Hello! Hello! Hello! How is everyone doing? Well after a very standard Monday I hope today is more exciting. Despite my average and boring Monday my eats kept me going through out the day and made it that little bit more interesting.
Yesterday for breakfast I decided to raid my Yeo Valley haul and made a yoghurt bowl made from some fat free vanilla yoghurt, Apple and Berry Compote and topped it with some Dorset Tasty Fruit and Fibre Cereal.
I’ve just been having a look at the Yeo Valley recipe page and there is so much on there. I have already spotted a few recipes that I want to try, so watch this space!My mid morning snack consisted of some raw broccoli with some of my Almond and Piquant Pepper Pesto for dipping.
Lunch was a huge salad monster which included the Pearl Barley and Green Lentil Pilaf that cooked up on Sunday on top of some green batavia lettuce from my veg box.
This pilaf is so tasty, especially with the zesty dressing that I stirred through. I adapted a recipe that I saw on the Food Network channel on a show hosted by nutritionist Ellie Kreiger and thought I just had to give it a go!
Pearl Barley and Green Lentil Pilaf
- 1 1/2 cups of pearl barley
- 11/2 cups of green lentils
- 1 red onion diced
- 1 red pepper diced
- 1 yellow pepper diced
- 1 cup of baby spinach
- zest of 1 lemon
- juice of 1 lemon
- 3 tbsp of canola oil
- 2 tbsp of chives
- 2 tbsp of coriander
- vegetable or chicken stock
- seasonings
First boil the lentils and pearl barley in the stock until cooked, drain and set aside. In another pan sautee the red onion until it is soft and add the diced peppers and cook until tender. Mix the vegetables in a bowl together with the lentils and pearl barley and add the spinach, which will wilt from the heat of the cooked grains and vegetables.
To make the dressing, zest and juice one lemon and add the canola oil. Mix well and stir in the chopped herbs. Pour over the dressing whilst the grains are still warm and stir through. Ensure that everything is coated it the dressing.To be honest I think any grain or herb would work in this dish, brown rice, quinoa, millet, because it’s so versatile. You could play around with different dressings and herbs too.
My afternoon snackage came in the form of a Oatmeal, Raisin and Walnut Clif Bar. I didn’t actually end up eating the fruit in the picture as the Clif bar was seriously filling.
When I got home I did my usual toning workout with some added abs work and since I was still full from my snack in the afternoon I settled for the remainder of the New England Butternut Squash soup for dinner with an Amisa Spelt Cracker bread. This was followed by a yummy snack plate with some raw chocolate covered golgi berries and sliced apples sprinkled with cinnamon and maca powder with some peanut butter for dipping.
I did have another apple and a pear afterwards too.
I really love the pearl barley in the pilaf I had for lunch. Its so much lighter than rice and had a lovely nutty texture, definitely one of my favourite whole grains. Thank goodness that I have some leftovers for later in the week. 😀
What are your favourite whole grain? What is your favourite dish to use them in?
I’m a huge fan or pearl barley! I love using it to replace rice in one of my healthy risotto recipes. Quinoa is definitely up there as a favourite too, can’t beat a big bowl of quinoa and roasted veggies!
Quinoa and veggies…yum! 🙂
Quinoa is without a doubt my fave, tastes great and has such a great nutritional profile. I guess it also just depends what mood I’m in too. I love wild and brown rice at the moment, and pearl barley too of course!
I think quinoa is definitely the King of whole grains…so yummy! 🙂
tht sounds like a great pilaf!! i dont think ive ever had barley! my fav whole grain.. oats! wait.. does that count? haha oh well oats ROCK
Oats are one of my faves too…big time!!!
I love qunioa 🙂 I like it cooked with tomatoes, herbs and beetroot 🙂
That sounds delicious! 🙂
Gosh I’m not sure if I can pick a favourite. I mean, they’re all carbs and I just adore carbs! So I love them all. 🙂 Your salad looks like a fab and filling lunch.
The salad was fab and very filling, but in a good way! 😀
Hey, where did my comment go?
For some strange reason it ended up in my spam box 🙁
I’ve never had pearl barley before! My fave is oats (does that count?) followed by wholewheat couscous for the convienience factor- done in 5 mins! 😀
Oats definitely count in my book. I cannot live without my oats! 🙂
Quinoa is my favourite and really versatile. I also love barley, brown rice and bulgar wheat. I’ve just tried buckwheat for the first time and I’m not overly impressed – I think I might have overcooked it though!
Your salad looks yummy – I love salad, even in the winter
I’ve never tried buck wheat before, but I agree with you that whole grains are so versatile! 🙂
My favorite grain would have to be quinoa as its so high in protein too. I love it as a savory and as a sweet its so versatile and yummy! x x
ooooo quinoa is amazing….definitely a winner! x
I really really love barley! I could eat it many times a week, but don’t for some reason!