Are You Keen on Quinoa?

I've heard the word quinoa pronounced many different ways but here's the deal, it's KEEN-wah.  I like it when people say kwah-NO-ah, though; that's just fun.

Anyway, quinoa is healthy and really getting popular in the U.S. these days, which is neat because it's been used in South America for thousands of years.  Dining's executive chef Vaughn Vargus likes quinoa so much that he even included it in a culinary competition he was in last year. Here's Chef Vaughn providing a cooking demo at the Zone.

UC San Diego Dining's executive chef Vaughn Vargus, CEC, CCA

Why eat quinoa?

• it's yummy
• it's higher in protein than most grains**
• it can be eaten all sorts of ways
• it's vegan
• it's gluten-free for those who need gluten-free options
• it's filling

**Technically quinoa is not actually a grain. The Whole Grains Council says that, "Botanically, quinoa is related to beets, chard and spinach, and in fact the leaves can be eaten as well as the grains." Read more about it here.

Where can you get some quinoa on campus right now? At Roots! Check out the Half Dome, a
multi grain burger made of red quinoa, barley & cornmeal on a vegan roll.