Okay, so… breakfast is a challenge for me. I’m at work by 7am every morning. And I can’t eat at 6am, my body just can’t take eating too early. Luckily I can eat at my desk, so I do breakfast while working. Although that’s limiting of course. So I’ve gotten a system down of cooking a breakfast cereal, dividing it up into 5 different mini tupperware containers, and then grabbing one out of the fridge each day. I’ve used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free ‘Hot and Tasty Breakfast Cereal’ which is yummy. I also tried a ton of different variations with grits (not so in love with any of those). But I felt like trying something different. So this week I cooked Whole Grain Amaranth to use as a breakfast cereal.

Its hard to describe. Earthy maybe? That makes it sound bad; like you’re gnawing on a hunk of sod… :D Its got a weird texture too, but its not a bad texture. Its soft but also has a small crunch feeling to it. Long story short – I liked it, but I didn’t like it plain. So this recipe is how I made it work for me. And I’ll been eating it everyday this week!

Ingredients:

1 cup whole grain amaranth
3 cups water
1/4 teaspoon butter flavor extract (unless you can use real butter, that would probably be tasty!)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened dessicated coconut
5 drops liquid stevia
Chopped pecans and unsweetened dessicated coconut for ‘garnish’

Instructions:

Boil the 3 cups of water in a medium saucepan. As soon as you seen signs of boiling, add the whole grain amaranth. Once you come to a rolling boil, turn the heat down to medium. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Its actually really fun to watch it cook because for most of the time the grains are all separate. I’ll be honest, I had doubts as to whether they were going to actually fuse! But they did. You’ll know they’re ready when the water seems to miraculously disappear and you’re left with mush (oh boy, I’m really making this sound awesome aren’t I?). At that point add your extracts and stevia. Mix those in first before you mix in the coconut.

At that point I spoon the cereal out into containers, then I covered the tops with some coconut and chopped pecans. This is obvious from the recipe, but it makes about 3 cups. I find it makes perfect 1 serving amounts for my 5 containers. If you’re brave and aren’t afraid to experience a different texture for your breakfast, give this a try!

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This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free.