I have a confession to make. I eat the same breakfast every blessed morning, and have for the past, oh, four or five years.?I’m ashamed.?I wish I could say I was more adventurous and creative than this; that I was anxious to prepare morning feasts common to other parts of the globe; that I felt life short enough to indulge regularly in a?Tartine pain au chocolat?(anotherconfession: I wake up with a drool-soaked pillow after dreaming of this buttery delicacy); that I’m so loyal to my nostalgia, that occasionally, just once in a while, I’ll dig into a bowl of sugary, milk-laden, industrially-produced cereal (while reading the box, of course). But I’m not, and I don’t. No, for me it’s always a bowl of?Anson Mills?stone-cut oats, topped with local, raw honey and freshly grated cinnamon. Okay, so not?always?– on the weekends I often venture beyond my warm boule of healthy grain for treats such as?Primavera’s Chilaquiles,Foreign Cinema’s brunch, or the aforementioned pain au chocolat (wiping saliva from the keys).?But, I declare, two petit dejeuners out of seven does?not?an adventurous eater make!Am I alone??I certainly don’t think so. For example, I’d be hard-pressed to find a single mouth around a spoonful of oats in Beijing, where the quotidian AM meal consists of either?bao zi(pork buns that are alone worth the flight and bad air),?congee?(glutinous rice porridge), oryou tiao?(fried dough dipped in fresh, warm soy milk). In fact, when I visited Beijing two winters ago, I adopted my morning ritual to include these local dishes. And despite what I would expect of this breakfast bore, I adored the change; sometimes, I would arise especially early for the sole purpose of having?two?breakfasts! (I suppose that was confession #3.) So why, I wonder, do I fail to break free of my habit at home?Well, I’ve vowed to try. To keep the transition painless, I stuck with porridge, but changed the grain (“oooo,?life on the wild side”, I hear you all murmuring with a roll of the eyes). I recently came across a bag of?Rancho Gordo?amaranth, and snatched it up with good intentions; it sat in my pantry for at least a month before making its way to the stove (‘slow & steady’ wins the race,?no?).

AMARANTH, like?quinoa, is actually a seed, and is packed full of nutrition. It was the sacred food of the Aztecs – their primary sustenance. Unfortunately, this powerhouse of a food was annihilated by conquistadors in an effort to control the Aztec population. Luckily, it has seen a renaissance as of late, and can now be found at most natural foods stores or?online.

It’s no surprise that an entire civilization survived on amaranth. It is filling, cooling, energizing, and astringent in nature (perfect for this season of congested lungs). These tiny seeds have a ridiculously high protein content, are great plant sources of iron, and boast calcium (more than milk!), vitamin E, and numerous minerals. Additionally, and I think this quite an important note, amaranth contains approximately twice the amount of fiber of whole wheat.?Twice.?The bag should come adorned with a warning label:
“FOLLOWING CONSUMPTION: HOVER NEAR WASH CLOSET”,?or at least?something?to that effect.

Amaranth has a pleasant wild and woodsy flavor. However, be sure to purchase organic amaranth from a farmers’ market or natural food store with high turnover, as age and light can make the seeds bitter. Commonly, stores stock a golden amaranth, though black, pink, and, well, somewhere around sixty other varieties exist. Store amaranth for up to a year in a cool, dry, dark cupboard, preferably in a sealed glass container.

AMARANTH PORRIDGE WITH MAPLE & FRESHLY GRATED CINNAMON