Why Quinoa...
Every expert recommends it… and chefs love it!
Quinoa Now
An interesting trend has been that athletes started to eat quinoa because its healthy nutrition, balanced caloric content and easy digestion, that makes it perfect for the active modern life. Lebron James posted that a dish of Quinoa with salmon was the perfect lunch before a game…
Nowadays Quinoa is available in almost all supermarkets and health or natural stores in the US. It is very easy to cook and combines well with any other foods and ingredients. It will leave you feeling satisfied but not stuffed after eating it. Quinoa goes well in any salad and can make for a great side dish or the key element in a veggie burger. We recommend a warm delicious quinotto at night, or even incorporating quinoa into a dessert. It also can be eaten for breakfast or as a snack. Once we counted the variety of Quinoa presentations and ready to eat products in a US supermarket: there were 65 of them, from quinoa bread, cookies, bars and chocolates, to pasta, polenta, wafers, salads and croquettes.
Quinoa is definitely well positioned to take on an increasingly important role as one of the staple foods of the future. Quinoa is a perfect food for for children, adults, and the elderly. Next time you go to the supermarket, buy a bag of quinoa and try its light nutty flavor in the thousands of quinoa recipes on the internet or on this page.
Many athletes, movie stars, health conscious people, celiacs, vegetarians, and vegans eat quinoa every week! Millennials love quinoa in both salad bowls and mixed in with their poke. You should too! Why? #SuperfoodsPeru Quinoa is a non-GMO, gluten-free seed that distinguishes itself as being a “perfect” protein because it has all the nine essential amino acids, is high in fiber, and possesses important nutrients and antioxidants. According to NASA and FAO, quinoa is one of the best foods in the world!
Quinoa’s recent history
The story of the international Quinoa boom may start with NASA identifying the best foods in the word for the astronauts to eat while on long space trips. Quinoa was included in that list and started to be studied more and more. One American, John Becker, was the first pioneer in falling in love with Quinoa and traveled to the Andes in South America where Quinoa has its origins. He started his company Quinoa Corp in 1989 and was instrumental to get this marvelous seed to the American general market. Vegetarians and Celiacs were some of the first Quinoa consumers, and the product started to be in many health and natural stores, and from there it jumped to almost all supermarkets.
In 2008, Oprah discovered Quinoa and developed many recipes for her cleanse diet based on the marvelous Peruvian seed. Martha Stewart and Dr. Oz have also been key promoters of Quinoa.
Quinoa’s International Year
The United Nations declared 2013 as the International Year of Quinoa. FAO had already identified the high quality nutrition of Quinoa, but at that moment Quinoa was considered as a key food that could save humanity from hunger and malnutrition. Close to 200 universities and research centers all over the world started to study Quinoa and which varieties could grow in different environments. The foreseeable demand of every human in the world consuming quinoa as a staple of their diet would need a huge increase in the supply which for many years has been concentrated in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador.
The huge interest in Quinoa also encouraged chefs around the world to develop different dishes to include in their menus. The price of Quinoa jumped in 2014 and this increase in some way prevented the mass use of Quinoa and made it a niche product. Nowadays the supply has stabilized with the real demand. Prices are competitive allowing Quinoa to be available for the mass market and for use in many ready to eat presentations.