Facts and Tips about Quinoa!

Quinoa is a popular item in health food stores across the country. Every day, people are choosing to incorporate this heart-healthy food into their diets. As a public service, I'd like to share 10 things I think you should know about quinoa.

Ten Facts and Tips About Quinoa

1. Many people think quinoa is a grain, but it’s actually the seed of a plant that’s closely related to chard. These amino acid-rich seeds are not only very nutritious, but also super disgusting!

2. “Quinoa” contains the word “no,” which is what everyone says when asked if they want seconds.

3. If you eat one cup of quinoa (one serving), you will:
    * consume 220 calories, 40 grams of carbohydrates and 8 grams of protein.
    * want to take back all the bad things you said about couscous.

4. The word “quinoa” comes from the French words “qui" meaning "who" and "noa" meaning “really likes this crap?”

5. If you’re in a fancy restaurant and want to order their highly acclaimed quinoa dish, be sure to pronounce it correctly: keen-wah. Actually, it doesn’t matter—you’ll never find yourself in that situation.

6. Quinoa’s Official Slogan: “Just for the taste of it! Okay, just for the health benefits.”

7. The Incas considered quinoa a sacred food and referred to it as the “mother seed.” They valued quinoa as much as gold. Oh, did I mention that the Incas also sacrificed young children?

8. Nobody in the history of the world has ever uttered the phrase, “May I have that fantastic quinoa recipe?”

9. Quinoa cooks very easily, in 15 minutes, the same time it takes to bake a delicious pepperoni pizza. Just saying.

10. Quinoa by itself tastes rather bland. You may want to add some olive oil or butter, which will make it taste only slightly less shitty.