Monday, March 16, 2009

Quinoa for Breakfast!


Recently we tried the grain, Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah).
I made it to go with some chicken for dinner. It was much like rice but with a protein punch.
From Wikipedia:
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 healthful 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.[3] 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
Last night I came across it in a book used for Breakfast. This morning we had it with blueberries, bananas and vanilla soy milk. Like oatmeal, the possibilities are endless. (Unlike oatmeal, it is not pasty!) My girl ate it up. (Of course I called it porridge. Never underestimate the power of a neat name-My girl will also not go near squash. Call it pumpkin and she's all over it!)
I had to cook it this morning and that took about 15 minutes but if you made a big batch, which is what I plan on next time, you could just scoop it into a bowl, microwave for a few seconds and you could have a quick, healthy breakfast!

4 comments:

Unknown said...

We love Quinoa too. I buy mine in the bulk department in the Nature's Market. I hadn't thought to make it for breakfast but I will now. I think I will label it as cereal. LOL

Thanks.

The Fine Art of Motherhood said...

Sounds good -- I'll have to try that! I only recently got on the couscous bandwagon (I know, I'm behind the times), so I'm broadening my horizons!

Christine said...

And Kristin, maybe you can sneak some milk into it!

Unknown said...

You know it! :)