Amaranth is a healthy grain that people have cultivated for millennia. Initially, it comes from South America, which played a significant part in numerous Aztec ceremonies and rituals. As those were the native’s religious practices, the conquistadores banned them and forbade the cultivation of the amaranth plant as a whole. However, the health benefits of this fantastic grain ensured that Amaranth hadn’t been forgotten, and nowadays, it enjoys the return to the glory it deserves. As a healthy, low-calorie, gluten-free food, amaranth goes well with any dietary meal plan. In addition, it has a subtle, rather pleasant flavor, which allows including it in various dishes, both sweet and savory. Buy Certified Organic Amaranth from Food To Live in bulk to get this fantastic food delivered right to you so you can start trying out all those wonderful recipes.

Amaranth Grain: Benefits for Health and Diet

As a rich source of dietary fiber, amaranth helps maintain and promote the health of your digestive system. Don’t forget that fiber also soaks up some toxins from your body and naturally removes them. Therefore, this element is essential for supporting your health as a whole. Experts advise that adult men consume 30 grams of fiber per day and women – 25. A cup of cooked amaranth will give you over 5 of them. Amaranth is one of the best grain choices for vegans, athletes, and bodybuilders, as these groups of people require a higher intake of protein. It’s a low-calorie food loaded with various easily digestible amino acids, which makes it more beneficial than the majority of protein-rich foods. The amaranth grain contains more protein than even quinoa and twice the amount offered by brown rice. Amaranth is not technically a cereal grain, although we classify it as such. It’s a seed with nutritional properties similar to whole grains. It’s utterly gluten-free so that you can use amaranth flour as an alternative to wheat.

Amaranth: Nutrition Value

An essential reason everyone should consider eating amaranth is the exceedingly high nutritional value of this food. The vitamins and minerals it contains in rather large amounts include B vitamins, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Zinc, Phosphorus. Note that calcium and iron are rare in most foods, so people should consume products abundant in them at every opportunity.

Amaranth Recipes and Uses

You can use amaranth as a breakfast cereal or add it to salads and stews. In essence, you can include it in any recipe that requires grains. Amaranth cookies, bread, and crackers are delicious and 100% gluten-free. Cooking amaranth grain takes about 25 minutes. Put the seeds in a pot and add 2 ½ cups of water per cup of grain. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and let simmer for 20 minutes. Be sure to cover the pot.

How to Store Amaranth Grain

Store amaranth seeds as you would any grain, which means keeping them in an airtight container in a cool pantry. Amaranth doesn’t need to be refrigerated, but this will increase its shelf life to almost indefinite.