In the recent years, we have seen a number of food types coming up. Some of them are highly nutritious while some are not. Today, we all are quite well aware of the good and bad foods that we should consume.
Quinoa is comparatively a new name in the health and nutrition industry. But, it seems that everywhere you turn quinoa recipes are showing up! It has gained enormous attention recently along with a number of questions popping up in our minds about it. How good it is? How nutritious is it? Is quinoa gluten free ? Is quinoa fattening? And so on goes the list of questions
Most people know that quinoa is a great vegetarian protein source, but is it quinoa fattening? This is one question that usually weight watchers. Nobody wants to gain weight especially when it has taken years of hard work to lose it.
Here’s the good news….
Quinoa is considered by health experts to have an ideal combination of oil, fat and protein. If you have ever heard that quinoa is fattening, it was probably by someone who had once heard that a cup of quinoa is 626 calories with a whopping 10 grams of fat. While this is true, what is being referred to here is UNCOOKED QUINOA in roughly the amount included in the average recipe that serves 4-6.
A cup of COOKED quinoa, has 222 calories, 8 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber and 3.5 grams of fat. The fat content is neither saturated nor trans fat. Rather, it is healthy mono- and poly unsaturated fat.
According to Quinoa 365 “Research has shown the oil component in quinoa, when compared to corn, sesame, soybean and cottonseed, has lower levels of saturated fat and higher levels of mono-and polyunsaturated fats.” It has a high concentration of linolenic acid, which is a good thing.”
If you are trying to loose weight, quinoa is perfect. What most people don’t understand is that you just don’t need to lose weight and loose skin. You need to lose bad weight and at the same time gain good weight (i.e. muscle) . This is where exactly quinoa helps you out.
Yes, in its raw form quinoa is gluten free. However, processed quinoa does have gluten in it. So, if you are someone who is allergic to gluten then it is best for you to buy raw quinoa from factories. Compared to other grains such as wheat, rice and barley, quinoa is gluten free and is absolutely safe to be consumed by with celiac disease.
Red Quinoa vs White Quinoa – which one?
More or less both the types offer the same amount of nutrition. Red quinoa is a bit crunchier when even after being cooked therefore it is usually preferred by most. White quinoa is best for seniors or those who don’t like chewy foods. White quinoa when cooked tastes and looks like white rice but red quinoa turns brownish in color.
Conclusion:
Quinoa is one of the the only grains (seed actually) that offers all nine amino acids. This means that quinoa is one of the best ways to get complete protein from plant sources. There are others as well but if you ask me, quinoa is the king. 
If you want to understand more about quinoa nutrition, check out this post on quinoa vs rice.
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