Quinoa is one of the HOT new super foods at the moment holding centre stage in all the good health and fitness magazines' nutrition sections, and catapulting itself to the head of all great organic websites.

It has taken me a little while to try this newly touted SUPER FOOD. I'm always a little hesitant to try new foods if I think they will be difficult to cook, as I'm by no means a fearless master chef! However, if a food will benefit my health and that of my family I'll give it a whirl especially if it's natural and naked.

So what is super about quinoa (which is pronounced 'keen-wah'! It took me a while to wrap my tongue around that pronunciation, as I stubbornly wanted to pronounce it phonetically! (Apparently the grain prefers the former pronunciation). Quinoa is hot stuff because of its unusually high quality of protein & essential amino acid balance, which is pretty close to perfection!

OTHER QULITIES:-

1/ It contains more protein than any other grain, and for those who love stats: roughly 16.2%, in comparison to 10% for wheat, 9.9% for millet, and 7.5% for rice.

2/ It contains more calcium than milk

3/ High in good fats

4/ Great source of Iron, phosphorus, potassium, fibre and minerals.

5/ Wait for it..... it's completely gluten free!

6/ It comes in different colours, white ,red and black.

7/ There are different forms; puffed, flakes or whole.

8/ Easy to cook & can be eaten hot or cold or even in-between.

9/ Low in cholesterol

HOW TO COOK & WHERE TO USE IT:-

Cooking instructions can vary on this one, so I'll explain how I personally cook and use it.

Place 1 cup of quinoa in a saucepan and cover it with 2 cups of water (some instructions say 1:3 so play with it). I then bring it to the boil cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes until all water has been absorbed and it is a fluffy consistency and clear/translucent in appearance. On my first attempt I forgot to turn it off at 15 minutes, and over cooked it but it's pretty forgiving! It didn't look as nice or have quite the perfect consistency yet it still tasted perfectly fine and so was the perfect companion to my grilled chicken and green veg that night. So don't stress if your first attempt is not perfect - give yourself permission to have a hit and miss experience and know the more times you try it will get easier.

- I know other people who cook it in their rice cookers and in the microwave.

How I use it is the same way I would use any other grain, I use it to accompany anything I would use rice or wheat for. It reminds me of couscous: it has a fluffy texture and is light to eat and pretty flavourless, perhaps with a mild nutty undertone. I have even seen it used in breakfast menus in a fruit salad mix.

So be brave, and add this super healthy ancient grain, (which dates back to the Inca civilisation) to your repertoire! Your body, like your car is only as good as the fuel in which you put in it!