Barley and Me

January 30, 2009 at 1:07 am | Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment
Tags: barley, burger, Kale, product review, veggies

 

Sorry I couldn’t resist the title. Did anyone else see Marley and Me?? Boy did I cry during that!!! Maybe because my last golden, Polo, was EXACTLY like Marley..quite the terror. But I loved him.

I had planned on making swee potato rissoto for dinner but then I realized we were out of onions. Bummer. Another night!

Instead, I had some of the leftover black bean burger mixture (James cooked some of the leftover black bean burger mixture with some potatoes cut up in it). On the side, I had a mixture of kale, defrosted Asian veggies, with some hummus + soy sauce on top. I love hummus on top of cooked veggies! 

And then I cooked up some barley!

I got this in the bulk section of whole foods. It cooked up nice and fluffy.

I found this on the Whole Foods website:

Look at all those nutrients!

According the the website, barley can help protect against high cholesterol,  provide cardiovascular benefits AND protect against  Type 2 Diabetes!!!

A lot of that can be said for most whole grains but the high fiber in barley takes it a notch above the rest!

I thought this table was really interesting:

Food	Fiber Content in Grams
Oatmeal, 1 cup	3.98
Whole Wheat Bread, 1 slice	2
Whole Wheat Spaghetti, 1 cup	6.3
Brown rice, 1 cup	3.5
Barley, 1 cup	13.6
Buckwheat, 1 cup	4.54
Rye 1/3 cup	8.22
Corn, 1 cup	4.6
Apple, 1 medium with skin	5.0
Banana, 1 medium	4.0
Blueberries, 1 cup	3.92
Orange, 1 large	4.42
Pear, 1 large	5.02
Prunes, 1/4 c.	3.02
Strawberries, 1 cup	3.82
Raspberries, 1 cup	8.36

 

WOW!

Today I also had my first experience with a Clif bar. Each week when we go grocery shopping, I treat myself to one special bar from the bar section.

This week the Carrot Cake Clif Bar won. I had seen Clif bars all over the blogworld and decided to give them a shot. I have to say…I didn’t really like it! It was just too sweet for me. I felt like my teeth were starting to hurt from all the sugar! It was also a lot more caloric then I usually like to make my midmorning snack (240 cals) and it didn’t keep me full any longer then my normal granola bars do. Disappointing I must say.

These are the bars I have been having regular:

Eating this is pretty much a taste explosion in my mouth. Here’s the description:

“Inspired by the downright yummy combination of flavors in one of our best-selling trail mixes, Trader Joe’s Organic Sweet, Savory & Tart Trail Mix Bars are a perfect blend of taste and convenience. Peanuts, cashews, cranberries, chocolate chips and almonds are blended with organic oats and crispy rice to create the ultimate grab and go bar. They’re sweet, savory and tart – crunchy and chewy. Talk about satisfying a whole lot of cravings at once!”

Nutritionals:  140 cals, Fat: 4.5 g, Sat. Fat 1g, Sodium 85 mg, Protein 2g, Dietary Fiber 1g

Okay not blow your mind nutritionals but it tastes good and makes a nice mid morning treat.

What is your favorite granola bar??

UPDATED: Just wanted to remind everyone about the BSI this week: DATES! Head on over to Sarah’s blog to find out more!