Whole grains are an important part of my diet. Lately, I've been shying away from wheat and corn. In addition to the havoc they play on my blood sugar, they make me feel kind of gross physically. I don't know why, but they seem to make my aging muscles ache a little more. When I don't eat wheat or corn, I feel a little better.

But that leaves me with very few traditional grains to choose from. Basically just brown rice. Or black rice. Or wild rice. Just rice. And really, how much rice can one person eat?

So, I've been experimenting with different whole grains. I tried a quinoa-rice blend I found at Whole Foods a few weeks ago, which was pretty yummy, but frankly still had rice in it. And I'd about hit the wall on rice.

I wanted to try to cook just plain quinoa, spiced up in any way I could concoct. In the "pour-your-own-grains" section, I found the empty quinoa bin. Dang popular grain.

Next to it, I found something equally interesting. Amaranth. I'd never tried amaranth. In fact, the last time I heard the word was in regard to my high school year book, "The Amaranth". But desperate for something, anything, other than rice, I bought some.

I looked online and found a basic amaranth recipe:

* 1/2 cup amaranth
* 1 1/2 cups liquid

Put in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low. Cook for 15-20 minutes until the water is gone.

As I mixed the grains with chicken broth, it acted unlike anything I've cooked before. It kind of balled together in a few different clumps that floated around the pan. As the water started to simmer, then boil, the grains formed smaller clusters, like bubbles in the water. I was excited and nervous at the same time.

It took about 30 minutes for the water to evaporate mostly. And of course, a bunch stuck to the pan. But it was yummy. A little crunch, nutty and sweet. Not reminiscent of anything I'd had before. It wasn't fluffy like cous cous or rice. It was more sticky and runny like a watery oatmeal only with itty bitty grains.

Just to be sure we'd really like it, I sauteed garlic and onions in olive oil and stirred in the amaranth before serving. It was so tasty, I wish I had cooked more. My hubby loved it too. Amaranth will definitely become a new staple in my kitchen.