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The other day I wanted a healthy dessert to remind me of childhood. I immediately thought about rice pudding. As I already had brown rice with vegetables, I decided to adapt a little this recipe and to use quinoa. Of course, I replaced cow milk with almond milk and it came out a delicious dessert.

Quinoa is a pseudo grain, native to South America. Quinoa relates to spinach and amaranth

White quinoa is the most common type of quinoa, being appreciated for its delicate texture. Yet, red and black quinoa are also known and popular. On the surface, quinoa has a substance named saponin, a substance that might give it a bitter taste. Therefore, before cooking, it’s best to wash quinoa very well, in 2-3 waters.

You can cook quinoa the same as rice (one part quinoa, 3 parts water), but the cooking time is lower: 15-20 minutes. 
 
Quinoa contains magnesium, iron, phosphorus, calcium, B vitamins, especially B2 (fiboflavin) and all 9 essential amino-acids

Due to this complex of minerals, vitamins and amino-acids, quinoa gives us more energy, helps our memory and metabolism. In addition, this food has anti-inflammatory and anti-cancerous properties, lowering cholesterol and helping the whole cardiovascular system.

Quinoa dessert – what ingredients do you need

Nuts, vegetal milk, quinoa and fruit – these are the main ingredienta of this dessert. Below you have the complete list of what I used, but you can change them a little, if you wish. For example, you can opt for walnut, not pistachios or for coconut milk, not for almond milk, as I used.

Ingredients

1 cup white quinoa (approximately 150 g)
2 cups water (300 ml)
1 cup (150 ml) almond milk
pistachios
banana
honey/stevia extract/maple syrup or some other sweetener

Directions

1.    With a sieve, wash the quinoa in 2-3 waters.

2.    Put to boil a pot with 2 cups of water and, when it reaches the boiling point, add the quinoa cup.

3.    Let it boil for about 10 minutes, then add a cup of almond milk.  

4.    Leave to boil together for about 5-10 minutes, then turn off the heat.

5.    In a bowl, add the quinoa and, if it does not have too much milk anymore, you can also add here a small cup of almond milk, cold or warm, as you wish. Add 1-2 teaspoons of honey or other sweetener, to taste.

6.    Decorate with pistachios and banana.

As simple as it is tasty, this quinoa dessert might be a great breakfast idea, but you can also enjoy it as a sweet snack.