Enjoy These Exotic Edibles

Remember when I was so excited about eggs? Or when I absolutely raved about steel cut oats?

Well, I'm still a believer of both, don't you worry, but I have added two new loves to the list. Check this out:

1. Edamame

They come frozen in packages like these. I get mine at Walmart.  $1.88 for a 14 oz pkg.

When you peel them open they look like this.

I discovered this Japanese gem about three weeks ago when my pops brought home a bag of these from the store. They come frozen, you just have to thaw them out a bit and then you're ready to munch. I'm on campus everyday from 8am til 6pm so I bring a little baggie of these to tide me over while I'm at school/work. I simply love them! What are they you ask? Pretty much they're just partially boiled soy beans. Yuck right? Wrong! They are oh so tasty and packed full of protein, fiber and several vitamins and minerals. Give them a try!

2. Quinoa

This has sufficed for my dinner for the past week. It's simply quinoa, bell peppers and onions. Can't get enough of it!

Quinoa is a complete protein. Let me repeat that for you. Quinoa is a COMPLETE PROTEIN! Ok so I don't know exactly what that means, but I do know that it has a balanced set of all nine essential amino acids which is pretty unusual for a plant food. Although it kind of appears to be a grain, it's actually a relative of leafy green vegetables like spinach and Swiss chard. Not bad eh?

Quinoa is extremely new to me and to be honest, I have no idea if I even cooked it right or if it tastes like it's supposed to, but either way... I love it and love the health benefits that come with. This, like steel cut oats, can be bought from those nifty WinCo canisters in the back :) I'm sure they're available elsewhere also.

So those are my two new loves. Edamame and Quinoa. Kind of exotic sounding eh? Have you tried them? How do you cook them? Haha anyone else have problems pronouncing them when you read them? 

Enjoy!

Love, Noelle