Indians love rice. Most of our lunches are chawal and sabzi , pulav or biriyani. If we have something else for lunch we are left feeling unsatisfied.

Rice contains a certain amount of anti-nutrients like phytates, which makes it hard for minerals to get absorbed into our bodies. Unlike quinoa, rice itself is what we call an incomplete protein, which means that it doesn’t contain all nine essential amino acids or it doesn’t have it in sufficient quantity to meet the needs of our body. You have a million reasons to substitute rice with the super grain quinoa.

For those looking to lose weight, consider incorporating quinoa in your diet instead, as it’s a complete protein. It also has iron, magnesium, protein, antioxidants, minerals and fiber content and is gluten free. A healthy diabetic diet includes the intake of fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

Even when you compare brown rice and quinoa – the later one wins at having more protein and nutrition. Quinoa has a much higher and healthier number of carbs than rice, although they are both a high source of carbohydrate. Quinoa is three to four times more nutritious compared to rice.

If you’re main focus is creating a calorie deficit then quinoa helps you feel full at the cost of far fewer calories, and is perfect for portion control. The USDA nutrient database  shows that one cup of cooked quinoa has 222 calories, 8 grams of protein, 39 grams of carbohydrate, 4 grams of fat and 5 grams of fiber.

Office can be stressful and it is necessary to eat well when you have a busy schedule. The plus point of quinoa is that it is extremely easy to cook and prepare, not very different from rice and can be combined with anything you eat with rice –curries, sabzi, chicken or stews. You can even make biryani with it!