A little earthy, a little nutty,  a little chewy with almost a pasta-like tooth feel, barley is great in a number of preparations.  And did I mention it’s good for you, too? Try it in soups instead of rice; use it for pilafs or in risotto type dishes; bake it in casseroles; spice and sweeten it for breakfast; make it into salads.  In the Side Carb Recipes section of our recipe forum, you’ll even find a tabouli wannabe recipe utilizing barley.

 
There are several varieties of barley out there.  To help you understand the difference in product and how they apply to use for this program, I’m providing the following excerpt from Cook’s Thesaurus (www.foodsubs.com )

hulled barley This is the least processed form of barley, with just the outermost hull removed. While it’s chewier and slower to cook than more processed forms of barley, it’s rich in fiber and really good for you. Look for it in health food stores.pearl barley This is the most common form of barley, but not the most nutritious. While hulled barley loses only the thick outer hull in the milling process, pearl barley is stripped of the nutritious bran layer as well, leaving just the “pearl” inside. Despite this, it’s still fairly nutritious. It takes about an hour to cook.quick-cooking barley This is similar to pearl barley in taste and nutrients, but it only takes about 10 minutes to cook since it’s been pre-steamed. Should you opt to use this product during the reduction portion of 6WBMO, we recommend that you monitor your progress.

For purposes of this program, any of these products would be allowed, though ideally the less processed the product, the better. Please keep in mind that cooking times below are based upon using the quick-cooking barley, so if you opt for either of the other varieties, you will have to adjust cooking times according to what’s recommended on your barley package.

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