I’ve been looking forward to sharing this recipe for a while as it means green thickies can now reach more people. If you are somebody that can’t tolerate eating oats, there is now an alternative option for you. The long awaited quinoa smoothie has arrived. 
I’ve been getting requests for a while now from people who can’t tolerate oats in their diet but still want a filling green smoothie to see them through the morning. I’ve found the perfect oat substitute for you, quinoa!
What is quinoa
If you don’t know what quinoa is, it is very similar to rice. People use it like a grain as the staple carb of their meal, but it’s actually a seed not a grain. A great thing about quinoa is it’s quick to cook in around 10 – 15 minutes, has the highest levels of protein of most grains and the best thing about quinoa is that provides all 9 essential amino acids.
Quinoa is gluten free so it’s perfect for you if you are following a gluten free diet, and even if you’re not it’s still an extremely healthy option. Quinoa is gradually becoming more and more popular so if you can’t find this in your normal store, you should be able to find it in a health food shop or order quinoa
How to make a quinoa smoothie
There is some debate about whether oats are gluten free. There can be cross contamination from wheat in packets of oats, so it’s better to buy gluten free oats if you’re sensitive to gluten. Even so some people still can’t tolerate oats and if you suffer from celiac disease you will probably already know whether you can or can’t tolerate oats.
** Please note that this post may contain affiliate links which means that I can receive a small payment if you make a purchase through my links.
So as almost all of my smoothies contain oats, I think it’s high time I started looking at alternative carbs that will be just as filling. I’ve got some more great oat substitutes to share with you in the future but today we’re focusing on quinoa smoothies.
Quinoa actually works amazingly well in smoothies. It blends up really easily as it’s nice and soft, and it’s so neutral I can’t taste it at all. I also felt even lighter after drinking a quinoa smoothie so I’d really urge you to give it a try and see how you feel. It’s very easy to digest so perfect if you have digestive problems. A cup of cooked quinoa actually has much less calories than oats too so it’s also an ideal food if you are trying to lose weight. However if one cup of cooked quinoa isn’t filling enough for you, try adding one and a half cups. According to cronometer.com a cup of cooked quinoa has 222 calories and rolled oats have 307 calories. Quinoa expands when it cooks so one cup of uncooked quinoa will make a greater quantity of cooked quinoa.
How to prepare quinoa
To prepare you quinoa for your smoothie, you either have to cook it or soak it. Whatever you do, make sure you rinse it first to remove the bitter saponin. To cook it, you can usually bring about 1 cup of quinoa along with 2 cups of water to the boil, then simmer it for 10-15 minutes until all the water is absorbed. You will have to watch it carefully at the final stages to ensure it doesn’t stick when all the water is absorbed.
To soak quinoa, you could soak 1 cup of quinoa with 1 cup of water overnight. The quinoa will still be pretty crunchy at this stage and it would be worth rinsing it again before adding it to your smoothie.
Quinoa can be eaten raw if it’s soaked first. Some people like to sprout their quinoa but it might depend on the type of quinoa you’ve got, whether this is actually possible. Some think it’s harder to digest than cooked quinoa but it retains more of it’s nutrients this way.
Honeydew and Peach Quinoa smoothie
I’ve given you a great recipe for a quinoa smoothie below made from honeydew melon and peaches, but you can take a cup of cooked quinoa and use it to replace the oats in any of the green thickie recipes on this website. Quinoa will work in any smoothie recipe and will fill you up turning your green smoothie into an entire filling meal. 1 serving of the recipe is actually lower in calories than my usual green thickies so it’s a good option if you’re trying to lose weight.
So if you are on a gluten free diet or simply want a healthy alternative to oats in your filling green smoothies try adding some quinoa to it. It’s also good to eat a varied healthy diet so adding some quinoa occasionally will be great for all of us. Have you ever tried quinoa? Have you ever had it raw, soaked or sprouted?
How to make a quinoa smoothie: Honeydew and peach quinoa smoothie recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Water if you are drinking this straight away substitute one cup of water for ice
- 3 Cups Honeydew melon about half a small melon (or any other white melon)
- 4 small Peaches
- 1 Banana
- 1 Cup Spinach tightly packed or 2 cups loosely packed (or any other mild greens)
- 1 Cup Quinoa cooked. Like this
Instructions
- Blend the ingredients in the following order:
- 1. Blend the dry ingredients and liquid first for a short time
- 2. Blend the greens next for a short time (if using)
- 3. Blend the fruit and the rest of the ingredients until smooth (or as smooth as your blender will allow. High speed blenders may need 2 minutes for a Green Thickie, less powerful blenders may need a lot more, sometimes 5-10 minutes)
- More tips:
- Blending this way allows the dry ingredients to be blended for longest, it means the greens will fit in your blender and your fruit gets less blending so it doesn’t become too hot.
