#15: The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth

This is day fifteen of our education of the 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth. Woo Hoo! Some of these you won't be surprised by, some you will. I'll take one out of each food group each day to mix it up a bit.

All information is from the book by jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S. "The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth".

Day 15: Quinoa

Quinoa is another of those foods that keeps getting miscategorized--everyone thinks it's a grain, everyone uses it like agrain, but it's actually a seed. Anyway, who really cares? You know how the old saying goes ... if it looks like a grain and it acts like a grain ... same principle.

* Quinoa was known by the Incas as the "mother of grains." They used the seeds of this plant as one of their chief sources of nutrition.

* highly nutritious food and is considered a high-protein "grain".

* Protein quality and quantity is often superior to those of more common cereal grains, and the nutritional quality of this crop has been compared to that of dried whole milk by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

* Quinoa is higher in lysine than wheat (lyside is an amino acid that's scarce in the vegetable kingdom)

PREPARING AND EATING QUINOA

You can use quinoa to make flour, soup, or breakfast cereal. most quinoa sold in teh United States has been sold as whole grain that is cooked seperately as rice or in combination dishes such as pilaf. Noted natural-foods expert and author Rebecca Woods suggests cooking about 2 cups of stock or water per cup of quioa, which should yield about 3 cups of cooked grain and take only about 15 minutes to prepare. She reminds us that it is as versatile as rice (and, in my opinion, a good deal better for us) and can be substituted for rice in any recipe, or used as a side dish.

Quinoa has a lower sodium content and is higher in calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, copper, manganese, and zinc than wheat, barley, or corn. It's particularly high in iron-- 1/2 cup contains almost 8mg, way more than any other cereal grain, a hefty 5g of fiber.

For previous posts:
ARTICHOKES: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57017--1-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
OATMEAL: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57180--2-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
BEANS: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57278--3-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
APPLES: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57482--4-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
ALMONDS: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57516--5-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
EDAMAME: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57602--6-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
BUTTER/GHEE http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57689--7-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
EGGS: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57791--8-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
CRUSTACEA: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57940--9-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
BEE POLLEN: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/58069--10-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
ACAI JUICE: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/58196--11-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
CARDAMOM: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/58290--12-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
ALMOND OIL: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/58381--13-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
ARUGULA: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/58426--14-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth