Picture Courtesy: Leah Cooks Kosher

We’ve all heard about the wonders of quinoa and it has taken the food universe by storm. No wonder quinoa has become one of the most popular health foods out there. Bread being one of the most basic and most eaten breakfast staple for almost all of us, it’s important that we eat the right kind of bread. The regular white bread or wheat bread is not the healthiest option with its high glycemic index, and with the latest food trend giving us all kinds of healthy alternatives for our everyday foods, we can easily switch to a more nutritious choice. Quinoa bread has got you covered here!

Let’s find out why quinoa bread is the choice you need to switch to for your daily diet –

1. Daily Fiber Fix

Quinoa grain is extremely high in fiber and that makes quinoa bread a super healthy choice for your everyday fiber intake. It’s much higher in fiber than most grains and works great as a cleanse food as well!

2. Gluten-Free Goodness

When it comes to gluten-free diet, it’s important to understand that gluten-free products are only beneficial if they are naturally gluten-free. Artificial gluten-free food which is processed with refined starch is just as unhealthy as its gluten-containing counterpart.

Quinoa is a naturally gluten-free ingredient which makes quinoa bread an excellent gluten-free substitute for your regular bread. This not only makes life better for people who choose to go gluten-free, but also helps in increasing the nutrient and anti-oxidant value of your diet.

3. Protein-Packed Power

Quinoa is considered a super food for many reasons, and one of them is its high protein value. It has all the essential amino acids, making it a ‘complete’ protein. It has more and better protein than most grains, in fact. You don’t want to miss out on this in your bread do you?

4.  Ace in Antioxidants

Is there anything that this superfood can’t give? Quinoa is also high in antioxidants, and its value only increases when sprouted. This makes it a great ingredient to fight off many diseases and even acts as an anti-ageing element.

Quinoa Chia Bread Recipe


Don’t worry, we’re not giving you all this helpful information to leave you hanging without a recipe for how to actually bake quinoa bread! In fact, we’re here to make it even better for you. A quinoa + chia bread that’s not only extremely delicious but is packed with nutrition from both quinoa and chia, two superfoods you shouldn’t be missing out on! Check out the recipe below –

Ingredients

• 300 g Healthy Alternatives – Organic Quinoa Seeds
•  60 g Healthy Alternatives – Organic Chia Seeds
• 250 ml/ 1 cup water
• 60 ml Healthy Alternatives – Pure Olive Oil
• ½ tsp. baking soda.
• ½ tsp. sea salt
• Juice from ½ lemon

Instructions

1. Soak the quinoa in plenty of cold water overnight in the fridge. Soak the chia seeds in ½ cup water until gel like – this can be done overnight as well, but just give it a few stirs at the beginning.
2. Preheat the oven to 160 C / 320 F. Drain the quinoa and rinse really well through a sieve. Make sure the water is fully drained from your sieve. Place the quinoa into a food processor. Add the chia gel, ½ cup water, olive oil, baking soda, sea salt and lemon juice and then mix all of it together for 3 minutes in the food processor along with quinoa.
3. The bread mix consistency should resemble a batter consistency with some whole quinoa still left in the mix. Spoon it into a loaf tin lined with baking paper on all sides and the base. Bake for 1 ½ hours until firm to touch and bouncing back when pressed with your fingers.
4. Remove from the oven and let it cool for 30 minutes in the tin, then remove it from the tin and cool it completely on a rack. The bread should be slightly moist in the middle and crisp on the outside.
5. Serve delicate slices (toasted, if desired) when it has completely cooled down.

Not much of a baker? Don’t let that stop you from indulging on this healthy super-bread. Get your loaf today at the Nature’s Basket  store!

Are you as impressed as we are with the powers of quinoa? Then check out the recipes for these 5 delicious things that you can make with quinoa.