Chipotle has introduced quinoa at its test kitchen in New York City, drawing a range of reactions on social media.
The restaurant chain is jumping on the superfood bandwagon that’s been promoted heavily by nutritionists in the past five years as a higher protein, lower calorie substitute for rice.
The brand claims that quinoa will give customers an option to add ‘an extra nutritional kick’ to their bowl, burrito or salad.
However, registered dietitian Liz Weinandy said that while the grain is a better source of protein, fiber and carbohydrates than rice, the swap it will only shave off around 100 calories from your meal.
Chipotle has introduced trendy superfood quinoa at its test kitchen in New York City, claiming that is can add ‘an extra nutritional kick’ to a customer’s order
‘Quinoa has a better carbohydrate profile because its lower in carbs so it doesn’t affect your blood sugar as much as rice does,’ Weinandy said.
Replacing the standard half-cup serving of the restaurant’s cilantro lime rice with quinoa won’t make a huge difference for occasional Chipotle eaters, she said.
Overall, quinoa packs the same amount of protein and significantly more fiber but has only a little over half the calories as the rice option.
A four-ounce serving of the white rice has 210 calories, four grams of fat, 40 grams of carbohydrates, one gram of fiber, and one gram of protein.
The brown rice option also has 210 calories, six grams of fat, 36 grams of carbohydrates, two grams of fiber and four grams of protein.
In comparison, a half-cup of cooked quinoa (185g) has 111 calories, two grams of fat, 20 grams of carbohydrates, two-and-a-half grams of fiber and four grams of protein.
‘Quinoa has a higher protein content so it’s good for vegetarians and it’s got more essential amino acids, which are big right now,’ Weinandy said.
Quinoa also has high levels of several vitamins and minerals including magnesium, manganese and folate.
It provides nearly 10 percent of the daily recommended allowance of iron, whereas white and brown rice provide only three and four percent respectively.
Some customers are thrilled by the nutty new addition while others were not impressed.
The new option is prepared by tossing red and gold quinoa with citrus juice, rice bran oil, cilantro and cumin.
It was introduced at Chipotle’s NEXT test kitchen in New York City on Monday.
‘We are recommending adding it to a salad, or in place of rice in another entrée,’ Chipotle PR director Chris Arnold told Daily Mail Online.
The brand has been working to win back customers after dozens of cases of E.coli were reported by Chipotle customers in Virginia in 2015, driving down sales significantly.
A woman tweeted about the addition: ‘I LOVE quinoa!!! I will be a new customer @Chipotle’
Another user poked fun at the brand by mentioning its E.Coli outbreak in 2015
In September it rolled out a queso option, and last month it brought on former Taco Bell CEO Brian Niccol.
Quinoa – pronounced keen-wah – was first cultivated over 5,000 years ago and was known as ‘the mother of all grains’ to the Incas in Peru.
The naturally gluten-free whole grain is a favorite among nutritionists for several reasons, one being that it’s a complete protein, meaning that it has all nine essential amino acids.
Rice, on the other hand, only has eight of the nine.
Additionally, quinoa is very high in fiber compared to other grains so it can reduce constipation and hemorrhoids and even lower heart disease risk by decreasing blood pressure and cholesterol.
The high fiber content also causes consumers to feel fuller longer, making it a good choice for people trying to lose weight.
One serving of quinoa provides nearly one-third of the recommended daily allowance of manganese, an essential element of development, metabolism and the body’s antioxidant system.