Quinoa falls into the category of super-nutritious foods from the ancient grains group, that qualify as low calorie if you watch your portions. Quinoa is the type of food that you use as a rice substitute in dishes, but also temper the portions with things like sauteed kale or steamed broccoli.
Quinoa is an ancient grain but is also one of the few sources of complete protein based entirely on plant sources. This means that quinoa as a low calorie food gives you all 9 of the essential amino acids your body needs. Again, you have to watch your portions with quinoa, because it has slightly more calories than white or brown rice.
Quinoa proves itself to be a great companion, and again, a rice substitute, for healthier Asian food dishes made at home. It lets you give up the white rice or greasy fried rice while having something else healthy and filling to have with the protein, vegetables and sauce in the dish.
For dishes where you are replacing white or brown rice, you can optimize your calorie intake by cutting the quinoa amounts in the recipe by 50%, and by bulking up the quinoa with vegetables or dark green leafy options like kale or spinach.