Learn How to Use Quinoa for Weight Loss - 24 Mantra Organic

Unless you have been living under a rock, you may have already heard about the magical powers of quinoa for weight loss. But how does it even work in helping you lose weight? Rather, does it even work, or is it just a crazy fitness trend that will soon die out? How much quinoa can you eat in a day? And how does one add quinoa to their plate?

If you are serious about incorporating quinoa into your diet and losing weight while at it, this post will make things easier for you. Here’s everything that you need to know about quinoa for weight loss.

Quinoa: Nutritional Facts

Before getting into the specifics of how quinoa helps for weight loss, we first need to understand its composition. The following table outlines the nutrition value of 100 grams of cooked quinoa:

How Does Quinoa Help for Weight Loss?

Quinoa has been hailed as the sacred grain for a reason – it is loaded with health benefits. Amongst the many advantages of consuming quinoa, weight management is one of the main reasons for its stellar reputation.

To lose weight, one needs to consume fewer calories than they burn. Additionally, high protein and dietary fibres may also contribute to better appetite management. Another important feature is the glycaemic index and load. We shall explore these factors one by one and check out why quinoa for weight loss works:

Low Calorific Value

As one can see from the table above, 100 grams of cooked quinoa supplies a mere 120 calories, making it a low-cal grain. Thus, even if you are to consume 3-4 servings of quinoa, you would stay in a calorie deficit and consume less energy than calorie-dense foods like bread and pasta.

Better Blood Glucose Level Management

The glycaemic index (GI) of quinoa is 53, while its glycaemic load is 10. Due to its low GI and GL score, quinoa is less likely to cause a sugar spike in your blood levels, and hence, you will be likely to crash from your diet. Additionally, quinoa for weight loss reduces your cravings for refined foods and sugar-loaded products.

Satiety and Fullness

Given that 100 grams of cooked quinoa contains 2.8 grams of dietary fibres and 4.4 grams of protein, it is safe to say that it is an excellent source of plant-based proteins and fibres. Including these micronutrients in your diet promotes satiety and fullness as it slows down the digestive process by binding with water, cholesterol, and fats. Thus, you not only feel fuller upon consuming them, leaving no room to overeat, but you also feel full for a longer duration.

Vitamins, Minerals, and Antioxidants

Apart from being a complete protein, quinoa is also loaded with vitamins and minerals that improve nutrition absorption, boost metabolism, and help you lose weight quickly. Here the vitamins and minerals in 100 grams of cooked quinoa for weight loss:

How to Use Quinoa for Weight Loss?

The sheer versatility of quinoa makes it one of the easiest superfoods to incorporate into your diet. Plus, despite being a healthy food, it is quite tasty and pairs well or substitutes other grains almost seamlessly.

Here are a few ways to tweak up your diet with quinoa for weight loss:

1. Replace white rice or bulgur wheat with quinoa and have it with a side of vegetables or lentils.
2. Cook and cool quinoa, and use it as a base for your salads.
3. Add cooked quinoa to bulk up and thicken your smoothies.
4. Make quinoa stuffing in capsicum and zucchini boats. You can even make quinoa burritos.
5. Quinoa cooked in milk or paired with low-fat yoghurt can be an excellent breakfast. Alternatively, you can mix quinoa and oats for a filling meal.

Quinoa Recipe Inspirations

Now that you know the many ways to include quinoa for weight loss, here are a few recipe inspirations that can help you explore further:

• Quinoa Upma
• Quinoa Dosa
• Quinoa Pulao (Chicken or Veg.)
• Quinoa Buddha Bowls
• Berry Quinoa Smoothie
• Quinoa Caesar Salad

By now, you may have an in-depth understanding of quinoa for weight loss. However, do keep in mind that organic quinoa tends to be healthier and nutritionally denser than regular quinoa. Hence, you can improve the uptake of its nutritional value and health benefits by switching to organic quinoa!

Try 24 Mantra Organic’s Quinoa and savour the taste of organic goodness.