Teff- A Health Food with Tradition

The national food staple of Ethiopia is teff, but teff is rapidly becoming popular as a health food in the rest of the world. Many people call teff a grain, but it is actually a grass. The picture below is of a field of teff which I snapped a picture of on my last trip to Ethiopia:

Teff is gluten free and is very high in minerals. According to nutritiondata.com, 1 serving of teff has 62% of the daily value for fiber and contains a whopping total of 26 grams of protein. And for all you anemic people out there, it also has 82% of your daily value of iron. In Ethiopia, teff is the preferred ingredient used to make injera, the traditional bread:

Injera is a fermented bread, so it has a sour taste. It's delicious, but so heavy in minerals and fiber that you have to be careful with the quantities you eat if you're not used to it. I had to ration myself to keep my stomach from giving out on me during my first trip to Ethiopia! In addition to injera, teff is also used to make porridge and brewed as an alcoholic drink. I highly recommend experimenting with teff flour, it is super tasty!