Protein Content Quinoa vs Rice

Looking for ways to increase the protein content in your daily meals? One way to do this is to look for food alternatives with higher protein content compared to what you are currently eating. One excellent example is to substitute white or brown rice with Quinoa.

Although Quinoa is a little more expensive than rice, not only is it as delicious or more delicious than rice, it contains more protein. For a 100g serving (that’s about ½ cup) of Quinoa there is 13g of protein (according to the nutrient label on my box) while long-grain cooked brown rice has almost 3g of protein. White rice would have slightly less than that of brown rice, but not by much. Plus whether you buy organic or non-organic seems to affect the amount of protein found in rice. I guess the same would be true for genetically modified rice. In California, a group wants food labels to indicate if the product is genetically modified. Sounds like a good idea and it would be nice to know how much of the food we eat has been genetically modified. Probably a lot!

As a comparison I checked out nutritiondata.self.com and they had different numbers. According to them cooked Quinoa has 8g of protein per 185g serving size while uncooked Quinoa has 24g per 170g serving. This made me wonder and come to the following conclusion: The exact amount of protein per serving size based on different sources can be confusing and difficult to determine, but it is obvious that Quinoa still contains more protein than rice, white or brown.

It is also very quick to prepare and there are many recipes for Quinoa or you can create your own. It takes about 20 to 30 minutes to cook. Just set it on low heat and while you are preparing your salad and cooking your meat, your Quinoa will be ready. I did that last Sunday. I set my Quinoa on low heat and added some fresh cherry tomatoes for flavor and more nutritional value. By the time I made my salad and barbecued some chicken, the Quinoa was all cooked and ready to eat.

If you are into weight training, are an athlete or looking for healthier food alternatives, the higher protein and nutrient content of Quinoa compared to rice is an alternative that is worth trying for a change.