The FastDay Forum

Superfoods = marketing gimmick (at least to me)

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/ ... od-for-you

summary: rice & beans just as good, without depriving the Bolivians of their diet.

'The real superfoods are lurking exactly where marketers don't want you to look: in produce sections, bulk food aisles, and backyard gardens.'

Here's one consideration though:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... uth-quinoa

To be fair, I don't like quinoa, so not eating it is no hardship for me. I don't like nhow tiny the grains are. I like something I can chew.

I sent this link to my smart, well-educated, analytical daughter. Her response:

The article is riddled with inaccuracies and silly statements. Vegans are not causing the over-harvesting of quinoa; suburban american foodies are. Falafel is not made of fava beans. It's made of chickpeas. And fava beans have been grown in both the US and UK pretty much forever. Vegans are not the reason that soya production is causing deforestation; it's cultivated to produce animal feed.

Also, sentences like this one make me wonder where the author learned to write: Feeding our apparently insatiable 365-day-a-year hunger for this luxury vegetable, Peru has also cornered the world market in asparagus.

It's hard to trust an article that is this poorly written and researched. Maybe widespread demand for quinoa is causing negative effects for native peruvians and bolivians. Maybe it isn't. Maybe this will continue for awhile, but more likely the increased demand will cause it to be cultivated elsewhere. Maybe we should stop eating quinoa, but more likely we should eat a variety of foods and try to increase the amount of food that comes from within 100 miles of our homes. Maybe the world will end soon. Most likely it won't.

But that's just my two cents.

I've read that Westerners obsession with quinoa is causing problems in Peru and Bolivia enough times that I think there is some truth to it. Getting people to stop eating it is highly unlikely.

I would love to get ahold of some authentic Peruvian or Bolivian recipes for quinoa. I don't eat it often (as you might imagine, it's incredibly difficult to find in Okinawa!), but I haven't yet found a recipe I'm really happy about...

There was a program about Quinoa here in Oz on the weekend too

http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/ ... 867771.htm

quinoa is everywhere!

[Debs]

A bit expensive, but Tassie produces quinoa, and it isn't depriving us!!!

I cook with quinoa all the time - I like that it's a complete protein instead of a grain and I find it fills me up nicely. I would definitely recommend cooking it in a veggie or chicken stock instead of water, as it's quite bland otherwise.

Here's one consideration though:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... uth-quinoa

To be fair, I don't like quinoa, so not eating it is no hardship for me. I don't like nhow tiny the grains are. I like something I can chew.

I sent this link to my smart, well-educated, analytical daughter. Her response:

The article is riddled with inaccuracies and silly statements. Vegans are not causing the over-harvesting of quinoa; suburban american foodies are. Falafel is not made of fava beans. It's made of chickpeas. And fava beans have been grown in both the US and UK pretty much forever. Vegans are not the reason that soya production is causing deforestation; it's cultivated to produce animal feed.

Also, sentences like this one make me wonder where the author learned to write: Feeding our apparently insatiable 365-day-a-year hunger for this luxury vegetable, Peru has also cornered the world market in asparagus.

It's hard to trust an article that is this poorly written and researched. Maybe widespread demand for quinoa is causing negative effects for native peruvians and bolivians. Maybe it isn't. Maybe this will continue for awhile, but more likely the increased demand will cause it to be cultivated elsewhere. Maybe we should stop eating quinoa, but more likely we should eat a variety of foods and try to increase the amount of food that comes from within 100 miles of our homes. Maybe the world will end soon. Most likely it won't.

But that's just my two cents.

Totally agreee with your daughter, the article is just vegan bashing at it's finest, I especially like the footnote that the author was forced to include after outcry at his statements - 97% of soya is used for animal feed!!! Clearly the vegans are causing the environmental destruction...

[wildmissus]

The first time I ever heard of quinoa was a few years ago on TV - 'You Are What You Eat'. Gillian McKeith made it into a porridge and asked her 'subjects' to have it for breakfast. Many of them couldn't stomach it, often gagging on it and referring to it as wallpaper paste. Needless to say I haven't tried it but from what I read here it makes a different as to how you prepare it.

The first time I ever heard of quinoa was a few years ago on TV - 'You Are What You Eat'. Gillian McKeith made it into a porridge and asked her 'subjects' to have it for breakfast. Many of them couldn't stomach it, often gagging on it and referring to it as wallpaper paste. Needless to say I haven't tried it but from what I read here it makes a different as to how you prepare it.

Ive only tried it once but from what i can see, it will "absorb" the flavours you cook it with really well. Had some left over pumpkin orange and quinoa salad from yesterday and it was gone by lunch. definitely going to master this quinoa.

[carorees]

I cook with quinoa all the time - I like that it's a complete protein instead of a grain and I find it fills me up nicely. I would definitely recommend cooking it in a veggie or chicken stock instead of water, as it's quite bland otherwise.

It might not technically be a grain but it is still high in carbs so perhaps best avoided on a fast day!

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

I cook with quinoa all the time - I like that it's a complete protein instead of a grain and I find it fills me up nicely. I would definitely recommend cooking it in a veggie or chicken stock instead of water, as it's quite bland otherwise.

It might not technically be a grain but it is still high in carbs so perhaps best avoided on a fast day!

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

oops i ate it on my last fast day but i guess i only had like 50g.

i made these.. quinoa only a part of it

http://thesimpleveganista.blogspot.com. ... rgers.html

nice but i think i forgot the salt.

I cook with quinoa all the time - I like that it's a complete protein instead of a grain and I find it fills me up nicely. I would definitely recommend cooking it in a veggie or chicken stock instead of water, as it's quite bland otherwise.

It might not technically be a grain but it is still high in carbs so perhaps best avoided on a fast day!

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

Good point. I'm not too concerned with the carb side of things - I'm generally gluten free, so minimise bread normally anyway. But for those who're keen to avoid all carbs on fast days, it's good to know.