Quinoa is pronounced ‘Keen-wah’ not kwin-owa. <br /> <br />Quinoa comes from a species of Chenopodium or goosefoot plants (resembles goose plant) and is not actually a grain, but technically a seed obtained from a vegetable that belongs to a family of Swiss chard, spinach and beets. <br /> <br />Quinoa originated around 5,000 years ago in the Andes district of what is now Peru, Chile and Bolivia. <br /> <br />Quinoa is known by the Incas as ‘the mother of all grains’ or the ‘mother seed’ because of it’s nutritional benefits as well as the hardiness of the plant. <br /> <br />Unlike most other food crops, quinoa thrives with low rainfall; high altitudes (and therefore high radiation levels); thin, cold air; hot sun; subfreezing temperatures; and even poor, sandy, alkaline soil. In times of drought, when other crops in quinoa-growing areas fail, quinoa can actually increase its yields. The crop can thrive on as little as three to four inches of annual rainfall.
