Can I say it again? Please?!
WHEATBERRIES ROCK!!! 😎
Mango-Coconut Wheatberry Oatmeal
Today’s oatmeal concoction was….
- 1/3 cup oats (less b/c of wheatberries)
- 1/3 cup skim/hemp blend
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/2 a mango
- 1/4 cup wheatberries
- 1 tbsp flax
- Vanila extract
- Greek yogurt + maple “icing”
- Sprinkle of unsweetened coconut
- Spoonful almond butter
I added the oats, liquids and mango to start. When they were almost done, I stirred in the cooked wheatberries, flax, vanilla. Once in the bowl, toppings were added.
I loved chewing my way through this bowl in combo with the creaminess and volume of rolled oats. Steel cut oats have chew, but the portion is too small and they aren’t chewy enough. The addition of wheatberries to rolled oats is definitely the winner in terms of texture.
A Wheatberry Lesson
Since you all have been asking, here’s all I know:
I buy “Cracked wheat berries” (I think that’s what they’re called) at EarthFare in the bulk foods section. Check your local health foods store – and ask if you can’t find them. Mine are 150 kcal per 1/4 cup dry. Bob’s Red Mill also makes a line, which you can order online or maybe find in a store.
There are 2 methods to preparing wheatberries.
1) The soaking + sprouting method
2) The boiling method
The soaking method was the first we tried for sprouted grain bread. You can read lots’s more on the husband’s wheatberry bread page.
The boiling method was my experiment and I followed the instructions on the EarthFare bin.
- Put 1 cup of wheatberries in 3.5 cups water
- Soak overnight
- The next day, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes – 1 hour.
I ended up adding 1 cup of water as they were cooking when the water level got low.
I also weighed them before and after to get an accurate nutritional profile to keep in mine for portion control.
1 tablespoon = appx. 20 kcal.
1/4 cup = appx. 60 kcal.
Enjoy stirred into oatmeal and yogurt, as a cold salad with veggies, or just to chew plain
Bein’ Green
I walked the husband to the lightrail this morning. It’s about a mile and a quarter and when the sun is shining and we have the time, there’s no reason he shouldn’t walk. I joined him for some good conversation and plan on meeting him for the walk home too. I’m headed out for a short run soon and to the dentist this afternoon. Also to pick up our first CSA bushel!!
Dessert
For the record, I had half a cup of PB Chocolate So Delicious with a Meringue last night!
Katherine says
I’ve been eating lots of carrot cake oatmeal, but today i had zucchini bread oatmeal, and it was fabulous! I just replaced the shredded carrots with shredded zucchini and added cinnamon and nutmeg. If you like zucchini, give it a try 🙂
Kelly T says
i have a weird “thing” about coconut. I think since its so high in saturated fat Ive always thought of it as a not good choice.
Which is funny because I thnk sometimes ice cream is an acceptable dinner.
Susan says
Salmon eaters help please!
I would like to start eating salmon. In the past I think I have had farmed and found it too fishy and just to strong -yuck! I am a semi vegetarian so too strong of meat or fish is kinda gross to me.
I have no idea what I am doing in terms of buying salmon. I have heard wild salmon can have parasites that farmed does not. Is there a type of wild salmon that is more mild? Any suggestions are most appreciated!
Susan says
Kath,
What brand meringues do you buy?
Cassie says
Yummy looking dessert! And Yay to being green!
Nick says
Such an interesting and different combo every day for breakfast. And yes, wheatberries are pretty tasty. Never thought to put them in oatmeal, although I don’t see why not.
– The Peanut Butter Boy
Romina says
Thanks for the instructions! When I find wheatberries I’m so trying this.
Katers says
Swoon, our first CSA bushel doesn’t come til June 5th! Lucky duck!
HR says
I have a question about Heart Rate Monitors. I just bought one (the same kind as Kath, I think) and when I wear it (typically while doing the elliptical), it beeps the whole time, because my heart rate is over the ideal range! But, I don’t want to work out less intensely, because I feel good working out harder. Before I bought the monitor I had no idea my heart rate was so high. Is there a disadvantage to working out above the range? Thanks!
