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Directly From Article: Amaranth is one of those rare plants whose leaves are eaten as a vegetable while the seeds are used as cereals. The principal species of

Williams, A.R. 2005March. Going With The Grain. National Geographic

To the Aztec, amaranth was more than just a food grain. They cultivated the plant for its high-protein seds, they sent it as tribute, and during religious ceremonies they ate idols created from a mix of its flour and honey-and sometimes human blood. Squanish conquistadores in the 16th century were offended by its ritual use and banned the cultivation of amaranth; over the years the grain nearly vanished form Mexico. But amaranth is flourishing again; it's now commercially farmed to meet the demand for its gluten-free and nutritional properties.

A vigorous, drought-tolerant annual with some 60 known species, amaranth is grown by susistence farmers around the world. In China, one of the worl'ds top producers, its leaves feed livestock as well as people. Amaranth's seeds and leaves are loaded with nutrients, including iron, calcium and lysine, an essential amino acid.

Cooks in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean have long added amaranth's spinach-like leaves to their soups and curries. Now, in immigrant communities across the United States, recipes using amaranth are enriching the nation's culinary melting pot.

GRAINS ROOTED IN THE PAST
Millet A staple food in many parts of the world, varieties of millet may have been cultivated in China and Africa as early as 2000 BC.
Quinoa The sacred Inca "mother seed' contains eight of the nine essential amino acides.
Spelt This high-protein, vitamin -rich relative of wheat is mentioned in the Bible's Book of Exodus.
Teff The iniest of all the food grains- each seed is about the size of a cornmeal grain-teff is packed with iron. It's a main ingredient in the ages-old recipe for injera, a flat and spongy Ethiopian bread.