Rediscovering Barley

With the restrictive diet I'm on right now, I don't have a lot of options when it comes to grains and proteins. On the day-2 rotation of my LEAP diet, I'm allowed barley. I have to admit, it had a been a loooong time since I'd eaten barley and I honestly couldn't tell you if I'd ever cooked it before. I knew I could use it like a rice or quinoa on the days where I'm not allowed those staples. But then it occurred to me that it might actually make a nice breakfast.

So I cooked up a batch of barley pearls, of which bulk can be purchased at your local health food grocery. Takes about 25 min to cook then I just store it overnight. The only dairy I'm allowed on day #2's is goat milk. Which I have tosay, I seem to be able to drink just fine without a lot of problems(can't do regular cow's milk without taking a lactaid or buying lactaidmilk). So I take about a 1/3 cup of the cooked barley, added about 1/2 cup of goats milk, added a teaspoon of maple syrup and some fresh blueberries. Heat it up for about 1 1/2 minutes and whaalaaa. A pretty yummy breakfast cereal.

Barley is also apparently very good for you. "Barley contains eight essential amino acids.According to a recent study, eating whole grain barley can regulateblood sugar (i.e. reduce blood glucose response to a meal) for up to 10hours after consumption compared to white or even whole-grain wheat,which has a similar glycemic index. The effect was attributed to colonic fermentation of indigestible carbohydrates. Barley can also be used as a coffee substitute." (Wikipedia)

So there ya go...barley is yummy and healthy...