments on your counter.
I wanted to create several easy go to recipes that I can use when preparing meals for my mother. She loves pancakes, so I decided to modify my existing buttermilk pancake recipe to accommodate some cooked quinoa. I soaked the quinoa overnight and then cooked it the next day. When it was cool, I added some of it to my pancake batter. I chose to leave the quinoa whole, because I like the lovely nutty texture it adds to the finished pancake. If you don’t like the occasional chewy grain that you might come across, just puree it with a little bit of the liquid in the recipe and then add it to the rest of your ingredients.
I can’t believe how delicious these turned out. I prepared the first batch with the best of intentions to leave for my mother, but ended up enjoying half of them with her!
And since we’ve added extra protein to these pancakes, that means you won’t be as hungry. So, if you’re trying to add a healthier source of protein to your diet without worrying about reducing your overall calorie intake, then you must try these. Once you taste how good they are, you won’t want to share them either.
Fluffy Quinoa Buttermilk Pancakes (makes 10-5″ pancakes)
1 egg
2 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or ghee, or cold coconut oil)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 cup cooked quinoa
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
I begin by placing 1 cup of quinoa in a medium sized strainer and rinsing it well under some cold water. I then place my rinsed quinoa into a medium sized glass or porcelain bowl with 2 cups of warm water and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Cover with plastic wrap and leave it on your counter at room temperature overnight. I always have lemons on hand. If you don’t, you can use plain white vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
The next day, strain the quinoa with your sieve and rinse well. Place this in a medium sized stock pot, add a little salt and follow the cooking instructions on the back of your quinoa box. Once the quinoa has cooked, fluff it with a fork and allow it to cool.
Add all of the wet ingredients into a medium sized bowl and whisk well, then add the 1 cup of cooked quinoa. Sift in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir everything together until it has just combined together. While heating up my skillet, I allow the batter to puff up slightly, as the baking soda reacts with the buttermilk.
Once the skillet is preheated (on very low heat), I brush it gently with some pan spray or a little oil on a paper towel. Pour 2 heaping tablespoons of batter into the skillet for each pancake, and spread it out slightly with your spoon. Allow it to cook through before flipping. First the edges will set and then small bubbles with form in the surface of the batter. At this point, flip your pancake and then cook for another few minutes on the opposite side.
These are so delicious and moist that they require very little butter or syrup. Make a batch to feed the family or make a batch and freeze for later. For more info see my recipe for Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes.
Leave a Reply