Grain Combos Improve Nutritional Profile, Texture Of Baked Goods

USDA food scientists who experimented with the ancient grain amaranth, blending it with oats, whole wheat and chia seeds, say they’ve come up with more healthful, yet still tasty, sugar cookies. Both amaranth and chia contain the essential amino acid lysine. Blending amaranth with beta-glucan-rich oats results in a cookie that could help lower blood cholesterol. Blending an oat bran concentrate and whole wheat flour with finely ground chia may prove even more beneficial. Because chai seeds are rich in omega 3 fatty acids, baked goods made with the chia-oats-wheat mixture not only have improved texture, they could help lower blood cholesterol and prevent coronary heart disease.