Since Amaranth is not a grain, is it good for Nonnies?  I know it's listed as a Neutral but can any O Nonnies tell me what their experiences have been with it?

That's a good question.  I've used it to no ill effect, but I tend to use it in grain blends (with rice flour, rye, etc) for cooking.  It certainly works fine there.  I make a nice molasses-neutral-grain-blend cookie, also incorporating kamut flakes...but that's for another thread...

Typebase lists amaranth (http://www.dadamo.com/typebase4/depictor5.pl?26) as either Neutral or Beneficial for everybody except B secretors.

My own personal experience with amaranth has been disappointing.  It gives me diarrhea.  Every single time.  Regardless of where we buy it.  (And yes, we buy organic.)  Regardless of how it's prepared.  And it's not just me -- Hubby gets the runs from it too.

I had that reaction to quinoa flour--me and hubby (an A) got a bad gut reaction!

Carol, do you have other seasonal allergies, are you allergic to ragweed, I believe amaranth is related to ragweed

quinoa is in the goosefoot family with Beets/Beet sugar, Lamb's quarter,  Swiss chard, Spinach also have you had whole quinoa or just flour, it could be contaminated from the mill used to grind it in

I don't have any trouble with the other things in the goosefoot family.  I do wonder if the grain (it was flour) was not rinsed before grinding?  Or maybe it was just bad.

Oddly, I do have ragweed allergies but having noticed an amaranth problem--however, I will look for it, and probably avoid it now, since I have cross-reactions with a number of other things.  

what other things do you cross react with, I have ragweed allergies also

Amaranth and quinoa are both in the Goosefoot family.  Ragweed (a slight allergen for me) is in the Sunflower family.  I have never noticed any problems from eating quinoa.

are you sure amaranth is in the goosefoot family I just looked at a biological classification and it showed amaranth as being an 'orphan'

Hmm, just checked and it's listed in the Sunset National Garden Book as a member of the Amaranth family.  I know I saw somewhere that it's related to the Goosefoot family, but apparently it's not actually in it.

Aha!  Here's a site (http://www.specialfoods.com/amaranth.html) that says amaranth is sometimes classified in the Goosefoot family.  So the Amaranth family and the Goosefoot family must be first cousins.

PS:  Sorry everyone if this has gotten completely off topic....I guess it isn't completely off, because we're discussing what seem like allergic reactions to beneficials/neutrals such as amaranth.  With sufficient interest, maybe OAS is a new thread.

Patty and Other Forum Members,

A separate thread has been created with the replies addressing OAS in the board, The Encyclopedia/D'Adamo Library entitled OAS: Oral Allergy Syndrome.

The link is as follows:
http://www.dadamo.com/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?b=encloplib,m=1138077448

This was done in order that the subject of this original thread remain on topic.

Alia

So we're back to amaranth!

Any other nonnies have a tale to tell?  (I think Igbogirl is mostly looking for O nonnies -- but how about all nonnies can post, and Iggy can just ignore the rest of us?)

I make amaranth flour tortilla chips. I feel great after I eat them. I was amazed to find how nutrient dense that flour is!

I take one cup of the flour and mix it just enough water to form a ball. Divide the ball into four balls. To roll out a ball coat it generously in more amaranth flour. Roll it out as thin as possible with a rolling pin - scrape under it frequently and turn over - sprinkling with flour as you go.

Flip it onto a cookie sheet. Oven preheated to 350 F. Brush lightly with olive oil. Give a tiny sprinkle of salt. Cut into desired shapes & bake for 6 minutes (may need a skosh more) til golden brown and crunchy. Yum!

These are fabulous with guacamole, yogurt and refried pinto beans. Sprinkle with some beneficial cilantro.

1 C of Bob's Red Mill amaranth flour:

440 calories
4g fat (1g sat)
O cholesterol
24mg sodium
80 g carb
12g fiber
16g protein
48% iron
8% vitamin C
16% calcium

Try squeezing some lime juice over the meal you eat with them to absorb more of the iron (48%!)
Emergen-C is packed with vitamin C and is good for Type A ( a good alternative to juice/soda).






You can order organic amaranth on-line at http://www.azurestandard.com - good price too.

Zola!!

.....and so you re back!!!!! )

missed you!
thanks for those mustard recipes you posted on that other thread, and recibase!

Yes! I'm back among the living internet beings! I missed you all It's good to be among you.

Quoted from plhartless

I had that reaction to quinoa flour--me and hubby (an A) got a bad gut reaction!

The hulls of quinoa and amaranth are high in saponins - thus your reaction - particularly if what you consumed was either brown (wholegrain) or homegrown.

Try soaking first in several changes of water.

Here in the UK where I am at, I can only find unhulled Quinoa....

Quoted from Schluggell

The hulls of quinoa and amaranth are high in saponins - thus your reaction - particularly if what you consumed was either brown (wholegrain) or homegrown.

Try soaking first in several changes of water.

Keep rinsing & draining until the rinse water stays clear -- not cloudy or foamy.

Oh, but I see that Patty was referring to quinoa flour -- so rinsing is not really an option!

I think what I would try if I wanted quinoa flour would be to rinse the whole seeds really well, then dry them, then grind a cup at a time in the blender.  That way I wouldn't be trusting someone else to do a good job of rinsing.

zola,

Thanks for sharing your recipe.  This would be a nice alternative to traditional corn tortilla chips.  

You may want to submit your recipe into the Recipe Index by clicking into TYPEbase4 and click into a main ingredient, then scroll to 'Add Recipe...'

Alia

Interesting thread !
But at the end...I don't understand  what is AMARANTH....

is it a GRAIN?
or  is  amaranth (+ quinoa)  classified as seed or bean or nut or vegetable?

In typebase it's listed as GRAIN
but Igbogirl has started this thread with this question:
   
Since Amaranth is not a grain, is it good for Nonnies?

I asked Heidi a similar food category classification question a few years ago and she responded that the categories are populated according to most-similar-effects-on-the-metabolism-after-ingestion, so botanical research (while certainly interesting and worthwhile) may occasionally produce some confusing results.

If you delve similarly into all the food items listed, you'll discover seeds classified as grains, legumes classified as nuts, fruits in the veg section and "vegetables" which are actually flowers.

so it has the same effect on the metabolism as grains?

Yes, that is how I understood the answer.

Amaranth: Never heard of it, probably won't be able to get it here, so I'm no good here.

But I can Google and google says:

Quoted Text

Amaranth is a tall plant with very broad leaves; it produces many thousands of tiny seeds. The leaves and the seeds are edible. The amaranth is closely related to pigweed, spinach, beets, and other plants in the goosefoot family,

Special Foods™ amaranth flour is made from organic amaranth seeds. Amaranth flour has a pleasant, nutty taste. It makes good tasting bread, muffins, bagels, pasta, milk, imitation nut butter ,cookies, gravies, sauces, pancakes, flatbreads, doughnuts, dumplings, and who knows what else. (Recipes are supplied with the flours). ALL recipes are made without wheat or other grains, without yeast, and without milk, eggs, or sugar.  

Amaranth pasta is light brown in color; when cooked, the pasta is the color of whole-wheat noodles and the consistency of regular noodles.

So I guess you can conclude that the leaves are veggie and seeds are grain.