Barley Cereal Recipe: Barley Harvest

Barley cereal is healthy and can help you lose weight. From Psychology Today magazine, here is a recipe for making your own Barley Harvest Cereal. I'd be interested in hearing back from anyone who tries it. The following recipe makes 8 servings. Total cook time is 2 hours.

Ingredients

• 8 cups water

• ½ cup wild rice

• 1 cup "pearl" barley (sold in most supermarkets)

• ½ cup steel-cut oats (Irish oatmeal)

• ½ cup raisins

• ½ cup chopped pitted dates

• ¼ cup walnuts

• 1 tbsp. butter

• ¾ tsp. salt

• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F. Simmer 2 cups water and wild rice for 20 minutes. Drain. Mix rice and all remaining ingredients together in a baking dish. Cover loosely with foil and bake until grains are tender, water is absorbed, and cereal is creamy, stirring occasionally (about 1½ hours).

Ready-Made Barley Cereal

If you don't like to cook, another option is to simply purchase ready-made cereal from your local grocery.

Other Barley Resources

Here are some additional resources for those who want to learn even more about barley:

• Barley, The Keeper Carb. Free brochure from the Idaho Barley Commission (pdf format). Barley storage and cooking tips, using barley in the microwave, barley recipes.

• More Barley Recipes. Southwest Barley Salad, Stuffed Chicken Breast with Spiced Cranberries and Barley, Barley Banana Bread Pudding, Barley Granola, Beef and Barley Soup.

• Even More Barley Recipes. From the National Barley Foods Council. Over 40 barley recipes, including main dishes, side dishes, soups/stews, salads, vegetarian dishes, baked goods, and breakfast dishes.