Wholesome Wheat Berry Salad

Mar 10, 2011 by lanashabit

I like huge salads.

I like eating salads as a meal.

I hate salads that consist of a few pieces of iceberg lettuce, a tomato slice and three croutons.

I need hearty, nutritious salads to fuel my lifestyle.

I’ll be a happy camper if you give me grains, beans and veggies.

Enter, a REAL salad…

Wheat berries are similar to brown rice, but more nutty and slightly crunchy. This is a great grain to add to your weekly lineup. I based this on many recipes I’ve seen over the years and ingredients I had on hand. I’m also trying to clean out my fridge before heading out of town for spring break.

I’ve made this 3 times in the past month. I was so happy with the original results that I have not changed a thing. The only exception was adding 1/2 a cup of edamame to the second batch. If you do not have chickpeas on hand, throw in black beans or white navy beans. The possibilities are endless! The dressing is the key when making this luxurious salad. It adds a little somthin’ somethin’.

Wholesome Wheat Berry Salad

Yield: ~ 10 cups

1 cup dry wheat berries
1 15 oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 small red bell pepper, diced (~1/2 cup)
1 small green bell pepper, diced (~1/2 cup)
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 purple onion, diced (~1/2 cup)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup fresh parsley, stems removed and minced
S&P to taste

Dressing:

2 T. EVOO
2 T. balsamic vinegar
1 t. dijon mustard
1 t. red wine vinegar
Juice of a large lemon

1. Cook the wheat berries: Put the wheat berries in a large bowl, cover them with 4 inches of water and allow to soak, uncovered, overnight. The next day, drain the soaking water and place the wheat berries in a pot. Cover with about an inch of water. Allow the wheat berries to come to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 45 minutes or until the berries are tender (they will still be slightly chewy). Drain and cool.
2. While the wheat berries are cooking: Assemble chickpeas, diced bell peppers, tomato, onion, garlic and parsley in a large bowl. In a small bowl whisk the dressing ingredients together.
3. Salad assembly: Add the wheat berries and dressing to the large bowl. Stir to combine and serve! 

You can also use a slow cooker to cook the berries. I’ve turned the slow cooker to low, headed to my afternoon classes, and returned 4 hours later to cooked berries. 

Is it just me or is vegetable chopping incredibly de-stressing? It might just be me….

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!!

*******

In other news:

• Spring Break is rapidly approaching! I am heading to San Fransisco with the family, so I might be MIA from the blogging world. I will return with some fun pictures!
• I had the most embarrassing moment yesterday…picture this: I’m running (literally running) to meet the group of people I do CrossFit with. They are across the park, standing in a circle, and waiting for me. I’m wearing warm-up pants with the zipper at the bottom of the pant legs unzipped. As I’m telling them not to wait for me, my foot gets caught in the flaring, unzipped material. The next thing I see (and taste) is dirt!! I didn’t just fall on to my knees…I did a belly flop into the dirt. Everyone watching me fall was not only laughing, but got to witness the largest mushroom cloud (of dirt) since the last nuclear test in Nevada. My stomach hurt so bad after that (from laughing and falling). I still laugh every time I think about it!!

I hope your having a lovely Thursday!

Related Posts

Tags

Share This