Cold Quinoa for Lunch?

I am trying to eat more whole grains, and I need to pack a lunch for work. Is cooked quinoa any good cold?

Yes, I'd say so. Bulgur wheat is good too.

Thanks very much. I had some today and it was just as good cold as hot.

(Incidentally, it was a quinoa, corn, and scallion recipe from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. Highly recommend!)

The other day, I had a tasty black bean/quinoa salad from Wild Oats. Good stuff! I'm not sure what else was in there -- red onions, olive oil, lime juice, uhhhh -- other stuff.

The one time I made quinoa myself, though, it was lousy. Apparently you have to rinse it very, very well to keep it from being bitter.

The black bean & quinoa sounds good. I'll have to try it.

You do have to rinse quinoa thoroughly to get rid of the bitter coating that protects it in the wild. And you have to cook it well. Simmer it for 15 minutes in twice as much water, then let it rest for 5 minutes. It's pretty good plain, especially the next day, but better if you add vegetables (cooked separately). Tonight I tried a variation of the quinoa and corn recipe, adding cinnamon to give it a North African accent. It was amazing!

I have a box of quinoa in my pantry that I was trying to decide how to cook. These are some great ideas, thanks!

Let us know what you do!

I'm also looking for some good millet recipes. Any suggestions?

I also like to dry roast the quinoa before I cook it - just toast it in an iron skillet over med. low heat after rinsing and draining-- it adds a nice nutty flavor.

Good suggestion, teelgee, I'll try it.

I'm resurrecting this old thread to say that quinoa is great as a bulgur substitute in tabouli. The deli at my health-food store makes it this way, and I was amazed at how good it was. It used parsley rather than mint. I'm thinking adding some edamame to it would be a good touch, and more filling.

you can even sprout quinoa and it the sprouts in salad.

I love making coconut quinoa pudding (basically rice pudding made with quinoa) and eating it cold. Yum!!