Nuts, seeds and grains
Quinoa on a GLP-1: protein, portions and how to actually eat it
About 4.4 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), cooked, for around 120 calories. A cup, cooked, about 185 g (6.5 oz), gives roughly 8 g of protein for 222 calories.
To reach 30 g of protein from quinoa alone you would need about 682 g (24.1 oz). On a small appetite that is often more than one sitting allows, which is why we pair it rather than chase the whole target from one food.
How quinoa sits on a GLP-1
Quinoa is a complete protein, which is true and also beside the point on a GLP-1, because cooked quinoa is about 4.4 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz) and a cup is 8 g. It is a grain for practical purposes: fluffy, slightly nutty, a little bitter if it is not rinsed, and filling. A big bowl of it under some vegetables is the kind of plate that leaves a small appetite full and short on protein. Half a cup under a real protein is where it belongs.
When your appetite is small
Cook a batch, keep it in the fridge, and use half a cup, about 90 g (3.2 oz), as the base of a small bowl with 100 g (3.5 oz) of shredded chicken, prawns or tofu on top. The quinoa is 4 g, the protein is 25 to 30, and the bowl is small enough to finish. Quinoa reheats well and takes any dressing.
Three ways to prepare it
A small bowl under shredded chicken
Half a cup of quinoa, cold chicken, cucumber, a yoghurt dressing. About 30 g in a lunch box, and it keeps two days.
Cooked in stock with an egg stirred through
Quinoa simmered in chicken stock, an egg whisked in at the end like a risotto. Warm, soft and about 12 g in a small bowl.
Quinoa porridge on milk
Cooked on milk with cinnamon and a spoon of milk powder. A different breakfast for someone tired of oats, at about 14 g a bowl.
What to eat it with
Chicken, prawns, tofu, an egg, feta, or tinned tuna, with lemon and herbs. Quinoa is the base, never the protein; the protein goes on top.
How it compares
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Energy per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quinoa | about 4.4 g | 120 kcal | this page |
| Brown rice | about 2.6 g | 120 kcal | See the page |
| Buckwheat | about 3.4 g | 90 kcal | See the page |
| Lentils | about 9 g | 115 kcal | See the page |
All figures are typical values for the food as eaten, cooked, not laboratory figures for a particular brand.
Australian, US and UK names
Quinoa in all three countries, white, red, black or tricolour, in dry packets and pre-cooked pouches. It is pronounced keen-wah. Most of it is grown in Peru and Bolivia, with some now grown in Australia.
Questions people ask
Is quinoa high in protein?
Not as eaten. Cooked quinoa is about 4.4 g per 100 g (3.5 oz), so a cup is 8 g, a little more than rice. It is complete, which is unusual for a grain, but its real job on a small appetite is to be a small base under 100 g of chicken, fish or tofu.
Your number comes first
Knowing what is in a food only helps once you know how much you are aiming for. The target is 1.2 to 1.6 g of protein per kg of your goal weight, not your current weight, which for most people is 90 to 140 g a day.
Work out your protein targetMore on eating well when your appetite is small: high protein foods for a small appetite, how much protein on a GLP-1, and every food we have written up. The whole system in five documents is the Keep Muscle Kit, A$47 / US$29 / £23.
EverStrong provides nutrition and strength coaching and education. It is not medical advice and does not replace your prescribing doctor.