FORBIDDEN BLACK QUINOA - The Eat-Clean Diet®

 

FORBIDDEN BLACK QUINOA - The Eat-Clean Diet®

What makes "keen-wah" so nutritious? We’ve got the scoop on quinoa nutrition facts.

Most people who have heard of quinoa think it’s a grain, and judging by how it’s pronounced, some assume it’s from the Orient.

But technically, quinoa is a seed, not a grain and it’s grown high in the Andes Mountains of South America.

Quinoa plants have been cultivated at altitudes of well over 10,000 feet and have been considered a superfood for at least a few millennia — in fact, the Incas cherished it as a superfood of their own.

Here in the U.S., quinoa has been discovered as a nutritious asset and enjoyed culinary popularity within only the last few years. Here’s why…

Eat one cup of quinoa (a single serving size), and you’ll consume:

• 220 calories (70 percent carbs, 15 percent fat, 15 percent protein)
• 40 grams of carbohydrates (13 percent daily value)
• 8 grams of protein (16 percent of daily value)
• 3.5 grams of fat (5 percent daily value with no saturated fat)
• A glycemic load (blood sugar spike) of only 18 out of 250
• 5 grams of fiber (20 percent of daily value)
• 20 percent of daily value of folate (various forms of Vitamin B)
• 30 percent of magnesium daily value (beneficial for people with migraine headaches); 28 percent daily value of phosphorous; iron (15 percent); copper (18 percent); and manganese (almost 60 percent)

Quinoa is stocked with life-sustaining nutrients all across the board, including all eight essential amino acids. There are other highly beneficial compounds, vitamins and minerals in this food that the Incas reverently called "chisaya mama" (mother of all grains).