Millet - Gluten Free

I have decided to "highlight" Millet first. It is one of my new favorite grains! It is a wonderful little grain and so totally under appreciated here in the United States. This picture is what the grain looks like uncooked. When I say it is underappreciated it is because in the United States, we are familiar with Millet as Bird Seed or Gerbel/Hampster Food! Can you believe that?


Now to give you a better frame of reference, picture 3 Millet grains equaling an individual grain/kernal of Brown Rice. Here is a picture!
Here, I cooked some up so you can see how that looks.



Millet is one of the Super Grains, it is rich in amino acids, phosphorus, Lysine & vitamin B. Its Iron content is higher than any grain except Amaranth and Quinoa. Millet is easy to digest and Gluten Free. Its easy digestability and high nutrition make it wonderful even for babies & young children. For more info check out "Those Wonderful Grains" by Brad E. Petersen aka "Chef Brad". It is available through www.ChefBrad.com)

Millet by itself has a bland flavor. Now why would we want BLAND? The beauty of its blandness is that it just sort of "takes on" the flavor of whatever you add it too! Incredible! Hence the ease of the "sneak"! When it is cooked it can easily be added to almost anything, scrambled eggs, macaroni & cheese, taco meat, chili, use as a meat extender in meatloaf & meatballs, stuffing aka dressing(you know, like with Thanksgiving dinner), soups & stews, add it to hot cereal, you could mix it with rice (as long as you aren't "sneaking". It can be added, cooked or whole raw grain to bread dough. I haven't tried this but have read that if you toast the raw grain before cooking, it tastes kinda like buttered popcorn - I will have to try that! When it is cooked it is light & fluffy, add more water and it becomes mushy like Polenta or mashed potatos. Please let me know ways you find to use it, I would love to hear of your experiences!

Nutritional Info for Millet - per 1 cup boiled
284 Calories, 8 grams Protein, 2 grams Fat - 0 Saturated Fat, 0 Cholesterol, 7 mg Calcium, 240 mg Phosphorus, 1.5 mg Iron, 5 mg Sodium, 3 grams Fiber, 57 grams Carbohydrate.