If you are concerned about what you eat, you’d be interested to know about the superfoods available in the market. For those of you who are new to the term, superfoods are foods promoted to a more prestigious status because they offer high levels of desirable nutrients. These nutrients are often linked to the prevention of diseases (tell anyone that it prevents cancer and the product will fly off the shelves) or are believed to offer several simultaneous health benefits that go beyond its listed nutritional value.
If you’ve been to an organic store, you will see many items promoted as a superfood. It’s like the gathering of Emmy Awards nominees in the form of food, in one store.
There are many types of superfoods you will spot in the market, but how do they rank in terms of nutrition, ease of cooking and price?
We are going to check it out here!
Ding, ding, ding—the fight is on.
Our top contender is millet, quinoa and chia seeds and, though this is not a superfood, it is Malaysia’s superfood—rice.
Millet vs Rice
Before placing them side to side in this battle for the best, we need to know the nutrients present in both millet and rice.
Let’s start with the latter.
Nutrition – Rice is high in carbohydrates (28%) and low in protein (3%). It is also a powerhouse of several essential micronutrients like Vitamin B, Manganese, and Iron which is great for the body. However, it might not be the grain of choice if you are looking to reduce your carb intake to lose a few grams of weight.
Now, millet is high in dietary fibre, rich in protein, and essential minerals needed for our body—it has vitamins (B6, C, E, and K), potassium, phosphorus, iron, and magnesium. The dietary fibre consists of both soluble and insoluble. The insoluble fibre feeds good bacteria in your digestive system and adds bulk into stools, so your body absorbs nutrients better and also helps reduce constipation.
You’d be surprised to know that millet’s nutritional value similar to that of fruits and vegetables.
If you compare the two, millet has more dietary fibre than rice. It is the best food for people who want to lose weight.
Ease of cooking – We’d have to rank this as equal because you can cook millet like you cook rice, using a rice cooker. There is also instant food made from millet that makes cooking it a breeze.
Price – Millet is about 10% pricier than rice. 1kg of white rice is approximately RM13, while 1kg of millet is around RM16. If you are looking for value in terms of nutrition, millet does pack a punch.
Millet vs Quinoa
This next contender is a heavy-weight champion. Despite millet’s generous protein content, quinoa offers even more and with all nine essential amino acids. If you didn’t know, amino acids are little parts that make up the bigger protein molecule.
However, you must consider the breakdown of other vitamins and minerals in both millet and quinoa. Now, there are a few types of millets, but let’s look at finger millet (because the part where it is harvested look like fingers), as it has double the calcium content in quinoa. Calcium is great to build strong bones.
That is not all, both millet and quinoa contain high amounts of fibre, magnesium, and antioxidants, which help fight off disease-causing free radicals.
From here, you can deduce that the qualities of both millet and quinoa are almost the same, just that millet has more calcium and quinoa has the complete set of amino acids.
Ease of cooking – Both can be sprouted overnight in the rice cooker to get the best of its nutrients, and cooked like how you would with rice.
Price – There are many similarities between quinoa and millet, but the price is not one of them. 1kg of quinoa is approximately RM30, 1kg of millet is about RM16. That is almost double the price!
Millet vs Chia Seed
Last, but definitely not least, is chia seed—one of the top superfood items that have been celebrated by many for the past few years. However, they are considered ancient food because it was a staple food among the Aztecs and Mayans. They are tiny, measuring about one to two millimetres per seed, but they can triple in size when soaked in liquids like water or milk.
Both chia seeds and millet provide the same amount of protein, but millet has double the carb content. Therefore, you can trust millet to keep you going for longer. Millet is a good source of thiamin, niacin, phosphorus, iron. Chia seeds are a great source of calcium, phosphorus and omega-3 fatty acids.
From here, you can see that millet provides more minerals than chia seeds.
Ease of cooking – Unlike millet, chia seed prep is a little more unconventional as it expands to become a jelly-like substance in water. While it is a perfect addition to baked goods, smoothies and desserts, you can’t have it as a meal. You can’t wash and let it cook in a rice cooker. It cannot replace rice, unlike millet and quinoa.
Therefore, if you are looking for a meal to replace your rice, chia seeds are not it. Otherwise, you can add it as a condiment to your salads.
Price – 1kg of chia seeds is approximately RM30, while 1kg of millet is around RM16. Just like quinoa, chia seeds are almost double the price compared to millet.
Ease Millet into Your Meals Seamlessly with Lif On Millet
If you are looking for a healthy swap for your family mealtimes, whole grain finger millet, that is not only a superfood but a super cereal, is the answer. Now, instead of using its flour to make dough to be made into a meal, that process is cut with Lif On’s millet series, in which all millet grains used are organic and Non-GMO (genetically modified organism).
Check out these three products!
Lif On Millet Bihun
Firstly, you must know that this is no common bihun. It is made from finger millet grain, also known as ragi, and parboiled rice (adding special rice that has been steamed and then milled with rice husks called ‘parboiled rice’, the sugar content is greatly reduced). There is no added sugar, just pure goodness from calcium, vitamin B1 and iron that the body needs. It is also high in fibre which helps regulate cholesterol.
Replace your bihun with Lif On Millet Bihun and eat your stir-frys and bihun soup with joy, knowing that you made a healthier carb-swap.
Lif On Millet Plus Brown Rice Cereal Drink
Have you ever forgotten your meal? It is sometimes amazing that we live in the land flowing with delicious food on our left, right and centre, but we still can accidentally forget to eat because life can be dizzyingly busy.
Now, when things are going crazy at work and at home, stop and re-energise.
This cereal drink with the ‘𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗟𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗘𝗥 𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗜𝗖𝗘’ certification by the Ministry of Health, is a great meal replacement when you do not have time to sit down for a proper meal. It also makes for a delicious breakfast meal without fake stuff like thickeners, artificial flavouring and colouring or preservatives. All you get is protein, iron, calcium and fibre to power up your day.
Lif On Millet Flakes
Do you know that cereals are loaded with sugar, sugar and more sugar? Now, it is true that cereal does give you energy for the day because of that sugar boost—but hear this, there are better and more balanced ways to get that energy pumping. These millet flakes are made from whole grain millet with no added colour, no preservatives and additives. It is power-packed with vitamins and minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, vitamin B1 and of course, fibre.
If your children love cereal, they are going to love this. And you can rest assured that they are consuming the healthier version of cereal every morning.
Lif On’s range of millet meal varieties allows you to ease millet into your meals seamlessly.
Hold Up, There’s A Promo!
Because you are a Motherhood.com.my reader, you are entitled to an additional RM5 OFF when you get the Lif On Millet Combo, inclusive of Lif On Millet Bihun, Lif On Millet plus Brown Rice and Lif On Millet Flakes! Collect RM5 OFF at their Lazada Online Store or by applying the coupon code lifon5 when you purchase the Lif On Millet Combo via their official website.
This is proof that superfoods do not always come with a hefty price tag.
Ready to make an affordable yet healthy swap? Here’s to a healthier lifestyle together!
For more information, visit Lif On’s official website, Facebook or Instagram pages.