A berry
covered in wheat? Wheat covered in
berries? Not quite!
What are
they, you ask? Wheat berries are whole,
unprocessed wheat kernels that contain the germ, bran, and starchy endosperm of
the grain. Basically, it is the grain
without its shell! All wheat products
are made from wheat berries.
Because all
three parts of the grain remain, wheat berries are wonderfully nutritious –
they are high in fibre, low in calories, and jam packed with vitamins and
minerals. Whole grains are an essential
part of a healthy diet and Canada’s Food Guide tells us that at least half of
our grain products should be whole grains each day.
Wheat berries
can be found at Early’s Farm and Garden and at Co-op’s in Saskatoon. Look around at your local grocery store to
see if they are available!
Now that you’ve
heard how great wheat berries are, let’s explore how you can use them in your
meals and snacks. Be sure to watch the
video from Health Castle below to learn how to cook wheat berries.
Wheat berries
can be added to baking, soups, stews, salads, and much more! For example, at breakfast, you can put
cooled, cooked wheat berries into your yogurt with fruit to start off the day ‘nutrishusly’
;). You can also add texture and fibre to
salads and muffins by incorporating wheat berries into your meals and
recipes.
So, make sure
you look for wheat berries on your next trip to the grocery store. I know I will!
Sources:
How to Cook Wheat Berries Video. HealthCastle.com
Wheat Berries - March 2010's Featured Food. LeslieBeck.com.
Guest post by
Jayme Nicholls, Dietetic Intern
for:
Steph Wheler, RD
something nutrishus counselling & coaching