JennC says
Hey Kath and everyone! Just wanted to let you know I tried your low-country boil last night and it was AWESOME! Seriously everyone try it. I used all gulf-shrimp and in stead of the crab boil “bag” i used the zatarains and just dumped the contents in when i started the boiling.. the lemon and boil flavors really made the dish wonderful.
in terms of scones, i also made the Barefoot Contessa’s strawberry scones with fresh strawberries last night and they turned out really crumbly. awesome. you will have to play with the recipe though because it calls for a LOT of butter… i also did not use so much salt and added more sugar
Hannah says
I need to start walking more places. When we lived in Tempe I probably walked over 5 miles a day since I shared a car with the bf and he had it most of the time. At our new place there isn’t a whole lot of great stuff within walking distance, plus I’m sort of surrounded by bad neighborhoods. Maybe I’ll walk to the Walmart that I hate supporting to pick up a few things today…with my pepper spray of course 🙂
Allyson says
I’ve tried wheatberries from the food bar at Whole Foods and they’re great! I’ve always wanted to try to make them myself. Maybe I’ll look out for them next time I’m in WF 🙂
SawSaw says
Kelly T-
Ice cream IS an acceptable dinner 🙂
-SawSaw
Amalia says
I highly recommend cooking Kath’s classic oatmeal with some of Trader Joe’s frozen black cherries… Add a few chocolate chips on top, and its cherry chocolate oatmeal!! yum!
yaz says
what is a csa bushel?
Amandamoo says
Weird. I’m going to the dentist today too… Hope you’ve been flossing! : )
Betsy says
that oatmeal combo sounds so fricking fantastic.
i can’t wait to see what you get from you CSA!!!
flipflops says
Cherry chocolate oatmeal. I LOVE that idea Amelia. Great combo.
hk says
yum, what an awesome combo!! So for the wheatberries today, these were cooked? Did you just use a measuring cup to measure out 1/4cup cooked? or it is 1/4 dry to start?
I can’t wait, I have some waiting to be made, yay!!
p.s- I went to the bulk bins and got 2 different varieties of wheatberries, “soft” and “hard”…do you know the difference? I’m assuming it’s texture, but that’s my best guess based just on the names…?
have a great wednesday!!
Kiala says
Yaz-
CSA=Community Supporited Agriculture
and basically it’s produce from a local farm delivered to your door. Most cities have CSA programs now. You can look it up on the internet, I think.
Or, here’s a thing..
http://www.localharvest.org/csa/
VeggieGirl says
I agree – Wheatberries ARE amazing!! So flavorful.
Your dessert is cute, topped off with the meringue :0)
Happy Wednesday!
j says
hey kath,
how did you fingure the cals for cooked? (i’m lousy at that for grains/pasta in general figuring out cooked vs dry cals.
danke!
jenna says
These wheatberries look like they are right up my ally! Now I just need to find some because I checked my grocery store and they didn’t have any 🙁 Do they last a couple days in the fridge after you boil them?
Heather says
I might have to hop on the wheatberry bandwagon… that looks yummy. You always have such great oatmeal combinations!
Good luck with the dentist. I’ve been putting off my appt for a couple weeks (BAD!)
claire says
HR,
It might be that your HR monitor is set to the default heart range which is “moderate.” You can change it to the “hard” range.
You can also make it stop beeping b/c I find the beeping quite annoying.
Serena says
Susan – I used to not like salmon but finally realized that if I buy wild coho salmon I really like it. It’s definitely less fishy to me – it’s the really red/pink variety. I also find that buying a thin fillet rather than a thick salmon steak is better, but that may just be in my head. I’m not sure about the parasite thing though – I would just recommend going to a reputable fish seller and checking it out the same way you would other fish (make sure it looks firm and glossy and not dried out and smelly). I also really like smoked salmon. With cream cheese (low fat but I cannot have fat free b/c I think it tastes like glue) and tomatoes on pumpernickel bread. Yum.
