Great Grains: Amaranth

Spring has sprung! Well...sort of...that's what it feels like these last few days. Last week was another story. I think it snowed a little bit every day...just to anger me. For now the sun is shining, snow removal is in the works (yes you heard me right) and it's 5*C, woohoo! I'm itching to get back on my bike and hit some trails. Le sigh. At least Spring is making promises.  Let's just pretend it's not supposed to snow tomorrow mmmmk?

Good. First I have some news to share. I've finally created a facebook fan page for edible sound bites. If you'd like to follow me you can find the link to the side of the page under the Subscribe & Follow heading. Please follow, I'd love to hear your feedback if your a fan! 

The second bit of news is a little more exciting; I've been choosing from a select few to appear in the next FOODIE iPad Cookbook App. My recipe for Maple Cinnamon Almond Butter will be featured along with 40 other recipes. I'm not sure how much info I can giveaway, but the FOODIE cookbook app has previously been featured in USA Today, Mashable, and Consumer Reports. I'm super excited! I will definitely post a link when I have one.  

Now let's get to the next post in my gluten free Great Grain's series. If you aren't caught up yet here are my previous posts on Buckwheat and Millet. 

Say hello to Amaranth.

Amaranth Notes

This tiny little seed is one highly nutritious gluten free grain. While it may look like millet or quinoa, I assure you it's not. Amaranth is actually quite smaller in size and whiter in colour. We're talking teeny tiny! It has a slightly sticky texture when cooked the traditional way in liquid, is nutrient rich, and high in fiber. It also has a high concentration of lysine, an essential amino acid (one of the building blocks of protein). For a bit of historical fun, it dates back 8,000 years to when it was used by the ancient Aztecs as food staple.

Personally it's one of my fave gluten free grains. I love the texture, taste and versatility of it. Even more so I love it's nutrition. You've gotta love slow digesting carbs for stable energy and blood sugar.

Nutrition Facts

Here is the nutrition profile for 1 cup of cooked amaranth (1/4 cup dry):

With high amounts of protein, fiber, calcium, lysine, iron, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, vitamin B2 and folic acid you can't go wrong. It actually contains more protein than any other gluten free grains and more protein than wheat. In fact, the protein content of amaranth is similar to the proteins found in cow's milk. It's a complete protein, meaning it contains all essential amino acids, including lysine, which is lacking in most other grains. Bottom line - amaranth is an excellent plant source of high quality proteins that are well absorbed when eaten. Take that quinoa! Just kidding, I still love you quinoa.

With a low glycemic index, amaranth is also slightly lower in carbohydrates than other gluten free grains.

Where To Buy Buckwheat

Like other gluten free/ specialty grains it's not easily found in grocery stores. I find it in the healthy food store or of course Whole Foods and specialty grocery stores like Nature's Emporium. Here the link to buy online from one of my favourites Bob's Red Mill; buy organic amaranth online.

Preparing and Cooking

Just prior to cooking, rinse and strain your amaranth throughly in cold water until the water runs clear to remove any dirt. To cook, boil 1 cup of amaranth in 2 1/2 cups of liquid such as water, vegetable or chicken stock, or milk of any kind (cow's, coconut, almond etc). Reduce heat and simmer for 18-20 minutes until tender. Fluff with a fork a serve. Take care not to over cook it as it can become "gummy" in texture.

Keep amaranth stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place, out of direct light. When stored in the fridge it will keep for 3 to 6 months.

Uses

Get grinding and make some flour! Amaranth makes a sweet, spicy, earthy, nutty flavoured flour best used in waffles, pancakes, cookies, muffins and quick breads. Just don't use amaranth flour exclusively in gluten free baking because your end result will be too dense. You'll need to blend it with a variety of gluten free flours, especially for baking yeast breads and cookies, pancakes should be okay though. 

By nature, amaranth absorbs water very easily making it a good thickener for soups with added nutrition.

