Health Benefits of Quinoa and Best Way To Eat It

Do you want to include a superfood in your diet? Well, look no further! Quinoa is what you want! It’s full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants – and it’s also rich in fiber, meaning you will feel fuller after eating it.

That’s not the best part about quinoa! You can have it so many ways you won’t believe how versatile this superfood is. In this article, we’ll tell you the best ways to eat quinoa and its many benefits.

What’s the best way to eat quinoa?

For breakfast

You can replace common breakfast foods like oats using quinoa. It’s perfect for a quick meal before going to work! Simply boil it for twenty minutes and enjoy your breakfast. You need a 2:1 ratio of water or milk to quinoa to have creamy quinoa early in the morning.

At the same time, you can mix quinoa with cinnamon, fruit, and nuts and add it to your morning yogurt. You’ll get plenty of protein and healthy fats to start your day. Of course, you can use many more things when you bring quinoa into the mix, like maple syrup and honey.

Simple and plain

A great way to eat quinoa is to eat it just like that. You only need 20 minutes to cook it; after that, you have a portion of great food to eat on its own or to the side of something. Some people find it weird to eat quinoa without anything else – but it’s just like rice or any other grain!

There’s no need to force yourself to eat plain quinoa, though. You can cook it alongside something else too. Add it to your favorite broth or add a few greens to the pot, and you’ll have something delicious for lunch or dinner.

Use it to stuff vegetables

Do you find yourself hungry after eating quinoa? You can use it to stuff your favorite vegetables! That way, you’ll have a meal that leaves you full and ready to rest for a while.

The best way to make this happen is to mix quinoa with garlic and seasoning to make it tastier, then put it inside a hollowed-out vegetable. People often follow this recipe using bell peppers and zucchini – but you can choose your favorite vegetables to try it out with!

You can also go the other route and mix it with vegetables, such as spinach. Quinoa is incredibly versatile!

Benefits of eating quinoa

1. High in fiber and incredibly filling

One cup of quinoa has a little over 5 grams of fiber. That’s a little bit more than your average cup of grains has to offer. For example, a cup of brown rice has a little over 3 grams of fiber.

You want to eat foods rich in fiber for plenty of reasons: for one, you want to improve overall healthiness in your gut to promote good digestion; you also want to eat foods that help you feel fuller (and anything rich in fiber will help you accomplish that goal), so you eat less.

2. Full of nutrients and other goodies

A cup of quinoa is full of iron, folate, magnesium, and zinc. It also contains vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that greatly benefit you. Eating quinoa also reduces body inflammation.

Studies suggest quinoa can also help you reduce the risk of several diseases as well as extend your lifespan. Of course, this comes as no surprise when you consider having a cup of quinoa is the same as having a cup of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

3. Perfect for people with gluten allergies

People who have celiac disease or suffer from similar ailments need to stay away from gluten. Fortunately, quinoa is gluten-free! You can use quinoa to replace other highly processed foods that people often eat as gluten alternatives.

As you know, quinoa is full of great things like fiber and other nutrients. That means you can skip the processed food (that often wreaks havoc on your body) with quinoa, and you can also use this food as an ingredient replacement in other meals.

4. A surprisingly good source of protein

One cup of quinoa has 8 grams of protein. That may seem like a little – but it’s high-quality protein! Quinoa is one of the few foods that include all nine essential amino acids your body needs (and cannot make on its own).

Of course, meat has a lot more protein per serving – but thinking like that is missing the picture. Quinoa is one of the few vegetarian- and vegan-friendly options to get your daily protein requirement. If you’re not vegan or vegetarian, it’s always a good idea to diversify your protein sources, so give quinoa a chance.

5. May improve your metabolic health

Several studies point out that quinoa is a superfood: it has lots of good stuff for you (great macronutrient and micronutrient ratio) and helps you eliminate the bad things from your body.

Research suggests eating quinoa can help you lower your bad cholesterol, reduce blood sugar, and keep triglycerides under control. It can also help you lose weight if you include it in your diet long-term.

Of course, quinoa can’t help you become healthy on its own. You have to include other foods rich in fiber in your diet and develop other healthy habits if you want to lose weight and have good metabolic health.

6. Easy to mix into your diet

As you now know, quinoa is incredibly versatile. You can pair it with pretty much anything and have it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You can have it in all three meals throughout the day and you wouldn’t get bored!

That’s the biggest benefit quinoa has to offer: you can incorporate this incredibly healthy food in any way you want it. That means you won’t have a hard time building the habit of eating quinoa.

What’s the second best thing about quinoa? You can’t get bored of it! Use it to stuff vegetables, pair it with meat, mix it with yogurt, or have it on its own!