Amaranth vs quinoa is a good comparison for grains. They’re both actually pseudo cereal grains (seeds), and not from rice, corn, or wheat.
They’re both complete proteins, meaning they have all essential amino acids.
So they’re perfect breakfast starters to get you going on a fuller meal.
…Oh, and gluten-free.
…Someone’s ears just perked up.
Because if you’re trying to eat less gluten (or are allergic), amaranth and quinoa are more on filling you with protein. And filled with vitamin and mineral nutrients.
Quinoa for starters, is a popular whole grain.
I remember the 90s Friends episode where the trend took off. Move over rice and couscous in the pantry, quinoa became the household food newcomer.
As the world sped up from old fashioned times, people wanted quicker meals.
And quinoa fit the quick and easy to cook up profile, vs. other grains like some raw rices take much longer to cook and soften.
Today, decades later, you can add amaranth to the list as easier to source and quicker cook-soften.
It’s an ancient grain and known as a longevity booster to help your longer ancient-ability.
Farro, einkorn, and spelt are also ancient, but they’re wheats, so they have gluten.
Then there’s barley as its own grass category, like wheat.
But if you’re looking for gluten-free, try the pseudo-cereals like quinoa, amaranths and buckwheat.
Buckwheat is usually ground into a flour. You can bake into desserts and sweets like a buckwheat ginger cookie. You may have heard of them in soba noodles.
So now that we’ve cleared that up, we know different grains for a savory bowl cook differently.
And smaller pseudocereals cook quicker in 20 minute or less meals, with amaranth vs quinoa being the more practical choices.
So which is better?
Of course, that depends on you!
…I really like amaranth because it won’t burn-stick to your pan like quinoa if you’re deciding on amaranth vs. quinoa.
Amaranth is mushy with water and quinoa is more dry, so it can burn more easily if there’s not enough water in your pan at any heating moment.
With amaranth in water, you won’t lose a single grain as it can become a mushy ball and soft like creamed wheat, or a porridge you can spread out in your bowl.
Quinoa is usually more dry like fluffy wild rice that I like to compare it to as each piece stands on its own. Each piece looks like a small piece of thread hanging on each quinoa seed.
And because of these texture differences of amaranth vs. quinoa, cooked in liquid amaranth doesn’t linger in your mouth and end up on your teeth after you’ve finished your meal.
But don’t let that stop you from you quinoa.
Because as for healthy notes, both are still great protein options.
If you’re needing fiber and lower glycemic index options, quinoa is a better choice.
Amaranth is higher in calcium and minerals. Also, if you are looking for easy to digest foods like a temporary BRAT diet, amaranth is a great variety option to keep in your pantry.
You can also add a little amaranth to bread dough (like you would sourdough starter) in a healthy whole grain roll.
And the best part is the versatility of amaranth vs quinoa that you can mix up in your meals.
Amaranth can also be made more dry (instead of the mushy texture already mentioned), as you can make “popping” amaranth like stove popcorn.
Or you make quinoa more wet in a bowl, like in a quinoa cereal with your milk of choice. This is good for Vata balancing as your body is feeling dry and looking for more moisture that you can get through a healthy bowl.
Add in your nuts and seeds. Oh, and how about a heart healthy quinoa bowl to start your day?
Chocolate chip coconut bar is a delicious snack flavor pairing. We can all think of a girl cookie and happy candy bar that has the flavoring. But they aren’t low-sugar, healthy ones that you would eat for breakfast.
Below is the recipe for healthy bars you can take anywhere to tie you over. Think field trips, hikes, and low-sugar sweet tooth substitutes.
The best part is there is NO Baking involved. And even for a home baker like me, that puts a smile on my face as as EASY healthy snack.
And even better, they are low-sugar (no refined white sugar). So you’ll feel good about eating them. And most importantly, they taste great.
The chocolate chip coconut bar can also be a great breakfast morning snack because they’re loaded with oats.
And another healthy dish idea is porridge made of oats, that’s an underrated breakfast for any age.
It’s not just for Smurf characters or Goldilocks (characters I grew up to).
It’s a great meal idea year round. You can pair with a little sweetness… like these healthy chocolate coconut bars.
Healthy chocolate chip coconut bar recipe below. 🥥
The easy, no-bake chewy chocolate chip coconut bar recipe is made without any refined sugar.
You can also decide if you want to make a soft or crunchy version too. 🍪
But let’s get back to porridge before we go for the sweets…
If you’re a cereal lover and want to find alternates, porridge could be that nourishing sub.
When I was a kid, we ate cereal for breakfast before we left for school. It was fortified vitamin and mineral goodness drenched in Vitamin D milk that young, fast-growing bones and bodies need.
It’s also loaded with the sweet stuff that puts a smile on a kid’s face.
But, most cereals aren’t a good daily breakfast option.
The problem isn’t all the added sugar (even though they’re often loaded with 12 added grams per cup or more)… or knowing about the disturbing traces of Roundup that have been found in certain cereals (that’s a good enough reason!)…
And the real daily problem is…
Cereals are never filling enough for the most important meal of the day (or at least one of them).
