Let's Talk Barley

Wow! If you are struggling with regularity...this is the grain for you!!! Upon researching this grain, I found that 1 C of hulled barley has 32 grams of fiber!!!!!!!! That's a serious amount of fiber. It is also high in selenium (remember that from the wheat sprouts). Selenium is a powerful anti-oxidant...remember anti-oxidants bind to the pesky free radicals that cause diseases like cancer. It is also high in tryptophan (which is an amino acid that supposedly functions to raise seratonin levels, making you feel better and sleep better...remember all those naps on Thansgiving due to tryptophan???), copper, manganese and phosphorus. Also, the fiber in barley has some REALLY important characteristics that make it AWESOME for you! The "good bacteria" in your intestines, feed on the fiber from barley and when it ferments, it creates a short-chain fatty acid that becomes food for the cells in the large intestine. This all contributes to a very healthy colon...and possibly lighter weight...who wants to carry around five extra pounds of waste!!!

Oh, one more thing...look closely at the cost of hulled barley on the tag...apparently barley is easy on the colon AND the wallet!!!

Here is a recipe I've already given out...but I have a lot of new blog visitors...so I thought I would re-submit this one. There are two more recipes using barley this week!!!

Whole Wheat, Barley, Flax Pancakes

1¼-1½ C whole wheat/barley blend (grind 1 C wheat and ¾ C barley together to make blend)
¼ C ground flax
1 T baking powder
½ tsp salt
3 T brown sugar
1 T oil
1¼ C milk
2 eggs, separated

Make barley/wheat blend. Add 1 ¼ C blended flour (if you want thin pancakes) and 1 ½ C blended flour if you want thicker pancakes. We like them a little thicker. Grind flax in a coffee grinder. Add ¼ C to the flour, re-serve any leftover flax for later. Add baking powder and salt and stir. In a separate bowl, mix brown sugar, oil and milk. Separate eggs and add yolks to wet ingredients and put whites in a separate bowl. Beat the whites to soft peaks. Mix wet ingredients (yolks, oil, milk and sugar). Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Fold in beaten egg whites. Bake on a greased, hot griddle. Makes about 12 pancakes.

Note: I like to put a little bit of syrup on the pancakes, and then sprinkle leftover flax on the pancakes. This gives you fresh flax and allows it to stick on the surface of the pancake. For my kids, I then put a little more syrup on top and cut the pancakes…they LOVE these!!!


Tomorrow, I'll give you another great recipe using barley!!!