Weight Control

Quinoa Weight loss:

Quinoa may have started as a health food trend, but it's become a staple in many health-conscious Americans' diets. And it's no surprise!quinoa is filling, has a neutral flavor that works in many types of dishes, and it's loaded with nutritional value. Quinoa also has some nutrients that might help you shed pounds, so it makes a welcome addition to weight loss diets -- as long as you watch your portion size.

Calories and Nutrients in Quinoa:

üQuinoa is moderately high in calories, so it's important to practice portion control if you want to lose weight. A cup of cooked quinoa is 222 calories, which might be as much as 19 percent of your daily calorie "budget" if you're following a 1,200-calorie diet. If you're not measuring your portion size, and accidentally eating more than one portion in one sitting, you might find it hard to shed pounds.

üBut while quinoa isn't low-calorie, you'll get lots of nutritional value that promotes health while you lose weight. A 1-cup serving of cooked quinoa offers significant amounts of several B-complex vitamins,nutrients important for a healthy metabolis, plus essential minerals, like phosphorus, that your cells use to make DNA. Quinoa also contains significant amounts of magnesium, copper, manganese, zinc and iron.

Serving Tips for Weight Loss:

*Practice portion control when you eat quinoa, and add vegetables to your meal to boost your portion size without adding tons of calories. Serve your quinoa topped with a nutritious kale pesto made from blended kale, almonds and extra virgin olive oil  for a healthy side dish full of leafy greens.

*Process raw cauliflower in your food processor until it forms a rice-like consistency; then mix it with your cooked quinoa to enjoy a larger portion size. Or make a filling quinoa salad for lunch by mixing cooked quinoa with roasted zucchini, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, eggplant, and a homemade lemon-basil vinaigrette.

*In order to lose weight, you need to take in fewer calories than you burn.Certain food properties can promote weight loss, either by boosting metabolism or reducing appetite.Interestingly, quinoa has several such properties.It’s high in protein, which can both increase metabolism and reduce appetite significantly.The high amount of fiber may increase feelings of fullness, making you eat fewer caloriesoverall.

*The fact that quinoa has a low glycemic index is another important feature, as choosing such foods has been linked to reduced calorie intake.Although there is currently no study that looks at the effects of quinoa on body weight, it seems intuitive that it could be a useful part of a healthy weight loss diet.