Quinoa anyone?

I found this by total mistake. I had just made my "famous" salsa and wanted to mix it with something different...so I started looking through my pantry. I found this bag of Quinoa. I remember buying it a couple of months ago because someone recommeded I try it. Well, I came up with amazing, easy dinner for your family.

Easy and suprisingly good, gluten free and packed with nutrients. Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) and other ancient grains such as amaranth, barley and farro are rapidly growing in popularity because of their wide array of health benefits. Ancient grains are referred to as such because they have remained largely unchanged for hundreds or even thousands of years. Quinoa was known to the Incas as "the mother of all grains" and was first cultivated over 5000 years ago.

Consuming 2-3 servings of whole grain foods per day can reduce the risk of:

Incorporating quinoa into your diet could reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, colon cancer and obesity.

• Cardiovascular disease

• Type 2 diabetes

• High blood pressure

• Colon cancer

• Obesity.

Many studies have shown that as whole grain intake increases, the risk for all five of these lifestyle-related conditions decreases.

It is recommended to consume 48 grams of whole grains per day (equivalent to 3 servings of 16 g of whole grains).

Quinoa provides a higher amount of antioxidants than other common grains used in a gluten-free diet. Most gluten-free products are made up of corn, rice or potato flour are lacking in the nutrients that products incorporating quinoa can provide. Researchers at Columbia University's Celiac Disease Center found that the nutritional content of gluten-free diets was significantly improved by adding oats or quinoa to meals and snacks (ex: protein (20.6g vs. 11g), iron (18.4mg vs. 1.4mg, calcium (182mg vs. 0mg) and fiber (12.7g vs. 5g).2

Ha, who would've known. Gluten free is all the craze. I like the protein aspect of it more than anything. Give it a try..

-1 cup of cooked Quinoa

-one can of drained kidney beans-heated

-one can of black beans-heated

-2 cups of corn-heated

-salsa

-sprinkle of mozzorella cheese

Scoop equal portions in bowl. Add the cheese on top and Mix in a couple scoops of your favorite salsa...Psssst, next week I am posting my AMAZING salsa recipe that everyone keeps buggin' me about posting.