Quinoa

[SteelBlue]

Pronounced "Keen Wah". I just discovered this "grain" recently when a friend recommended it to me. To be honest, in my 37 years of life I don't think I've ever even heard of it. But there it was in the bulk bins at my local grocery store. Anyway, it has a great nutty flavor is a great protein source, containing all essential amino acids. It cooks just like rice and you can substitute it for rice in any recipe with great results. I've been eating it in place of oatmeal in the mornings.

It is 3X more expensive than wheat, barley or oats, but that isn't saying much. It's still quite a cheap meal overall. Here's a blurb from Wikipedia (sorry Babs).

Quinoa was of great nutritional importance in pre-Columbian Andean civilizations, being secondary only to the potato, and followed in third place by maize. In contemporary times this crop has come to be highly appreciated for its nutritional value, as its protein content is very high (12%–18%). 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 food. This means it takes less quinoa protein to meet one's needs than wheat protein. 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 as a possible crop in NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System for long-duration manned spaceflights.

And here's the wikipedia article on quinoa for a general overview: