Teff: The New Super Food You Need to Try

Diana Vilibert   February 5, 2014

With fans like Gwyneth Paltrow and Victoria Beckham, it’s no wonder that teff is being touted as the next big super food. And Hollywood A-listers have good reason to love it—here are seven things you need to know about teff.

•     It’s gluten-free, and can even be ground to make a flour alternative. Use it to make pie crusts, cookies and breads.
•     It’s packed with protein and vitamin C (a nutrient not usually found in grains).
•     It far surpasses other grains when it comes to calcium content—a cup of cooked teff will get you as much calcium as half a cup of cooked spinach.
•     Teff is high in resistant starch, a type of starch that doesn’t break down into sugar. Instead, it passes into the large intestine largely undigested, making it great for appetite control, regulating blood sugar, and improving bowel function.

    Teff has been around for over 4,000 years and is native to Ethiopia. If you’ve ever eaten at an Ethiopiant restaurant, you’ve probably tried it—when ground into flour and fermented, it’s called injera, a spongy, pancake-like bread used to scoop food.

    It’s tiny—about the size of a poppy seed. Three thousand grains of teff weigh just one gram.

    Stocking the cupboards? White teff has a milder flavor, while the darker varieties will give you an earthier taste. Try cooking it on its own with water, or add it to soups for a nutritional boost.source: www.care2.com