can you tell me about amaranth

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    Can you tell me about amaranth?Amaranth has always had a place near and dear to my heart. Years ago, I heard about amaranth,

    the grain that had once been a staple in the diets of pre-Columbian Aztecs. I had learned that

    with the arrival of Cortez and the Spanish conquistadors, all crops of amaranth were burned, its

    use was forbidden, and its possession was cause for severe punishment. I set out to find this

    "lost" grain, to hopefully discover this treasure that lay at the heart of this incredibly powerfulpeople.

    After 300 years of it being in obscurity, I rediscovered amaranth in Mexico where I was honored

    to share it on ceremonial days with the descendents of the Aztecs, who believed that amaranth

    provided them with supernatural power. Therefore, it is not surprising to me when people saythey are not familiar with amaranth as it was only in the 1970s that I reintroduced this ancient

    grain to the United States.

    Amaranth is a moderately tall, broad-leafed, bushy type of plant that grows about six feet in

    height and produces a brightly colored flowery head containing a very large number of seeds.

    (Amaranth plants can produce as many as 60,000 seeds.) These seeds are the amaranth grains

    found in amaranth cereal and flour. Amaranth is a member of the Chenopodiaceae family of

    plants and therefore is a relative of beets, Swiss chard, spinach, and quinoa. For this reason,

    some of its nutritional characteristics are more like these dark green leafy vegetables than the

    cereal grain foods, which are members of an entirely different plant family, called Graminae.

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    (Like, quinoa and millet, amaranth is not technically a grain, but because it is enjoyed in meals

    like other true grains, it is usually referred to as such.)

    When it comes to a good number of nutrients, including numerous vitamins, minerals, and

    amino acids, amaranth is very similar to other grains (like wheat) as well as to other green leafy

    vegetables (like Swiss chard). However, I'd point to four nutrients as being significantly different

    when it comes to amaranth.

    First is the amino acid lysine. Most cereal grains, like wheat, are relatively low in this amino

    acid. Alternatively, amaranth is relatively rich in this amino acid, containing approximately

    twice as much lysine as wheat on an ounce-for-ounce basis. Next are the minerals calcium, iron,

    and magnesium. In this mineral area, amaranth is much more like Swiss chard than wheat. It

    contains about four times as much calcium as wheat and twice as much iron and magnesium.

    Amaranth can be simmered like other grains and has a porridge-like texture. It can be combined

    with other grains if you desire a more "rice-like" dish. It can also be popped in a skillet like

    popcorn, which gives it a nutty flavor and crunchy texture.

    The reason I didn't include amaranth as one of the featured World's Healthiest Foods is because

    it is not as widely available as the other grains that I did include. Yet, I think that it is a very

    valuable nutrient-rich food and I encourage you to enjoy it as part of your Healthiest Way of

    Eating.

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