Since you asked

Ok well Emily asked but in case anyone else was wondering....

What is Quinoa????

If you are a history person this is a grain that grows from the seacoast of Chili to the Mountain peaks of Peruvian Andes. The Inca's called this Quinoa meaning "the mother grain". 

This was such a sacred grain that the mighty Inca ruler planted the first row every year with a gold spade. 

Quinoa is high in protein and is very low in sodium and most importantly is GLUTEN FREE!!! 

For those of you that purchase rice pastas you must try this out! I originally started trying rice pasta but an entire box of spaghetti noodles cooked down to a spoonful every time and I felt like I was paying A LOT of money for nothing. However, one night we visited our favorite italian eatery and they had quinoa pasta so they made my dish with the fabulous grain!!! I was hooked! Quinoa holds its shape and doesn't go mushy.  I don't know if there are different brands... I am sure that there are. However This is my favorite:

As you can see we have our fair share of this stuff! We do not do pasta frequently at all anymore but I have a box on hand of each type of this grain so that I am prepared just in case! 

The noodles look like any other pasta noodle however these are a little more "orange" in color until they cook and then they are normal everyday pasta color. 

A box of this will run you $3 - $6 depending on what you are buying. You are definitely spending more than store brand pasta but you are also eliminating all the enriched bleached crud as well!!! 

Hope that helps with the question!!!