Does it have Amaranth in it?

This is a little joke between my sister and me since my Mother discovered Amaranth and its amazing qualities to promote good health. I have three sisters and we are all interested in natural health and good nutrition, and often tell each other about our newest ‘discovery’ so we can all try it out. I don’t know which one of us told Mum about Amaranth, but it made quite an impression on her and she promptly started using it. Then I received a packet of it too!

My dear Mother has the wonderful ability to mix us all up, and in fairness, having four daughters all living close by and filling her head with each new great product we’ve come across, I excuse her forgetting which one of us said what. (poor woman) So when I received my packet of puffed Amaranth I was told how great it was and that I should use it in all my baking so the children would get its goodness too. And from then on, every time I presented any baked item to Mother Dear I would be asked “Did you put the Amaranth in it???”.

So what is Amaranth and why is it so fantastic?
This ancient grain was grown by the Aztecs, Mayas and Incas and ground to be used as a tasty flour. It has a slightly nutty, spicy flavour and gets very sticky when cooked. It is gluten free! The puffed seeds make a light addition to other flours, as well as heightening the nutritional content of any food it is added too. High in Calcium (approximately 60mg/half cup), low in fat, it contains high quality protein and is rich in Lysine.

Lysine is an essential amino acid (the building blocks of proteins), which means that it is essential to human health but cannot be manufactured by the body. For this reason, lysine must be obtained from food. Lysine is important for proper growth and it plays an essential role in the production of carnitine, a nutrient responsible for converting fatty acids into energy and helping to lower cholesterol. Lysine appears to help the body absorb and conserve calcium and it plays an important role in the formation of collagen, a substance important for bones and connective tissues including skin, tendon, and cartilage. If there is too little lysine in the diet, kidney stones and other health related problems may develop including fatigue, nausea, dizziness, loss of appetite, agitation, bloodshot eyes, slow growth, anemia, and reproductive disorders.

You can use it in any baking as a nutritional addition to pastries, cakes, muffins etc, or added to rice or millet dishes. The grains congeal when cooled, so keep it warm before eating. Sprinkle the puffed seeds over your breakfast cereal and salads too!
This tiny seed was cultivated over 5000 years ago as one of the staple foods for the indigenous peoples of South America, until the arrival of the Spanish, who banned the crop. The tribal people responded by hiding their crops and harvests high in the mountainous areas, and the seed became a valuable source of food.

Luckily, the seed plant was introduced as an ornamental to Europe during the 16th century, and from there it was propagated throughout the world. Especially in India, Amaranth has become an important nutritional supplement and is the main ingredient in the traditional Indian sweet called ‘laddoo’.

In my house I use the puffed grains mainly as an additive to muffins, but find that it goes well with an Alfalfa sandwich too. When my sisters come to visit I usually bake some muffins so we have some thing small and nutritious to eat with our cup of tea, and inevitably now, one particular sister and I have to ask each other “Does it have Amaranth in it?” while pointing decisively at the muffin in question…. :)

This is the typical breakdown of nutrients/100g quantity:
Water 9.84g ; Protein 14.45g ; Fat 6.51g (Saturated Fat 1.662 mg, Monounsaturated Fat 1.433 mg, Polyunsaturated Fat 2.891 mg) ; Carbohydrates 66,71g ; Vitamin C 4.2 mg ; Thiamin 0.08 mg ; Riboflavin 0.208 mg ; Niacin 1.286 mg ; Vitamin B6 0.223 mg ; Folate 49 mcg ; Food Folate 49 5.6 mcg ; Dietary Folate Equivalents 49 mcg ; Pantothenic Acid 1.047 mcg ; Calcium 153 mg ; Iron 7.59 mg ; Magnesium 266 mg ; Phosphorus 455 mg ; Potassium 366 mg ; Sodium 21 mg ; Zinc 3.18 mg ; Copper 0.777 mg ; Manganese 2.26 mg.