My small group from church had a meal on Sunday and a couple ladies wanted to introduce some of us to quinoa. They had a chicken/squash/quinoa soup, a chili with quinoa in it and a quinoa pudding (kind of like rice pudding with some dried fruit).

They said it is considered a "complete" protein and it is gluten-free. I need to ask where I can buy it around here.

Anyone else cook with quinoa?

 

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I've never used it, but I saw Ellie Kreiger make a dish with it a couple weeks ago. She's a nutrionist and recommended using it in place of rice or pasta. Pretty sure you can get it at stores like Whole Foods. You might even find it in your regular grocery store.

 

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my mother-in-law bought this sort of quinoa mix, forget where (Trader Joe's?) that had dried fruit in it. it's kind of like couscous. I enjoyed it.

 

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Yes, it's small and when cooked it's almost translucent...at least that's how it appeared in the foods I ate.

 

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Quinoa (pronounced /'kinw?/ KEEN-wah or /'kino??/ KEE-no-uh, Spanish quinua, from Quechua kinwa) is a species of goosefoot (Chenopodium) grown as a crop primarily for its edible seeds. It is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal as it is not a grass. Its leaves are also eaten as a leaf vegetable, much like amaranth, but the commercial availability of quinoa greens is currently limited.

Quinoa was of great nutritional importance in pre-Columbian Andean civilizations, being secondary only to the potato, and was followed in importance by maize. In contemporary times, this crop has become highly appreciated for its nutritional value, as its protein content is very high (12%–18%), making it a healthy choice for vegetarians and vegans. Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine), quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete protein source.[5] It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten-free and considered easy to digest. Because of all these characteristics, quinoa is being considered a possible crop in NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System for long-duration manned spaceflights.[5]

 

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Never heard of it. ...but I'm looking forward to trying it.