(Eat Healthy & Thrive) Amaranth Breakfast Porridge

Start your day off moving in a healthier direction! Power up and have energy to spare.

What is Amaranth?
Amaranth is often lumped into the “grains” category, but it is in fact the seed of a cereal-like herb. It’s amazingly versatile and deserves its place as a highly regarded “superfood.”

Amaranth has an extremely high protein complex, with unusually concentrated amounts of lysine, an amino acid rarely found in plants. A combination of amaranth and other low-lysine grain, such as wheat, creates a very high amino acid profile, even higher than those found in meats and other animal products.

Amaranth contains more calcium, and the supporting calcium cofactors (magnesium and silicon) than milk. The calcium found in amaranth is therefore highly absorbable and easily utilized by the body.

A gluten free food, amaranth is also easily digested, making it especially useful for very active people, vegetarians, and pregnant and breastfeeding women.

How to use Amaranth-
Amaranth can be cooked in the same way as rice. This is a good way to try amaranth, if you’ve not eaten it before. To obtain optimum nutrients from this grain, it is recommended that amaranth be soaked for 8 -10 hours.
Cooked Amaranth has a slightly sticky texture. Be careful not to overcook it, as it can become gummy.

Amaranth Breakfast Porridge-

Ingredients:
•1 cup amaranth
•3 cups water
•1-2 Tbsp lemon juice (optional)
•Toppings of your choice: ground flax seeds, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, chopped raw nuts, fresh fruit, unsweetened coconut flakes, goji berries, nut butter, non-dairy milk, cinnamon


Directions:
In a medium bowl, place water, lemon juice, and amaranth and soak overnight (on countertop or fridge) After amaranth has soaked, rinse under cold water and drain. In a small pot, add soaked amaranth and 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in your favorite toppings.