Everyone wants to live a healthy lifestyle; but you have to admit, its more fun cheat sometimes, or in my case all the time. This is what brings me to Quinoa. My mom is really big into health food, organics, and natural weight loss methods; she is one of the healthiest, older women I know of. A month ago when I was telling her about my new plan to get in shape and exercise, she started raving about Quinoa, and it's VERY HIGH source of protein. This inspired to me to "nerd out" in front of the computer for a night doing research on Quinoa and where to buy Quinoa.

Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) was prized and considered to be sacred to the Inca's and is an important food in the Andean region of South America for over 6,000 years. Now this is all interesting but the part where it gets good is the darn stuff's nutritional value! Quinoa has a protein content of 12%-18% (of your recommended protein intake) making Quinoa an incredibly healthy choice. The best part is not only that Quinoa is tremendously high in protein, but the protein is a totally complete protein-meaning that it includes all nine essential amino acids. Since Quinoa has a perfectly balanced profile of amino acids, it's one of the best choices for vegetarians, vegans, or anyone keeping their protein intake adequate. Quinoa also has a very large amount of the amino acid lysine. Lysine is necessary for tissue growth and repair (i.e., looking young). Quinoa features a large supply of other health building nutrients. Quinoa is an excellent natural method of getting manganese, magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorus. This is especially important for people that suffer from diabetes, atherosclerosis, and migraine headaches.

More reasons to Buy Quinoa:

* Improved Cardiovascular Health.

* Significant Cardiovascular Benefits for Postmenopausal Women.

* Great source of Antioxidants.

* Great source of Lignans, which protect against Heart Disease.

Benefits of Quinoa and other organic whole grains:

*Lower heart failure - 29% based on a 21,376 participant study in the US

*Lower breast cancer risk - 52% based on a 35,972 participant study in the UK

*Lower risk of type 2 diabetes - 31% based on a 41,186 participant trial in the US.

So, I am sold... I want to buy quinoa! But where? I remember thinking, "Do they even sell it at the grocery store?" Well I checked, and to my surprise one of the grocery stores in town had a few kinds. I grabbed them all, and to make a long story short I was not very pleased with how it tasted. This basically meant, as much as I wanted to eat healthy, I think my Taco Bell Volcano Taco's are going to make it to my stomach a lot more often. So as I was loosing all faith in Quinoa, I decided to go to a local organic store. I asked the manager about Quinoa and she pointed me to "Bob's Red Mill Organic Quinoa" and I decided to take the plunge despite the steep price. I got home and instantly fell in love with this. It's a night in day difference, and I was 100% happy until I realized I had to go to the expensive specialty store to get this. I decided to look online and low and behold I can get 4 times at much for only 1.5 times the cost with free shipping!

I strongly believe everyone should give this miracle "grain" a try, and if you want my advice, go straight for the good stuff. It's rare that it's this easy and sinfully tasty to eat healthy! Here is what the Bob's Red Mill Organic Quinoa Nutrition Facts label reads:

Quinoa Nutrition Facts

Serving size 1/4 cup (46g), Calories - 170, Calories from fat - 23, Total fat - 2.50g, Saturated fat - 0g, Tran's fat - 0g, Cholesterol - 0.00mg, Sodium - 2.00mg, Total Carbohydrate - 30.00 mg, Dietary Fiber - 3.00g, Sugars - 0.00g, Protein - 7.00g, Vitamin C - 2%, Calcium - 2%, Iron - 10%

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Quinoa is referred to as the "little rice of Peru" and the Incas would call it the "mother of all grains". This super food is technically not a grain as it actually belongs to the same family as spinach. It is loaded with protein and much lighter than other grains. Some people substitute quinoa for rice, pasta, oats and other grains. I can't blame them because it tastes good, fills you up and it offers great benefits to the body.

Following quinoa instructions for preparing and cooking is not difficult at all. One thing you don't want to miss though when preparing it is rinsing it well. A lot of first timers complain about how bad quinoa tastes. Yeah it tends to be so bitter if you do not rinse it well.

Place the grains in a strainer or a cheesecloth and place under running water for a few minutes. I usually rinse mine for 4 minutes or until the water does not come out sudsy anymore. This is one of the most important quinoa instructions that you have to follow to remove saponin. This is actually the substance that keeps the birds from eating the crop.

To cook the grains, the usual ratio that most people use is 1 cup of quinoa is to 2 cups of water. You can use a rice cooker so it will be easier, you'll know it's cooked when the water is fully absorbed. If you are using a saucepan, cooking time is approximately 15 minutes. You can mix quinoa with just about anything and you can browse various recipes online. Make sure you follow the correct quinoa instructions to get the results and taste that you want.

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If you haven't tried quinoa yet, you owe it to yourself and your family to cook and serve some tonight.

This cereal-like food was eaten for thousands of years by the Incas of South America, who worshipped it as sacred. And no wonder. It is one of the most nutritional foods in the world, higher in essential amino acids than wheat. Yet unlike wheat, quinoa is gluten free.

Although some natives of the Andes region where it originated also eat its leaves, most people eat quinoa in its seed or "grain" form. Happily, it's easy to prepare and cook in this form.

Quinoa is showing up on more supermarket shelves in the United States, Canada and Europe, but--depending on where you live--you might have to seek it out in a specialty or organic grocery store. Try to find a package containing seeds that have had their waxy outer coatings removed through rinsing or some other process.

If you buy quinoa with its coating still on, you must rinse it vigorously in a strainer, then soak it for several hours in water, then rinse it again. If you leave behind any of the coating, which is full of a bitter substance called saponin, your quinoa will taste terrible.

Fortunately, most commercially marketed quinoa sold in North America and Europe today has been pre-processed to remove the coating.

The easiest way to prepare quinoa is to cook it much as you would rice. Just put a cup of the de-coated grain in a saucepan and pour two cups of water over it. Bring the pan to a boil, cover, and turn down the heat to a low simmer. Let it cook for about 15 minutes, then remove from heat.

Your cooked quinoa should be light and fluffy, much like cooked rice; in fact, you can use it in almost any dish where you would normally use rice. Add your favorite vegetables, meats or seasonings and enjoy. My south Louisiana heritage is showing here, but I have to say that my own favorite way to make quinoa is in a jambalaya with shrimp and sausage.

If you would like to try baking with it, look for quinoa flour form in the store. You will probably need to combine it with something else such as sorghum flour or tapioca starch to get a good baking mix. Some cooks recommend a mix of 2 parts quinoa flour, 2 parts sorghum flour and 1 part tapioca starch.

Is there a gluten allergy sufferer in your life? Try making some special treats using such a quinoa-based mix and see how easy it is to bring baked joy back to the table.

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