It doesn’t do the fulfillment job for kids or adults… and it didn’t do it for me as a growing child that felt the stomach gurgles by mid-morning.
This is the reality for most school kids that just plow through their hunger discomforts.
So I remember bringing a snack to school.
But then I forgot about it or was too busy to eat it. My mind was somewhere else as it wasn’t lunchtime when everyone else around me was eating.
We’re easily influenced by our peers.
Decades later, these conditions haven’t changed.
Cereal is still the popular go-to convenient breakfast.
Cereal grocery shelves are filled or empty.
Plus, we still forget and get too busy.
Also when I was growing up, enriched white Wonder Bread was the magical bread that kids felt proud of bringing to school and parents felt good about for lunch sandwiches.
Enriched bread today has a different context. It can be enriched with dairy, eggs, or sourdough. And “fortified” cereal is also different in its wonders.
But travel around the world, and wholesome porridge is what you find in many less modern-convenient cultures. And where people live longer.
These cultures and places go straight to filling stomachs with nourishment.
They’re masters at adding nutritious flavors, often living with less.
And we can learn a healthy lesson from them. And we could start slow like choosing oats or whole grains as breakfast alternatives.
And then switch to a porridge meal with protein and good carbs that can carry through the busy morning. And does your body healthy goodness.
It doesn’t have to be boring… it can be more like this mushroom porridge (with btw, the same oats source that you would make your chocolate chip coconut bars or a mouth pleasing chocolate chip oatmeal cookie). 🍪
My Breakfast Mushroom Oats Porridge
I thought this letter to you “from your gut” would be a cute way to highlight and get the point across for healthy encouragement. 😉
Dear Person I Live In,
Please don’t make me work extra hard today. And give me what I want: more rest, but also enough nourishing energy, so I don’t have to hunt around for help from the surrounding systems.
Thank you for a glass of water that signals to me that you’re up. Then for starters, a prebiotic and probiotic breakfast would be great!, like oatmeal with berries and bananas, a healthy chocolate chip coconut bar, or a healthy smoothie format is fine. This gets me going, before you really feed me…
You can mix it up or eat the same thing daily, but I do like some healthy variety. It keeps me from getting bored and helps me run best. I love healthy savory foods.
And yes I do rumble and signal to you when to go to the rest-room, so I can rest.
Please remember (…write yourself a note maybe? 😁) …fill me with small nutrient-dense meals every 4-5 hours so I have the time to churn the last meal and can consistently count on being fed. Then please give me energy again… plant-based carbs would be good… oh and btw, I’m not as color blind as you think I am ‘cause I do recognize when you eat from the rainbow (haha!). 🌈
And don’t wait too long to fill me with some healthy proteins that I love. Then, I don’t have to work so hard. You know how those old-timer people from the Blue Zones eat beans to add 4 years to their lives. And they only break out the celebratory meat once in a while.
Please consider my needs. And finally, I would love if you would provide more fiber and roughage, sprinkling in healthy fat, Omega-3 sources, and good fiber as daily garnishes. I also love nuts and seeds as snacks. Now I’ll be quiet because you know the food language that keeps me happy.
We’re in this together.
Love,
Gutty
P.S. A ‘lil sea salt helps me balance, as does fruit and spices.
Chocolate Chip Dates Coconut Bar (No-Bake) - Low Sugar
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets
Ingredients
1/2cups oats
1/2cupshredded unsweetened coconut
1/2cupalmonds
3-4pitted Medjool dates, finely chopped
1tbspcocoa powder
3tbspapplesauce, unsweetened
1tbspraw honey
chocolate chip morsels, melted (or add chocolate chips into your batter)
Instructions
Combine ingredients together and shape into bars. Tip: for dates, use a serated knife to cut.
Drizzle with melted chocolate.
Alternatively, you can make this chocolate coconut bar recipe with a food chopper. Simply leave out combining the applesauce and honey until the very end after the other ingredients are chopped and blended.
Either way, here’s another tip: it’s easier if you tear up the dates into smaller pieces or cut with a small serrated knife (with jaw edges) before you add to the processor or chopper.
Then, when you have your final mixture ready:
Put on a plate or in a small container and shape your mixture. This is the no-bake version.
Cut the bars or cookie shapes you want to make using a pizza roller or sharper knife (so there’s no crumbly bits falling off that you can’t put back together).
Then drizzle your chocolate coconut bar or cookies you make with a pre-made chocolate sauce.
Or you can make your own: add chocolate and coconut oil to a bain-marie (double cooker) to heat and melt the chocolate.
Adding the oil will give you a better liquid consistency and more chocolate sauce using less chocolate (especially if you’re low).
Afterwards, you can put your bars or cookies in the fridge or freezer to eat in a few minutes or save for later.
They’re better served chilled from the fridge.
The ones in the photo above just came out of the freezer.
If you want to make them crunchy, use an egg instead of the applesauce, and then bake on a low temperature until you get the right baked crunch.
Now that’s super calm baking.. oh, how easy!
And if you don’t want to bake, you can make these easy cocoa balls with coconut oil. 🍫
