Nuts, seeds and grains
Amaranth on a GLP-1: protein, portions and how to actually eat it
About 3.8 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), cooked, for around 100 calories. A cup, cooked, about 150 g (5.3 oz), gives roughly 6 g of protein for 150 calories.
To reach 30 g of protein from amaranth alone you would need about 789 g (27.8 oz). On a small appetite that is often more than one sitting allows, which is why we pair it rather than chase the whole target from one food.
How amaranth sits on a GLP-1
Amaranth is a tiny seed that cooks into something between porridge and polenta: soft, sticky, faintly grassy, with no chewing required. Like quinoa it is close to a complete protein and high in lysine, and like quinoa that stops mattering once it is cooked, because it is about 3.8 g per 100 g (3.5 oz) and a cup is 6 g. On a GLP-1 it is a soft base that suits a small warm bowl, especially as a porridge made on milk.
When your appetite is small
Make it as a small porridge on milk rather than as a grain on a plate. Half a cup of cooked amaranth, about 75 g (2.6 oz), simmered a little longer in 150 ml (5 fl oz) of milk with a spoon of milk powder is about 12 g and has the texture of a thick semolina, which many people find easier than oats on a bad morning.
Three ways to prepare it
Porridge on milk with milk powder and honey
Amaranth cooked in milk until thick and creamy, milk powder stirred in at the end. Sweet, soft and warm.
Popped in a dry pan as a topping
A tablespoon of dry amaranth in a very hot dry pan pops like tiny popcorn in seconds. Sprinkle it over yoghurt for crunch without chewing.
Cooked in stock as a soft base for eggs
Simmered in stock until it holds together, then two poached eggs and parmesan on top. About 18 g in a small bowl.
What to eat it with
Milk, honey, cinnamon, stewed fruit for the porridge; eggs, parmesan and mushrooms for the savoury version. The protein comes from the milk, the eggs and the cheese.
How it compares
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Energy per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amaranth | about 3.8 g | 100 kcal | this page |
| Quinoa | about 4.4 g | 120 kcal | See the page |
| Buckwheat | about 3.4 g | 90 kcal | See the page |
| Oats | about 13 g | 375 kcal | See the page |
All figures are typical values for the food as eaten, cooked, not laboratory figures for a particular brand.
Australian, US and UK names
Amaranth in all three countries, in the health food aisle or specialist shops. It is rajgira in Indian grocers, where the flour and the popped seed are sold for fasting foods, and popped amaranth is the base of the Mexican sweet alegria.
Questions people ask
Is amaranth a complete protein?
Close: it is high in lysine, the amino acid most grains lack, but cooked amaranth is only about 3.8 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz). Made as a porridge on milk with milk powder, the bowl gets its protein from the milk.
Your number comes first
Knowing what is in a food only helps once you know how much you are aiming for. The target is 1.2 to 1.6 g of protein per kg of your goal weight, not your current weight, which for most people is 90 to 140 g a day.
Work out your protein targetMore on eating well when your appetite is small: high protein foods for a small appetite, how much protein on a GLP-1, and every food we have written up. The whole system in five documents is the Keep Muscle Kit, A$47 / US$29 / £23.
EverStrong provides nutrition and strength coaching and education. It is not medical advice and does not replace your prescribing doctor.