NYCPeach says
HR –
Not sure which monitor you have, but mine (Nike) allows me to set a low and high range based on my height and range. You can also prob select the setting so it doesnt make a noise when it goes above or below!
Another Kelly says
I’m jealous of your CSA share. I tried to sign up for one back in March but they were all sold out for the summer. It’s a fantastic idea and my area has meat shares as well which is great if you don’t want to give up meat, but want more accountability from farms in terms of how the animals and land are treated.
Susan – Hmmm I hadn’t heard that about parasites in fresh fish, I have actually heard similar things more about farmed fish since they are sometimes kept in very crowded pens and thus are more likely to get things like lice which must be treated with antibiotics. I believe it was the book “What to Eat” that had a really interesting section on farmed vs. fresh fish. Salmon does have a more assertive flavor than other fish but it shouldn’t taste/smell “fishy” per se, that’s really more of a sign of fish that isn’t very fresh. I haven’t noticed one variety of salmon tasting different than another, but you could try other more milder varieties. I also really like mahi mahi and sole. In terms of what to buy, frozen is perfectly fine when it comes to wild fish since most will be flash frozen at sea anyway so often the “fresh” fish at the seafood counter has been defrosted. I agree with Serena that having a knowledgable fish monger can really make a difference. I usually buy my fish at whole foods since I find their employees to be very helpful, but I’ve also had great luck with big bags of frozen fish at my wholesale club.
If you’re trying to ease yourself in, sushi can also be a great option. I have a vegetarian friend who will eat fish and seafood, but only if it’s in sushi. Additionally, I LOVE the following recipe for salmon burgers. It has a lot of other flavors going on to balance out the salmon flavors. They are so good and freeze really well so I tend to make up a big batch and freeze extras for later:
http://www.oprah.com/foodhome/food/recipes/200601/food_200601_burger.jhtml
JennC says
hey Kath, just an observation… I notice about the only time you eat fruit is for breakfast with oatmeal. just curious as to how you get in your “daily dose” with vitamins? just curious. thanks!
Amandamoo says
JennC-
I’m pretty sure Kath has fruit with lunch quite often (she was talking about her amazing strawberries last week) and sometimes has fruit with dinner (sweet apple rice a while back) and as a desert (berry crumbtop thingy a couple weeks ago).
Ally says
That’s probably the best Soy Ice cream ever…. It’s making me crave ice cream!
I’ve always been interested in wheatberries so thanks for posting on how to use them.
Kath says
Susan ,
Meringues are from Trader Joe’s. The vanilla ones.
JennC ,
YAY YAY about the low-country boil!!! I can’t wait to do another one on our anniversary trip in late May. I actually have a box of the Barefoot Contessa scones my mother gave me – guess I need to just buckle down and make ‘real’ ones 🙂
hk ,
The ones today were 1/4 cup cooked, which is about the same nutritionally as rolled oats (it’s about 60 kcal per 1/4 cup vs. 75 for oats).
j,
I did it by weight. Weighed them dry to get the actual numbers. Then again cooked to get the portion that I’ll actually be eating. Then divided the weights to get the calories/fiber/protein per cooked weight/volume, which is how I’ll eat them. Make sense? Since I’m no longer tracking my calories, I just wanted to get an idea of the portion. It could have been 50 or 150 kcal per 1/4 cup and I would have believed it. Turns out they just about doubled in volume.
jenna ,
Yes, they’ll last a long time in the fridge. At least a week.
JennC ,
That’s actually not very true – I eat fruit often for meals other than breakfast. I have it with lunch over half of the time (just click the lunch category and scroll back- check out all the times I packed orange/kiwi in my lunches!) and often as a snack (today’s upcoming snack had raspberries). And even our dinner recipe tonight has apple in it.
Kath