It can be cooked as a cereal and used as a replacement for oatmeal. Sprouted and placed in salads. Toasted is another great way to use amaranth. Just toast and add to yogurt, smoothies, trail mix etc. 

My personal favourite is popping the tiny seeds like popcorn... Post to come!

Happy Easter everyone!!! Have a great weekend.

Great Grains: Buckwheat

Good morning all!

I'm back with another addition to my new series here on Edible Sound Bites called Great Grains! Today the spotlight is all on Buckwheat. If you're new to the series I'm basically creating a beginners guide to gluten free whole grains. So far I've tackled millet and followed up with a recipe for Millet with Butternut Squash and Kale, which was absolutely delish if I do say so myself. I am planning to do more than one recipe per grain in case you're wondering. Hopefully I can get a nice little collection going for each of the "grains".

Buckwheat Notes

Buckwheat is a nutritious and energizing wheat free grain, which makes it an excellent choice for vegans, vegetarians and those who are sensitive to wheat and gluten. It's also a delicious alternative to the traditional a bowl of porridge made with rolled oats. Buckwheat may sound like a cereal grain but is actually a fruit seed. The raw groats are hulled and triangular in shape. They have a delicate nutty flavour and are very crunchy to eat. Toasted buckwheat groats, also know as Kasha, are different from the raw buckwheat groats, because ...you guessed it they're toasted. You can tell the difference by looking at the colour; raw groats are soft white with a slight greenish tinge (like you see in the pictures in this post), where's toasted groats are darker brown. I don't recommend baking with them or grinding them into flour. This is just a personal preference.

Nutrition Facts

Here is the nutritional profile for 1 cup of cooked buckwheat (1/4 cup dry):

Buckwheat is one of the best sources of protein in the plant kingdom. It's also a complete protein that contains eight of the essential amino acids. Now you know why it's a favourite among non-meat eaters. It also satisfies hunger, unlike refined breads and white flours/starches.

It's a very good source of minerals including manganese, magnesium, and copper. A one cup serving (cooked) contains 86 milligrams of magnesium. That's pretty good considering the RDA for magnesium is between 310 to 400 mg per day! If you're reading this thinking, "why should I care about magnesium and what the heck is it anyway", it's actually said to help lower blood pressure by improving blood flow and nutrient delivery within your body. How's that for a healthy heart?

Don't forget the fiber. This super-grain boasts 5 grams of dietary fiber for 1 cup cooked/1/4 cup dry.

Buckwheat is rich in flavonoids rutin and quercitin. Without getting too in-depth here, flavonoids are plant based compounds with powerful antioxidant properties that reduce inflammation, prevent and repair cellular damage, and promote healthy arteries. Naturally they come from fruits and veggies, but they're also found in tea, dark chocolate and red wine. Yippee!

Where To Buy Buckwheat

You can buy raw Buckwheat groats online here. And of course you'll find them at your local health food store and even some of the larger grocery stores like Whole Foods and Zehrs Markets.

Prepaing and Cooking

Just like we did with millet, first rinse the grain under cold running water for about 30 seconds to remove any dirt. Then add one part buckwheat to 2 parts boiling water. Return it to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cover for 30 minutes or until the water is absorbed. This is the basic cook like oats method, but there are other ways of cooking buckwheat as well.

Check out Ashley's buckwheat bakes over at The Edible Perspective. Her Cinnamon Buckwheat Bake is one of my faves.

Uses

The raw groats can be cooked like rice and millet and then used in salads and side dishes.

Grind in your food processor or coffee grinder (for small batches) to make your own flour. You can buy buckwheat flour, but I find the taste to be a little strange. I prefer to grind it fresh when I need it. Fresh is best! It's a great alternative to other flours in both quick and yeast breads. Perhaps this is why pancakes seem to be the number thing made with it.

They make a wicked bowl of porridge. It's a great substitute for wheat and oats.

Use them as the base grain for pilafs instead of rice.

I can guarantee I'll be doing a lot of experimenting with it in the baking department. Be on the lookout next week for a buckwheat recipe.