Zox Kitchen: April 10, 2014

The Nutritional Powerhouse, Quinoa

Quinoa (pronounced Keen wa) is one of the most popular and healthy foods being grown today. You can pretty much find it everywhere probably because it’s one of the most nutritious plant foods now being sold. It is also one of the few dishes found to be close to a complete protein and to be gluten-free as well. Moreover, quinoa is modest in price and flexible in how you achieve delicious flavors. It seems to take on the flavors you cook it with.

Quinoa was originally grown in high altitude regions of Latin America in Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia. It is now grown in Colorado and parts of California. It grows naturally in brown, black and red colors. Author Deborah Madison finds the black and red versions take a bit longer to cook— only 30 minutes—while the beige or brown take half as long. But Madison tells us that the red and black varieties are found to be more robust in flavor.