An Incan word meaning 'mother grain', quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) has been grown in the mountains of Peru and Bolivia for thousands of years; it was for many years an integral ingredient in the Inca diet. Regarded as the Number 1 supergrain, the World Health Organisation (WHO) described quinoa as the closest to the ideal protein balance of any grain, being equal only to human breast milk, in protein quantity.
It has almost double the protein content of durum wheat - not bad when you consider that durum wheat has the most protein of all wheat germs! A 'complete protein' (it contains all nine essential amino acids), quinoa is high in B vitamins, vitamin E, and is a fantastic source of magnesium, iron, zinc, potassium, copper, phosphorus and calcium.
