I get excited when I find new options for eating healthy, whether it's a deliciously low fat way to cook pork or a way to make oatmeal anything but plain.
Because let's face it: Eating healthy grains such as brown rice, oats and whole wheat bread reaps countless nutritional benefits, but when they become a stale part of a monotonous eating routine it becomes REALLY tempting to hit the greasy drive-thru.
Well, get excited, Badasses! The wheatberry is here, and its taste and kitchen ease are equal to its health benefits. I got my first taste a couple of weeks ago at Earth Fare here in Tallahassee, where the deli case featured a Greek Wheat Berry Salad packed with crumbled feta, red onions, cucumbers and a light vinaigrette dressing. Sooooo good!
This weekend, I found uncooked wheat berries in the grains aisle and put together my own salad. The recipe is below, but you can enjoy as much creativity and versatility with this grain as you do with brown rice, couscous and quinoa.
So why should you try wheat berries, beyond the deliciousness factor?
Generally speaking, the less processed and broken down the grain, the better it is for us. That's why highly processed white bread pales, literally, in comparison to whole wheat slices. Wheat berries are at the top of the grains ladder because they are whole wheat kernels in their most complete and unprocessed form. They contain the germ, endosperm and bran.
Wheat berries are even nuttier and chewier than barley. They are sturdy, hearty, and most definitely the Badass leader of the whole grains army! Consider: A 1/2-cup cooked serving of hard wheat berries, which is about 1/4 cup uncooked, contains 160 calories, 1 g of fat, nearly 7 g of protein, 35 g of carbohydrates, and 6 g of dietary fiber. Wheat berries also have high levels of vitamins B1 and B3 and contain the minerals manganese, selenium, magnesium, phosphorus, and copper.
So try the recipe below, which has awesome fall flavors to usher in September. Even better: Share your own and I'll post it here! Best one gets a Badass T and an EarthFare gift card!
A cooking note: Hard wheat berries take longer to cook than soft and may need to be soaked in water overnight. The variety I bought cook in a mere 15 minutes, making it an easy meal option for our busy schedules. The wheat berry's sturdy nature makes it ideal for a make-ahead salad that you can enjoy all week for lunches or for a few dinner side dishes.
(Wheat) Berry Badass Salad
- 1 cup wheat berries, uncooked
- 1/2 cup toasted pistachio nuts
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced
- 1/2 cup low-fat raspberry walnut vinaigrette
- 4 ounces feta or goat cheese, crumbled
- 1 small red onion, sliced thin or chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions: Cook the wheat berries as directed. Toss the cooked wheatberries with the remaining ingredients. Let the flavors marinate while the salad chills in the refrigerator at leasr 30 minutes, as long as overnight. Make it a meal by adding diced rotisserie chicken or, for vegetarians, chickpeas or cubes of firm baked tofu.
Coming this week: It's Week 1 of the 4-week Badass Makeover: 2 little changes, the first in a series that will add up to a stronger, healthier you. And a look at a few fitness and health phone apps worth using!
