Читать книгу Fresh and Wild Cookbook: A Real Food Adventure - Ysanne Spevack - Страница 19

Jo is a newspaper pictures editor turned silversmith, who lives near Canary Wharf in London’s East End. She swears by this breakfast idea and is full of creativity and beans, so give it a go.

Millet is a wonder grain. It’s one of the richest sources of silicon, the mineral that’s a major ingredient in collagen. Collagen is not just something that’s used in cosmetic surgery. It’s the substance that keeps everything in your body flexible – your skin, your eyes and your arteries. Millet is also the only grain to contain all eight of the essential amino acids needed for a complete protein. This breakfast is nice and alkaline, too, as millet is also the only grain that is alkaline, so it’s a real treat for your liver. Full of complex carbohydrates, it will keep you alert and on the ball until lunchtime, with the rice, nuts and fruit providing the starches.

Actually, most of southern Africa swears by millet, whether flaked, whole or ground into flour. It’s the staple food grown by farmers in and around Zimbabwe, where it grows well even in near-drought conditions. People used to rely on maize in Zimbabwe, in the same way that people in the UK rely on wheat. But maize needs regular watering, leaving subsistence farmers in southern Africa without a crop if the rains don’t come.

Millet is beginning to turn this around, as it’s one of the hardiest food crops you can grow. Being a native African grain, it can survive long periods of drought and short periods of flood. So it’s bringing hope of self-sufficiency in the future to the farmers and communities who live in this area. And as it’s a much richer food source than maize, it adds valuable protein and nutrition to their diets.