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How to make popped or puffed quinoa

What is quinoa?

Quinoa is classified as a wholegrain and used as a carbohydrate like rice. But it’s actually a seed so it’s packed full of protein, fibre and nutrients, unlike rice!

You can boil quinoa and use it in a similiar way to rice but try this simple technique to pop or toast it for something different!

It tastes nutty and it’s quite hard. It’s great in baking, topping yoghurt, salads

Why pop quinoa?

- Popping it means you can use it in a completely new way.

- ⁠it’s a fun sensory experiment the kids can do (mind young kids with a hot pan)

- ⁠popped quinoa is great with chocolate - making it easy for kids to consume! They may not like it boiled.

- ⁠it only takes minutes to pop it and you can then store it in a sealed jar for weeks.

How to pop quinoa:

- preheat your pan

- ⁠pour your raw quinoa onto the pan

- ⁠leave it about 45 seconds, then toss

- ⁠you will start to hear it popping

- ⁠keep tossing it on the pan so it doesn’t burn

- ⁠you’ll know it’s cooked when it changes colour to brown

- ⁠allow cool before using

You can then use your popped quinoa as a topping for yoghurt, salads or in sweet recipes like healthier rice krispie buns and more.

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