Keen-wah!

Guess what... another superfood post.  I was mispronouncing Quinoa- I was saying "kee-a-know-ah" but it's "keen-wah!"  I bought a big bag of it at Costco and looked for recipes online and I also checked my good old "Better Homes & Garden Cookbook" and found a recipe there that sounded interesting.  The recipe is HERE but if you can't get to that link I've copied it below.  Jeff and I both loved it and thought it seemed like a very gourmet way to eat quinoa.  If you're worried about fat from the avocado, it can easily be made without the avocado.  I wouldn't omit the feta cheese, though!  I bought the low-fat variety of feta.  


Greek Quinoa and Avocado Salad

Ingredients
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained* 
1 cup water 2 roma tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 cup shredded fresh spinach
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion (1 small)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
Spinach leaves
2 ripe avocados, halved, seeded, peeled, and sliced**
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions
 1. In a 1-1/2-quart saucepan combine quinoa and water.
Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
2. Transfer quinoa to a medium bowl.
Add tomato, spinach, and onion; stir to combine.
In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, oil, and salt.
Add to quinoa mixture; toss to coat.
3. Place spinach leaves on 4 salad plates.
Arrange avocado slices on spinach leaves.
Spoon quinoa mixture over avocado slices.
Sprinkle with some of the feta.

Makes 4 main-dish servings.

Note *Rinse quinoa thoroughly before cooking to remove a bitter substance called saponin that coats the seeds.
Note **Brush avocado slices with additional lemon juice to prevent browning.

Why is quinoa good for you?  I had to answer this for Jeff.   "Quinoa is very high in protein and has every one of the nine essential amino acids. These nine essential amino acids are the ones that your body cannot synthesize in quantities sufficient to sustain good health, so they need to come from food sources. Qunioa is the only plant-based protien to contain all 9 essential amino acids. Many people think that quinoa is a type of grain, but it's not. Quinoa is actually the seed of a plant related to spinach. This food staple is grown in the mountains of Ecuador and was once called "the gold of the Inca's" because of how it increased stamina."