My Amaranth “Disaster” and How I Resolved It

Amaranth Porridge: Definitely not the world’s most photogenic food

I’ve been on a bit of a health kick recently, and just had a big order from Vitacost delivered yesterday. Among the tasty healthy things I ordered was a pound of amaranth seed. Now, I had never had amaranth before, but figured that it should be something like micro quinoa – an equally tasty “grain” that gives a similarly fluffy result when cooked. It’s also very healthy, with high levels of calcium, iron and magnesium and rich in protein and fiber and no gluten.

I was having a salad for dinner, and decided to cook a half cup of amaranth to sprinkle on top of my leafy greens. Following the directions on the bag, I measured 2.5 parts water to 1 part amaranth, added the grain to boiling water, covered with a lid and simmered on low heat for 20 minutes. The package also stated “or until grains are fluffy and water absorbs”.

Once 20 minutes had passed I took off the lid… and saw a gummy, porridge like mass in the pot. Hmmmm, this definitely will not be getting sprinkled on anything. Not what I expected!

But not wanting to throw food out, I decided to quickly add some ingredients to turn it into a real porridge and save it for breakfast. Here’s what I added:

• a handful of unsweetened coconut flakes
• a handful of chopped dried fruit – prunes and date crumbles
• about a Tbsp each of maple syrup and coconut butter (not to be confused with coconut oil!)
• some cinnamon

It actually came out very well in the end! I was worried that overnight it would become gummy and stiff, but it reheated quite well. So if you ever have a similar amaranth “disaster”, don’t sweat it and know that you can always turn it into a delicious and healthy breakfast.

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Resulting breakfast: I swear it tastes much better than it looks!