I am always on the lookout for new and different side dishes.  Rice, pasta, potatoes and cous cous revolve constantly in my house (yes, there are veggies as well, but we must have our starches here!).

Susie Bohanan, our new staff Nutritionist, suggested that I try Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa).  I had never heard of the stuff, but off to the grocery store I went.  It took me a while to find it, but I did over by the cous cous.  I have read that while it is most commonly referred to as a grain, quinoa is actually a relative of leafy green vegetables like spinach and Swiss chard.

I’m reading off the package now and even before I cook the stuff, I am impressed.  These are the benefits that the package touts: 1.  The National Academy of Sciences calls Quinoa one of the best sources of protein in the vegetable kingdom.  2.  Quinoa provides all the essential amino acids in a balanced patter, set by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.  3.  Quinoa is a delicate grain which is less filling that other grains or pasta making it light, tasty and easy to digest.  4.  Quinoa has a variety of cooking options - side dish, in soups, in salads, as a pilaf or GET THIS even as a nutritional breakfast cereal.  5.Quinoa is 100% whole grain, so is good for people who follow a wheat-free/gluten free diet.  6.  Quinoa has a lower sodium content and is hight in calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, iron, copper, manganese, and zinc than wheat, barley or corn.

All of the above sounds good and well, but I will tell you that it could be the healthiest food in the world able to cure all my ills, aches and pains and if it doesn’t taste good, my family will firmly reject it.  Tonight we are having Grilled Round Steak Spirals, Quinoa with Sunday Roast Seasoning and I am making a large pot of greens (combination turnip, mustard and collard).  The Grilled Round Steak Spirals are an experiment.  I mixed feta cheese, cream cheese and Garlic Basil Seasoning and spread it on the Round Steaks and then rolled them up like a jelly roll and sliced them into spirals for the grill (I secured them with toothpicks).

I’ll let you know how it turns out.  But in the meantime, do you have some new food that you would like me to try?

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