Posted July 30, 2020
Quinoa is the Superfood of the Incas of the Andes Mountains of Peru. Amaranth is known as the Superfood for the Aztec of Mexico, but growing it was banned by the Spaniards (because it was associated also with Aztec religious ceremonies).
Quinoa is found in supermarkets in Guatemala in various brands, and in most supermarkets in USA. But, amaranth is not in the giant supermarket near my office. And not in the organic food chain stores here either (in USA). Only very few stores have amaranth. In Guatemala I have found it only in an organic food store (so not in most supermarkets).
This is unfortunate since amaranth is native to Guatemala (in addition to Mexico and elsewhere) and is widely grown throughout the Maya Highlands (often as a decorative plant). But once I found out how healthy amaranth is (and its leaves, named bledo in Guatemala), I like to remind the world to speak with the managers of their local supermarkets to get amaranth available. It comes in raw seeds of “popped” or in flour. Yes, I eat amaranth pancakes as an excuse to cover my meal with honey.
This week Vivian Hurtado took a photograph of one of the many amaranth plants in our research garden. Other species and other varieties come in different colors.
Note the happy beetle that is wandering around on the left (you can see the beetle if you Click to Enlarge).