I just found something that is helping get my total Protein up! Amaranth grain. This is an easily digested grain that is gluten free and high protein. I have been fighting to get my serum protein level up and have weekly checks (because my level hovers around 6) and with the addition of this grain my level went from 6.1 to 6.7 this week! That may not seem like a big change but for me it is.

Just thought I would share.

I forgot I have some in the kitchen. Do you have any good recipes for it? I'd love to use this.

Don't you need to eat like a truck load to get some significant Protein numbers? how much as you eating and with what? I have some at home just not very creative with it.

Just googling for recipes. Apparently 1 cup of cooked amaranth has approx 9 gms of Protein and 5 gms of fibre. So it's not a huge protein punch, but could add some variety. It can also be used both savory and sweet.

For example, used with greek yogurt in this recipe you can get a pretty decent protein bunch.

Edited December 13, 201411 yr by BLERDgirl

Thanks for posting - very useful and something to look out for.

Bob's Red Mill sells it online or if you live near a Whole Foods, they usually have it in the loose bins.

I have been making porridge with quinoa and the amaranth grain (2 c Water, 1/2 c quinoa and 1/4 c grain). This is cooked like oatmeal (boiled for 20-30 min) and then stored in the fridge.

I have added 2-3 tbs of the cooked mixture to several different dishes. Breakfast I have poured my Protein shake over a 1/3 cup of warmed up mixture (once I cooked 1/2 serving of oatmeal and added the porridge and mixed in my Protein powder without extra liquid.)

For lunch I added 3 tbs cooked porridge to my serving of Soup.

I also found an article about "popping" the grain and tried this. It does pop but burns very easily so I sprinkled this attempt to pop the grain over my supper and I liked the texture and nutty flavor. (I tried popping a teaspoon of grain in a hot pan as directed and about 1/3 of it popped into very tiny white puffs, the rest browned.)

Do you have to stay with gluten free? If not, Bob's Red Mill makes a 10-grain hot cereal that has 24g protein and 20g fiber per cup. A serving is 1/4 cup, so that's 6g protein/5g fiber. I make 1 serving and then add 1/4 scoop vanilla protein powder and a couple tablespoons of of milk that brings the protein up to 12g. Add in a handful of blueberries and some flax seed for even more fiber, and it makes a very filling breakfast.

Edited December 14, 201411 yr by Kindle

I love Bob's Red Mill's products.