Best Way to Ripen, Cut, & Preserve an Avocado
Avocado Avocado

Best Way to Ripen, Cut, & Preserve an Avocado

Either in guacamole, as a replacement for mayo on a sandwich, or just plain with a little bit of salt, avocados are delicious and nutritious! Full of fiber, potassium, folate, vitamins K, C, B6, E, and monounsaturated fat, avocados are great for blood pressure and blood sugar control, as well as for keeping belly fat down. Do you need any more reasons to indulge?

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Build a Bowl: Easy Grain Bowl Formula

Build a Bowl: Easy Grain Bowl Formula

Are you in a rice, pasta, or potato rut, and searching for delicious, simple ways to eat more whole grains?  Grain bowls, the west coast's healthy obsession, are a perfect solution!  These aren’t too unfamiliar, given that Chipotle’s best-selling item, their burrito bowl, is just a Mexican version of a grain bowl. These bowls are the ideal way to make a fast, tasty DIY meal using leftovers and ancient whole grains, any time of the day. Cooked whole grains like farro, barley, brown or black rice, or quinoa keep for about five days in the refrigerator, so you can prepare them in advance in a rice cooker or on the stove top and use them throughout the week as the base ingredient of this tasty new trend, in various combinations.It's so easy for quick, causal restaurants to put together a burrito bowl or a rice bowl right in front of you – you tell them what you like, and they throw it in a bowl. It's not much harder to do this at home, and it may just become your go-to weeknight staple. Make variations using one or a mixture of whole grains as a base, and then top it with ingredients that combine different textures and a balance of flavors between salty, sweet, and acidic. In other words, use my simple Grain Bowl Formula below to build the best bowl ever!

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Barley to the Rescue

Barley to the Rescue

Are you in a rice, pasta, and potato rut? Pull yourself out of it with barley! It is easy, delicious, and super nutritious. In fact, barley has great protective effects against heart disease, diabetes, cancer, obesity, and even gallstones. Ancient Greek and Roman athletes ate barley for strength. They were on to something! It's time to go out of your comfort zone and try some powerful barley.

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Farro: Pharaoh's Wheat

Farro: Pharaoh's Wheat

Farro is an ancient grain belonging to the wheat family.  It gave rise to durum wheat, from which pasta flour is made, and spelt, but was replaced in modern times by ordinary wheat because modern-day wheat is easier to harvest and has a higher crop yield. Yet farro has twice the fiber (5 g/serving) and protein (7 g/serving) of modern wheat. It's also high in minerals: iron, magnesium, selenium, and zinc, as well as B vitamins and vitamin E.

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