- - Add more water if required to thin it out.
- - Substitute any of the ingredients for whatever you already have.
- - If your smoothie is too warm, you can cool it down in the fridge or freeze some of your ingredients before blending. You can also replace half of the liquids with ice. Add the ice at the end. It is better to add frozen ingredients at the end to cool the smoothie down.
- How much should I drink to replace a meal?
- - Only use a meal replacement if you’ve added the oats/quinoa.
- - This Green Thickie serves 2 so you should DRINK HALF OF THIS RECIPE. But if you have higher calorie requirements you may need to drink more.
- Suitable for Special Diets:
- - Gluten free (Use GF Oats or Quinoa)
- - Raw (Use raw oats/quinoa)
- - Vegetarian, vegan, dairy free, egg free, refined sugar free, wheat free, soya free (don’t use soya milk or tofu),
- - Salt free (don't add salt)
- - Nut free (replace nuts with sunflower or pumpkin seeds. This doesn't include coconuts)
- More information about making the perfect Green Thickie
- If you are new to Green Thickies and have more questions about making the perfect green thickie, please read this guide on How to make a Green Thickie
More information about making the perfect Green Thickie:
If you are new to Green Thickies and have more questions about making the perfect green thickie, please read this guide on How to make a Green Thickie.
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Hi, I’m Katherine. I lost 56 pounds and recovered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome by replacing meals with Green Thickies – my original smoothie concept.
Choc Chip Uru says
This combo in a green smoothie sounds refreshing delicious and as always super healthy :)
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Katherine Natalia @ Green Thickies says
Thank you Choc Chip Uru. Yes quinoa is amazingly healthy so I’m so glad it blends really well.
Gabby @ the veggie nook says
Very cool Katherine! I love quinoa, it’s a huge staple for me. I eat it way more than oats or rice! I love that it works well in smoothies, I will have to try that :)
Katherine Natalia @ Green Thickies says
Thank you Gabby. Yes I have always loved quinoa but didn’t each much as my husband didn’t like it, but now I’ve found a recipe that he loves so it’s back on the menu big time! It works so well in smoothies and it’s great it can make the whole smoothie completely raw. I’ve been soaking my quinoa and it’s actually been sprouting so I know it’s so much beter for me that way.
Kathleen @ KatsHealthCorner says
What a delicious way in incorporate quinoa into your diet — and you can’t even taste that it’s in there because your enjoying an amazing treat. ;)
Katherine Natalia @ Green Thickies says
Thank you Kathleen. Yes you really can’t taste it at all. It’s perfect. Not that I mind the taste of quinoa but I do have a sweet tooth so I love eating sweet green thickies for 2 of my meals most days. Yum!
Suzanne@RipeandRaw says
Hello Katherine :-)
I’m just checking out your page for the first time and really appreciate all the insight and helpful information on making healthy smoothies and “thickies” ~great idea! I have begun a search myself for quick, healthy, filling meals that are also raw and natural to help my body heal from IBS. So I’m very thankful for your desire to share and help others :-)
I just had a question about ‘sprouting’. You talked about getting your quinoa to sprout. How do you do that? What does that mean? And also, is there a difference between sprouts and bean sprouts that you can sometimes find in a store? And you mentioned about growing your own sprouts at home. Could you explain more about that?
Thank you :-)
Sincerely,
Suzanne
Katherine Natalia @ Green Thickies says
Hi Suzanne
Many thanks for getting in touch. IBS is horrible isn’t it. I used to suffer so badly from it and still get some symptoms of it sometimes depending on what I eat. I’m always fine with my Green Thickies though as long as I eat them on an empty stomach.
When your seeds sprout they become ‘alive’ and grow little tails. It’s so much better for you as they have more enzymes and nutrients when they are sprouted. I didn’t actually plan to sprout my quinoa but it started sprouting (growing little tails) just while it was soaking in water. I just soaked it and left it, and I rinsed it after about 8 hours I think and left it for a few more hours before adding it to my smoothie.
I bought a sprouter which is a stack of trays such as this one: https://www.amazon.com/ Victorio-VKP1014-4-Tray-Kitchen-Sprouter/dp/B005FVPP04/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347109482&sr=8-1&keywords=sprouter. They are very easy to use. You just put the seeds in then pour a glass of water over them twice a day. It worked for a while for me but I’ve not been having any success lately with my broccoli sprouts so I’m going to have to try some different types. They are the same as the ones you find it the store but much fresher if you sprout them yourself and better for you.
