Quinoa, Oatmeal and Amaranth for High Energy

In general, grains are the last category of food in which I’d look for an energy booster. More people than you might think have food sensitivities to gluten (a component of rye, barely, wheat, and oats, most grains are pretty high glycemic (even those that are marketed – often duplicitously – as” whole grians”), and most of the grains we actually consume are in the form of junk cereals frequtnly marketed as “healthy” while being anything but.

That said, I make a big exception of oatmeal, quinoa, and amaranth. Oatmeal is a high-fiber food that also contains protein, and its very low glycemic load ensures that it won’t play havoc with your blood sugar and cause your energy to crash a half hour after you eat it. It’s a great, energy-boosting breakfast – bodybuilders have combined oatmeal with eggs for years.

To this day, you can’t walk through Gold’s Gym in Venice, California (known as “the Mecca” for serious bodybuilders), which tripping over at least ten huge guys (and an equal number of “Ms. Fitness” types) eating a homemade mixture of oats and eggs out of the resealable containers they frequently bring with them to the gym. (And considering that most of these men and women do four-hour workouts, it’s reasonable to assume that they know something about energy!)

One try of the eggs and oatmeal mix and you’ll see why. Throw some raisins on and season with cinnamon, which helps modulate blood sugar. The key to the whole thing is using real, slow cooking oatmeal. The parboiled, precooked kind does nothing for your.

One warning: More people than anyone would guess are gluten-sensitive, which means they don’t react really well to a protein in grains called gluten, or a substrate of gluten called gliadin. Gluten is found in wheat, rye, barley, and, to some extent, oats. If you’re a gluten-sensitive person, these grains can make you tired and bloated, and you might have to pass on the oatmeal, great food that it is. If you’re not gluten-sensitive, it’s a great energy food.

ANCIENT GRAINS FOR MODERN ENERGY

Quinoa, on the other hand, looks like a grain, cooks like a grain, and tastes like a grain, but is actually a seed. Who cares? Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) has the highest protein of any “cereal”, and it’s gluten-free to boot. It’s a great energy food either as a breakfast or as a snack.

Legend has it that the Incan armies marched for days at a time fueled by a mixture of quinoa and fat known as “war balls”. ‘Nuff said. 9If it could get the Incan armies through their day, it should be able to do the same for you). Quinoa also contains a fair amount of iron, not to mention 5 grams of fiber per ½ cup.

Finally, there’s amaranth. This grain has been around for 8,000 years and was a staple of the Aztecs. As cereals go, it’s pretty high in protein and fiber, both of which are energy-sustaining ingredients that are in surprisingly short supply in most breakfast cereals. The protein in the amaranth grain is of an usually high quality, and it’s high in an essential amino acid called Iysine, which is lacking in most grains. And amaranth is completely gluten free. It usually comes in the form of cereal.