Can you say keen-wah?

I'm a foodie, amateur for sure, but a foodie no less.  I've promised a few recipes now and again, and today is more of a food nutrition lesson first, with a recipe thrown in. 

It's a challenge to eat healthy.  It's even more of a challenge to determine exactly what eating healthy is.   I'm a carb addict.  I was raised on biscuits and gravy, pancakes and homemade bread, and more potatoes and rice than I care to think about.  And let's not even mention the homemade cookies or pies or cakes with real sugar.  Those are the foods that helped my mother keep the bellies of six kids fairly full on a mechanic's salary.  My mission is to balance my diet, my favorite cravings, with what's good for me.  If I can satisfy both of those needs with one food, I'm a happy camper.

I've discovered quinoa, pronounced keen-wah.  At first look you'll think it's couscous, but couscous is a pasta made from flour.  Quinoa is a whole grain that's been traced all the way back to the Incas of South America.  Scientists tell us it's a "supergrain," meaning it's high in fiber, a good source of iron, has all eight essential amino acids, and is at the top of the list of all grains for complete protein content.   We're talking a home run food for vegetarians.  Simply put, it's the most nutritious of all grains.

It takes minutes to cook in plain water and doubles in volume, so I make small batches and keep it in the fridge to use when the mood strikes.  Besides a simple side dish just plain, you can add any number of veggies to it to perk it up flavor-wise.  I've added it to scrambled eggs.  And the cold salads you can make with it are as delicious as any you would make with pasta or rice.  I highly recommend cooking it in chicken broth or stock instead of plain water to really pump up the flavor.  My favorite use is to pile in those leftovers veggies from the last few meals to make a vegetarian main dish that's just chock full of taste and nutrition, not to mention economical.

Best of all - it's cheap because a little goes a long way.  Look in the rice/pasta or international foods section of your grocery store.  And keep an eye out for rice/beans mixes that include quinoa that are appearing on shelves.   Quinoa can be processed naturally so that it doesn't need to be rinsed or soaked, and I highly recommend Bob's Red Mill brand for that reason and their website has pretty cool recipes using it.

So, have fun practicing the name, and enjoy a new carb in your diet.  It's so easy to raise, digest and nutritious, NASA is thinking of using it as a crop on future long manned space flights!