Since arriving in Mexico almost one year ago (time is flying by) I have been crushing on a breakfast cereal. Normally I prefer to eat something savoury for breakfast, but puffed amaranth is what I eat when I want something different.
Have you ever eaten whole amaranth or the puffed kind? It has an very unique smell and taste. I have to admit that at first I wasn’t such a big fan of it, but now it has really grown on me. It is a great alternative to oatmeal, muesli, or other boxed morning cereals. I like to pair the little airy amaranth with some fresh fruits, nuts, a little honey, and either regular or non-dairy milks. Occasionally I’ll give my morning puffed amaranth cereal a twist by adding a spoonful of either peanut butter or almond butter and slices of banana.
The possibilities are endless and it is easy to customise to your individual tastes. Best of all is that you can have a healthy, low sugar, and gluten-free morning meal ready in no time. The only thing is that, like many other morning cereals, amaranth has a high glycemic index so you want to be careful as it can cause spikes in your blood-sugar.
You can purchase puffed amaranth at your local grocery store, health food market or online places like Amazon or Bob’s Red Mill. If for some reason you can only find the whole or un-puffed variety you can try puffing it yourself using this recipe by Edible Perspective.
Below is my basic recipe for puffed amaranth cereal. Feel free to adjust to your liking!
- one third cup of puffed amaranth*
- large handful of blackberries or berries of choice
- 2 mini bananas (or half of regular one), sliced
- 2 tablespoons of sliced almonds or nuts of choice
- sweetener of choice if desires (I add a little swirl of honey)
- milk of choice
- Place puffed amaranth in a bowl, add the fruit and nuts, pour in the milk, and add sweetener of choice. Enjoy!
• Amaranth can be a bit of an acquired taste, so if you've never eaten it before I suggest purchasing a small bag at first.
Have a fantastic weekend!!
Wow nancy, this is my kind of breakfast, easy, healthy and satisfying!
mmm i had amaranth when i was in mexico i loved it. i used to eat it with sweet yogurt and papaya.
I’ve never had amaranth! Looks lovely — I should definitely try this. Thanks.
We were introduced to alternative grains back in college but I don’t remember if they gave us some recipes too, at least I don’t remember preparing anything if amaranth. We get it quite easily in the market here and I have been thinking what I could cook with it but then I am always busy with other things that I forget about amaranth.
I am looking forward to try your breakfast cereal some time Nancy!
Never heard of Amaranth before but it sounds like a great, healthy alternative for breakfast!
I love finding ways to prepare these ancient grains.