Quinoa

Quinoa

It's gluten-free!

Most people don't know how to say Quinoa (KEEN-wah), let alone what it is.

Technically it is a seed, but mostly known as a whole grain.  It is a highly nutritious,

quick cooking and gluten-free seed of the beet family. It comes in a variety of colors, but

red, black (both have a crunchy cooked texture) and white (fluffier texture) are the most common.

Although Quinoa is known for having a good deal of protein (8+ grams per cup), It's the 

type of protein, that makes it great.  It has the perfect balance of  all nine essential amino acids

needed for human nutrition. This complete protein is rarely found in plant foods. Other plant foods 

containing complete proteins are chia, hempseeds, soybeans(organic non-gmo),etc. 

The history of Quinoa is rooted in the Andes region of South America in the countries of Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile and Ecuador.  Easily surviving in many growing conditions Quinoa became a mainstay food source for the Inca Empire. Along with maize, its consumption became  widespread 

around 3000 BC.

Being nutrient rich, it provides almost half of the daily requirement of manganese(59%),

copper and phosphorus(40%), magnesium(30%).  Also it is high in zinc, folate and fiber.

It is cholesterol free and has a valuable amount of omega-3 fatty acids with monounsaturated fats like oleic  and alpha-linolinec(ALA) acids which are great for heart health.

It's great for Buddha bowls in place of rice or even cold as cereal/oatmeal with fruit for breakfast.

In a Buddha bowl served with black beans, roasted purple cauliflower, sweet potatoes and avocado.

Here's a quick article on How to cook Quinoa.

You can check out my pinterest for my Quinoa recipes.

Have a great week.

Be kind.

Judd