Hey, it’s May! Which not only means that I’m marrying Funk NEXT MONTH but it also means it’s National Mediterranean Diet Month! I’m a huge fan of the Mediterranean diet. What’s not to love about fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, fish, and olive oil? All of those are staples in my diet. Put a platter of hummus, olives, pita bread, more olives and olive oil in front of me and I’m a happy girl. Following a Med Diet has been shown to reduce your risk of developing several chronic diseases and to boost your brainpower.
The Boston-based thinktank Oldways (remember the great people who brought me out to the Whole Grains Conference?) has been promoting the benefits of a Mediterranean diet for over two decades. They have a variety of great materials to help educate you or your clients about the health benefits of this diet, including this neat Med Diet Food Pyramid. They also have a fantastic book that includes Mediterranean recipes and essays from Oldways that I’m happy to own. Want to have your own copy? Keep reading…
In celebration of National Mediterranean Diet Month I made this Asparagus and Currant Wheat Berry Salad for dinner. Asparagus are synonymous with spring and the simple oil and vinegar dressing means you can whip this up with ingredients you already have on hand. Don’t have wheat berries? Try brown rice or quinoa – any whole grain fits in the Med Diet Lifestyle. You could also replace the currants with raisins, and the almonds with walnuts.
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups hard wheat berries
¾ cup currants
1 pound asparagus spears, cut into ½ inch pieces
¼ cups almonds, chopped
2 green onions, white and green parts, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
Directions:
In a large pot combine the wheat berries and enough water to come 2 inches over the wheat berries. Bring to a boil and cook uncovered for 1 hour, or until tender. (I used my rice cooker for this – set it and forget it.) Drain and let cool.
In a large bowl, combine the wheat berries, almonds, asparagus, currants, green onions, salt, olive oil and lemon juice. Season, to taste, with freshly ground pepper. Enjoy hot or cold.
Want to whip up many more Mediterranean Diet recipes? Oldways is generously offering one Eat Well with Janel reader their cookbook! All you have to do is leave me a comment telling me your favorite food that fits in the Med Diet. Avocados? Olive oil? Bulgur? Salmon? I’ll pick a winner on Friday!
Want more chances to win?
· Tweet about this contest and leave me a comment telling me about it.
· Blog about this contest and leave me a comment with the link.
· Join my Facebook fan page and say hi! (then leave me another comment)
That’s 4 ways for you to enter – good luck!
Disclaimer: I am not being paid to promote Oldways or their book.
