Millet: A healthy beautifier

Millet flatbreads were eaten in China and Mesopotamia as early as 8,000 years ago. However, millet is not only the oldest, but also the most mineral-rich grain. The lavishly contained vitamins and  nutrients  make the small grains full, healthy and beautiful. Nevertheless, millet is rarely found in German kitchens.

Healer millet

Probably the most important property of millet is that it is one of the  gluten-free cereals  . Although it is not particularly suitable for baking bread, it is a valuable food for people with gluten allergies, gastrointestinal problems or  celiac disease .

Unlike many grains, millet is not acid-forming, but  alkaline-forming,  which in turn leads to less mucus formation in the body. Millet porridge is a recommended, healthy dish, especially for colds and flu-like effects.

However, millet is also a real  beauty elixir in everyday life. The contained silicic acid and fluorine strengthen the teeth, bones and nails and smooth the skin and hair and make them shine.

Millet – valuable ingredients for a healthy body

Millet is healthiest in its original form, i.e. with the shell. However, whole millet, which is also called brown millet, has to be cooked for a very long time before it becomes soft and is therefore often only available as brown millet flour. However, processed, peeled millet, which is usually offered as millet flakes, millet pearls or millet groats, is also full of valuable ingredients. These include iron, which is important for blood formation and oxygen supply, calcium, magnesium, B and E vitamins and provitamin A.

In addition to all the minerals and trace elements, a grain of millet contains:

• 70 percent carbohydrates
• 10 percent protein 
• 5 percent fat

100 grams of millet have 311 kilocalories – but 100 grams of unsweetened millet porridge only contain 120 kcal.

Slim and healthy thanks to millet

It is not for nothing that the old Germanic name “Hirsi” stands for “saturation, nutritiousness”. The yellow grains swell up and quickly fill up the stomach. As a result, fewer calories are consumed and blood sugar fluctuations are kept to a minimum. Millet can thus protect against  obesity  and  diabetes  .

But although the grain tastes good and fills you up, cooking with millet has almost fallen into oblivion since the introduction of the higher-yield staple foods – potatoes,  corn  and  rice  – in Europe. While the grain is still very popular in North Africa and Asia, millet is now mainly used as birdseed in Germany.

Cooking healthy recipes with millet

However, due to its numerous positive properties, millet has recently gained importance in whole foods. There are now plenty of delicious millet recipes – from classic millet porridge or millet groats to millet salad, millet casserole, millet dumplings, millet patties and even pizza dough with millet.

In any case, millet should always be combined with fruit or vegetables so that the body can optimally utilize the many vitamins and minerals.