Breakfast Chai Amaranth

Amaranth, a traditional grain in Africa, Himalaya and Mexico, can be considered a nutritional powerhouse. Like quinoa, it is one of the most complete protien sources available from a plant source. It is small and beady in texture; this may not be for everyone. Personally, I love it as a savory side and, now, for breakfast, too. For this recipe, I chose to use the crock pot for ease of throwing ingredients in before bed. You could do this on the stove top, but expect the mixture to take about 35-40 minutes to cook. Personally, I can't wait this long to eat breakfast!
A warm and spicy breakfast offering, reminicent of a chai tea latte.

If you are concerned about Saturated fat, you could always substitute the coconut milk for light coconut milk.  For me, I just make the rest of the day vegetarian and it all balances out.


INGREDIENTS:
1.5 c. dry amaranth grain
3 tbsp. honey
3 tbsp dried cranberries
¼ c. dried apricots, chopped
¼ c. prunes, chopped
dash cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/8 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg
1 whole cinnamon stick
4 cardamom pods
4-5 whole cloves
3-4 peppercorns
7 oz. coconut milk
2 ½ c. water
1 – Fill crock pot with 1 ½” to 2” of water.
2 – In a heat proof bowl that will fit into your crock pot, add amaranth, honey, cranberries, apricots, prunes, cinnamon stick, cayenne pepper, allspice, nutmeg, coconut milk and water.
3 – Using a scrap of cheese cloth or a tea infuser, combine cardamom pods, cloves and peppercorns and drop this into the mixture.
4 – Cook 8-10 hours (overnight) on low heat setting.
5 – Garnish with your choice of nuts, seeds, and dried fruits. Pictured here is with a dollop of Greek yogurt; up until this addition, the recipe was Vegan. Offering this with non-dairy yogurt will allow this to remain a vegan offering.


Recipe makes six 2/3 c. servings