Snookums, quinoa is a grain. Granted a grain with high protein which makes it more valuable in some lifestyles compared to others. I think it's neither bad nor good. As far as carbs go, it's on the healthier side, but it can make blood sugars rise too fast in those who have issues with moderate glycemic foods. Maybe that is why you woke up starving? As for the quinoa tasting bland... I never toast it, but then I never toasted rice or couscous either. I'm just not that patient :) however I always toast my spices and then cook my dishes. I think it really pays off in my quinoa dishes which are just studded with all the spices. I also tend to layer my spices, for example we might do a black bean mango quinoa salad... So I flavor the black beans with cumin chili powder, I toss the chopped veggies with lime juice, and I season the quino with toasted Mexican oregano, smoked paprika, coriander and cumin, and a smidgen of tomato paste. Then I top with avocado and and a bit of fresh mango pico. If you are not supersensitive to moderate glycemic foods then give the quinoa another try. Green goos take a while to master. You'll find your perfect recipe in time. It took me forever to get a good ration of chia seeds in ours.

1) When you're hungry and wanting a snack, are you more likely to crave a sweet or salty/spicy snack? if it's the daytime, something salty/spicy... late at night after dinner, then usually something sweet. 2) The 3 junk-type foods that are hardest for you to resist: doritos LOVE tostitos with either a good con queso dip or guacomole-i can eat many calories with those! chewy candy--swedish fish, twizzlers, gummy lifesaves, etc. or peppermint patties. 3) Complete the following sentence: Do NOT bring any ________ into this house, because I can (will?) personally eat all of it . . . or at least waaay too much! i'm really good if it's in the house UNOPENED! lol. i usually can resist opening something, but once it's open, forget it-usually doritos, etc. 4) Although you may not eat at fast food restaurants a lot, what are your 3 favorite yummy-but-not-very-good-for you foods and from where? i really hardly ever eat fast food, but if i do i tend to order the 'wraps'... mcdonalds have them and wendy's have the chicken caeser wraps which i'll eat. i'm not big into burgers and only like the fries if they're HOT and CRISPY, which is often so hit and miss that i don't bother! 5) At nicer restaurants, what 2 or 3 foods do you have to force yourself not to order? i'll often pass on the french onion soup and choose something healthier even though i LOVE a good french onion soup crock with melted cheese and crusty bread!! i love all pastas, but will steer away sometimes to order something lighter. i love a really good carrot cake and if i see someplace has one that looks REALLY good, it's hard to pass! 6) Favorite comfort foods at home that are (sigh!) yummy but fat and/or calories-wise not that great for you or your waistline? i love making/eating pasta carbonara, but only do so occasionally. love creamy soups---buying fat free half and half makes me feels better but they still often have butter...(currently have broccoli and cheese soup leftover in the fridge--YUM!!) LOVE fruit pies/cobblers. 7) Favorite drink that you wish was "no calorie"? sweet drinks like margaritas sweet wines, like white zinfandel-love it! love chocolate coffee creamers---would be great if they were 0 calorie and still tasted great!! 8) What are 3 of your favorite "more healthful foods" to (try and) fall back on when the cravings hit? i guess popcorn is better than chips, but i usually don't really fall back on it... i buy those mini flavored rice cakes and feel better about those! i often will order fish or salad in restaurants- to either avoid fat or increase my veggie consumption! will order sorbet at the end of a meal when i'm really craving a dessert, but don't want the calories. 9) Favorite more healthful drinks? peppermint tea (with honey), icewater.

Very little water. I drink Crystal Light or Diet Coke, for the most part. No problem with my bones, never been dehydrated. As I understand it, caffeinated beverages do cause some dehydration in people who don't regularly consume them, though even then, it's not as though you lose all the benefit of the liquid. You just don't get as much benefit as if it had been plain water. I've heard (and I don't remember where, so I have no idea if it's reasonable, but it makes sense to me) that you can count about 75%-80% of a caffeinated beverage as water equivalent. I can't imagine that the body is so fussy about liquids. For centuries, people pretty much only drank alcohol (either by preference or because water wasn't reliably safe) and managed to stay alive.

I don't think 4 oz of H2O is quite enough. The tooth decay also depends on what you call 'juice'. Kool-aid is not juice (not that anyone here thinks so, but I have met folks who think it is) :-) Neither is HiC or Coke (again, I didn't realize how many 18-month olds out there are already hooked on soda until I became a mom). (btw DD has never had soda and she's 4 now) Our doctor recommends a total of 6 oz of fruit juice per day for my 4-year-old. We have diabetes in our family so we're probably a little overly careful, but our doctor has looked closely at some endocrinological studies. New studies she found, show that children who drink mostly juice and little water are at high risk for future obesity. Forgive my rambling, I haven't had my coffee so I may not be being short enough here :-) But another key thing is to only give beverages at mealtime or snacktime (be it juice or milk). And in-between meal beverage should be water. Then you're probably hitting just the right combination. (again, I see a lot of my friends who are moms, who let the children hang onto a drink of some sort all day long sipping throughout the day).