Change Tastes Good

Did you know you can eat barley for breakfast? And did you know it doesn't taste like crap?

I didn't, until I did. I mean, until I ate it for breakfast. You know what I mean.

If you have a rice cooker, this is a piece of cake. I ordered hull-less barley from Bob's Red Mill a while back and it's been patiently sitting in my pantry, waiting for a day when I felt a little adventurous. Throw some barley in your rice cooker, add water and flip the switch:

When it's all done it will look so pretty, like this:

Barley is a good substitute for oatmeal (I kind of think it's better to be honest). It is also well known for stabilizing blood sugar longer than any other food. It takes on the flavors of whatever you add to it, and the small barley kernels pop in your mouth when you eat them. Texture heaven! You can add whatever you want to it. Last week I had it with apples and pecans, this morning I'm eating it with a diced pear, ginger and cinnamon. Yum!

 Barley re-heats well, so you can make a big pot of it and eat it all week. You can also eat it cold. It is full of fiber (especially the hull-less kind, not so much the pearled) and vitamins; add a protein source like some peanut butter or a scoop of yogurt and you have a very balanced and tasty breakfast.

Huh, who knew? Barley doesn't suck.