Many thanks
Katherine
Asiya @ Chocolate and Chillies says
I’ve been loving the green smoothie and l love this addition of quinoa. I’ve tried a smoothie with oats and didn’t like the texture they brought…will have to give quinoa a try!
Carrie @ My Favorite Finds says
Thank you so much for sharing this at Must Try Monday. We can always use more yummy, very healthy recipes!
Jessica says
Ooooo! And I just picked up some more quinoa the other day! I never thought to add it to a smoothy, but that makes perfect sense! I usually add things like hemp to my smoothies, but I’ll try this next time. Thanks again for linking up, I love your blog!
Katherine Natalia @ Green Thickies says
Yes it took me a while for the idea to come to me, and quinoa is much lower in fat than seeds, more like a grain but healthier. So it’s a great option for a meal replacement smoothie. Thank you for your compliments on my blog.
Miz Helen says
Hi Katherine,
Peaches are my favorite and this looks like a great combination for a smoothie! Hope you are having a great week and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
Michelle says
I have never tried quinoa but this looks like a great way to incorporate it into my diet. Thanks so much for linking up to Creative Thursday. Can’t wait to see what you share next week! Have a wonderful weekend :)
Michelle
Katherine Natalia @ Green Thickies says
Quinoa is worth trying as it’s so good for your health and it’s just perfect in a filling smoothie. Thank you, I’ll be back again, have a good week too.
Diane Balch says
I would have never thought of putting quinoa in a smoothie great way to get the complete amino acids that are in quinoa.
Peggy says
Very interesting. I never thought of putting a grain into my green smoothies. Must try soon!
Katherine Natalia @ Green Thickies says
Yes it’s a great way to fill yourself up. The great thing about quinoa is it’s technically a seed so much better for you than some other grains.
Alea @ Premeditated Leftovers says
I like the idea of using quinoa in a smoothie for protein!
Katherine Natalia @ Green Thickies says
Quinoa is a great source of protein. It’s great because it acts like a grain but is a healthy seed but also low fat. Perfect!
April @ The 21st Century Housewife says
Love the honeydew/peach flavour combination in this smoothie – delicious! I did not know you could put quinoa in smoothies – what a great way to add nutrition!
[email protected] says
What a great idea! And I have to ask, how’d you get that nutritional information box specifically for the recipe you created? So cool. Thanks! Marya
Radha says
Good stuff! I loved it (I had spinach and arugula mixed so I know spinach alone will be better next time). It’s funny you mention Dr.
Campbell’s book. I took his nutrition course when I was at Cornell and now I’m intrigued to reread it as it makes more sense to my current weight loss goal. Thank you!
Rhonda says
Hi there! I love love that I found you! I have had my first thickie and looking for more. However, I do not like canteloupe or melons. As I am not much of a recipe maker, can you suggest something other? I am also sensitive to too much sugar even in fruit. Would berries be better? or more spinach? or kale? Please help. :)
Katherine Natalia @ Green Thickies says
You can choose any of my recipes to make. Most of them don’t contain melon. If you are looking to reduce your sugar then yes berries are a great option. You may find the smoothie a little bitter if you don’t include any sweet fruit unless you use a sweetener that you can tolerate. I would just use berries, water or milk and spinach and a sweetener if you like, and see how you like that.
rhonda says
Thanks so much! I have been drinking smoothies every day for a couple of weeks now. I have actually lost a few pounds; likely due to the higher fibre and replacement of “junk”. I am retaining less water and have less severe bouts of fatigue! So, I am excited to continue on my journey of “smoothiness”.
Katherine Natalia @ Green Thickies says
That’s great Rhonda. Congratulations on your healthy diet change and weight loss. Long may it continue!
Valerie says
Do you measure one cup of quinoa before or after cooking?
Annie says
Hi Katherine.. do you think we could add the quinoa uncooked ? only soaked overnight and rinse …
Mike says
What amount of quinoa would you recommend if it was only soaked overnight and not cooked?
Katherine Natalia @ Green Thickies says
It doubles in size so if you wanted to use a cup of quinoa you would need to soak 1/2 a cup.
Niquole Abram says
I’m really interested in adding in different fillers to smoothies, quinoa is something I have heard of but never really knew what it was. Thanks for explaining, I’ll have to get some to add on to my filler stash I am building!
Natalie Day says
Would it be acceptable to substitute celery for spinach?
Katherine Natalia @ Green Thickies says
Yes Natalie, but it will have a much stronger taste of celery.