Quinoa Pudding

A little less than a year ago, I read about quinoa (pronounced "keen-wah")- considered to be one of nature's superfoods, quinoa is actually a seed closely related to spinach and beets. It is an ancient food but recently, I've been seeing and hearing about it in all health food/vegetarian blogs, diets and recipes. It is a complete protein, easy to digest, gluten-free and hypo-glycemic and also lower in carbohydrates. Since learning about this food, I've been hooked and try to make it on the reg.

I usually make it into a side dish for dinners but it is also good as a breakfast meal! I'd never tried it as a dessert or breakfast before until this week. The hubby, decided to get creative and found a "dessert" recipe made with quinoa. It was so good that the kids ate it for dessert and then requested it for breakfast the next morning and ate 2 huge bowls.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of water
3/4 cup quinoa
2 cups milk
2 ripe bananas
2 tablespoons white sugar
salt to taste
1/2 tablespoon of butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Rinse and drain quinoa. Bring water and quinoa to boil in saucepan over high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Blend together the milk, sugar, banana and salt in the bowl of a blender or food processor until smooth. Pour the milk mixture into the saucepan and mix with the quinoa.
Place pan over medium heat, cook and stir until mixture becomes thick and creamy, 5-10 minutes.
Remove from the heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla and serve warm.