Naked & Unimpaired Grains (Loose the Packaging)

 

I'm not here to teach how to read labels on packaged cereals, breads and snack foods. I am not a connoisseur. While I've nothing against a packaged tortilla, a sandwich on grainy bread or a crispy cracker-I'm not one to eat them every day. I have concerns and questions:

After 50 years of eating processed and convenience foods, are we healthier than we might have been without?

Have we shaped a habit in our school kids to choose a packaged grain product (i.e., crustless peanut butter sandwich, pop tart, cereal bar or pancake) versus making it from scratch?

Does enriching breads and cereals with some nutrients (but not all) in proportions unlike the original grain create an imbalance? 

Are synthetic vitamins and nutrients creating allergies?

Has the lack of diversity in grains increased food intolerance and sensitivities? 

Just as I choose a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables daily, I choose a variety of whole grains daily. My grain choices this week included rye, spelt, purple barley, brown and red rice, fonio (a millet), farro, oats, corn, red and white wheat. I so enjoy the variety of whole grains and testing these whole in main dishes and sides and ground berries (flours) in breads and baked goods.

I challenge you to try a new whole grain in a recipe.

That's purple barley snack cake pictured above. Here's the same barley in a delicious main dish:

Purple Barley Bouillabaisse

(5 Servings)

Heat olive oil in pan on stove-top.  Add onion, garlic, peppers, saffron and sausage.  Break up sausage and stir periodically until sausage is brown.  Drain and press out visible fat.
2 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 cup onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
Pinch saffron
1/3 cup colorful sweet peppers, seeded and diced
6 ounce sausage

Return sausage mix to pan with hot chicken stock.  Stir in sherry and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and add barley, tomatoes and paste.  Simmer covered for about 45 minutes, until barley is tender.
1 cup low sodium chicken stock
1/2 cups sherry
5 ounce purple or black barley
10 ounce petite diced tomatoes in juice, no added salt
1 tablespoon tomato paste

Just before serving, add peas and shrimp.  Cook for about 3 minutes,  until shrimp is pink and heated throughout. 

4 ounce raw peeled shrimp
3/4 cup peas, frozen