Train With Grains Recipe: Wheat Berry Salad.
By CRS Community Leader Jodi Lewchuk
This year we’re teaming up with the Grain Farmers of Ontario to bring you the best pre and post-run recipes to fuel your marathon training! Each week we’ll feature a new and unique recipe from one of our CRS Community Leader Ambassadors. Today’s recipe is a delicious Wheat Berry Salad from Jodi Lewchuk that you can make ahead so it’s ready as soon as you finish your run! Do you have a recipe you’d like to share? Share a photo on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #TrainWithGrains for your chance to win a “Good in Every Grain” Prize Pack valued at $50!
For me, after my Sunday long run, the key is to have foodstuffs prepared and ready to go when the ravenous hunger hits post-shower. I often cook up a big pot of grain on the weekend (e.g., rice, barley, pearled wheat) to have on hand during the week to make salads with, serve on the side with stirfries, or toss into a pot of soup. This means it’s easy to pull together a filling, nutritious meal to replace all the fuel I burn laying down kilometre after kilometre early on Sunday mornings. One of my favourite bases for substantial meal salads is wheat berries, or pearled wheat. When cooked it has an almost nutty flavour and is wonderfully chewy. It also pairs well with just about anything you can dream up to top it with. Besides being delicious and versatile, this particular grain also reminds me of my family heritage, as my great-great grandparents farmed wheat when they arrived in Canada. If you can’t find pearled wheat, pearled barley works just as well.
For the dressing:
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
6 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl and whisk until emulsified.
For the salad and assembly:
2 cups cooked pearled wheat or pearled barley (cooked according to package directions), cooled
6 leaves kale, cut into ribbons
1/3 cup can rosebud beets, diced
1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/3 cup shelled walnuts
1/3 cup raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
Place cooked pearled wheat in a large bowl, pour over the dressing, and mix well. Arrange the kale, beets, feta cheese, walnuts, and pepitas in stripes on top of the dressed wheat to create a pinwheel effect, or simply stir all ingredients together.
Serves 1 very hungry post-long-run runner
*Share your favourite pre or post-run snack or meal on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #TrainWithGrains for your chance to WIN 1 of 4 entries to the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon! Contest open until August 14th.
