I'm not a big fan of the smoothie for breakfast. All that blending reminds me of my baby food making days and induces intense feelings of anxiety and avoidance behaviour. If I close my eyes I can still see what is left when a toddler with a spoon meets mashed banana, pureed apple and rice cereal. Spit and fruit everywhere. (I'm looking at you Raffy).
That's why I like amaranth for breakfast. It's a bit like porridge but it has a slightly crunchy almost sandy texture that I really like. Plus it's high in everything you need. It has more protein than oats (28%), loads of calcium, iron, fibre and manganese. If you were stranded on a desert island you'd be ok if you happened to stumble across a massive cache of amaranth.
I could easily eat my own bodyweight in amaranth – that's how good it is. We served this to our boot campers for breakfast and they didn't seem to gag, so hopefully you'll like it too.
That's why I like amaranth for breakfast. It's a bit like porridge but it has a slightly crunchy almost sandy texture that I really like. Plus it's high in everything you need. It has more protein than oats (28%), loads of calcium, iron, fibre and manganese. If you were stranded on a desert island you'd be ok if you happened to stumble across a massive cache of amaranth.
I could easily eat my own bodyweight in amaranth – that's how good it is. We served this to our boot campers for breakfast and they didn't seem to gag, so hopefully you'll like it too.
This recipe will serve four to six people, depending on how greedy they are. Soph and I can get through this much on our own, but it's not pretty. You can buy amaranth at health food stores or online. We get ours from www.2brothersfoods.com
To a heavy based saucepan or rice cooker add 1/2 cup of amaranth and 1 and 1/2 cups of water. Throw in your favourite spices – we use a cinnamon stick and some star anise. I would add vanilla too if we ever had any but one of the children is like Count Dracula with a bottle of vanilla essence so I've given up trying to keep it in stock. Cook for about twenty minutes or use the quick cook setting of your rice cooker. Check that it's not getting too dry and hook the spices out before you serve it because if there's one thing I like less than smoothies for breakfast, it's a giant mouthful of perfumed, crumbly bark.
We serve it warm with loads of fruit and some rice milk. Yum!
To a heavy based saucepan or rice cooker add 1/2 cup of amaranth and 1 and 1/2 cups of water. Throw in your favourite spices – we use a cinnamon stick and some star anise. I would add vanilla too if we ever had any but one of the children is like Count Dracula with a bottle of vanilla essence so I've given up trying to keep it in stock. Cook for about twenty minutes or use the quick cook setting of your rice cooker. Check that it's not getting too dry and hook the spices out before you serve it because if there's one thing I like less than smoothies for breakfast, it's a giant mouthful of perfumed, crumbly bark.
We serve it warm with loads of fruit and some rice milk. Yum!
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