Super powers for breakfast

With all the hub-bub of moving country, into a new apartment, and into my first full time grown up job, I have not started drinking coffee, or gotten sick once. If that isn’t an indicator of super powers, I don’t know what is. My secret weapon? I found amaranth flakes* and started putting a little in a lazy bircher muesli to have each morning. The result is creamy, nutty, sweet and tangy. I wouldn’t go so far as to say mouthwatering or anything (to be honest I’ve never had a “mouthwatering” muesli), but if your diet tends to be low in iron or protein and you’re looking for a quick, simple and healthy regular breakfast regimen, this could be worth a try. It’s great for alleviating guilt if you, on occasion, eat fries as lunch/dinner. Not that I do that…

I’d love to hear your breakfast secrets too by the way… do you try to have a healthy breakfast to justify bad habits during the day or are you the opposite?

In case you’ve never heard of them before, amaranth flakes are awesome because:

• They almost dissolve into your porridge, leaving it creamy (rather than being beady)
• They take less time to cook
• They are a good source of iron
• They are a good source of complete protein
• They taste nice and toasty in flavour

The only drawback is that they can be difficult to find, even at health food stores (I initially found them at Wholesome in Sydney). However my local (can’t seem to find a website for them) started carrying them after I mentioned how awesome they were, so it’s worth a shot with yours too!

I did a little research and it looks like boiled amaranth flakes is one of the best and easiest ways to consume this amazing little seed, because there are inhibitors in raw amaranth (preventing absorption of some nutrients) and in flour form it prevents bread from rising as well.

How to get super powers for breakfast

Basically, I microwave the amaranth flakes and plenty of water after dinner in a bowl (leave plenty of room for the boiling amaranth or it will overflow). Then when it’s cool (because I want to keep the vitamins alive), I add some rolled oats, LSA, and top up with juice. If I feel like it, I’ll add a little yogurt in there too. Then I stir it up, leave in the fridge overnight, and voila. Breakfast is straight from the fridge the next morning. If I forget to do the amaranth after dinner, I microwave it in the morning and mix it into the cold overnight soaked oats.

The only thing that complicates things is my fussiness about ingredients, particularly the LSA and juice.

LSA: when you sniff your LSA, it shouldn’t make you recoil. Good LSA will usually be stored in a fridge or near one. A lot of LSA (like with walnuts) is sold rancid, even though the best before date suggests otherwise, so find your favourite place, and give them a hug for storing the stuff properly.

Juice: I like to use Nudie’s apple juice. On its own it’s average, but it’s sweet and lovely in my muesli. If you’re using a tart juice, you may want to add some raw honey into your muesli, or your sweetener of choice.

Variations:

Just like regular bircher muesli, you can vary this by using different flakes and fruits and additions to prevent your breakfast from getting too boring. I’ve just given the bare bones of what is essentially my lazy bircher with a further nutritional boost.

You could also use flaked quinoa for example in place of amaranth, but oats apparently have a pretty similar nutritional profile, and I much prefer the taste of oats, plus they’re cheaper…but it’s up to you :)

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