Cozy Baked Barley
Ingredients
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- 8 oz mushrooms, roughly chopped
- 1 medium sweet onion, finely diced
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp dried rosemary
- 1 cup pearled barley
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- Fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare vegetables by cutting as directed in the ingredients.
- Heat a Dutch oven or oven-safe pot over medium-high heat; add butter, oil, mushrooms, and onion. Sauté until mushrooms have softened and onions are slightly translucent.
- Add garlic and rosemary and sauté for another 30 seconds to allow flavors to bloom. Next, add barley and vegetable broth and stir to combine. Place lid on pot and place in oven. Bake for one hour.
- After one hour, stir the barley to fluff. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking. Garnish with fresh parsley, serve with your choice of protein and enjoy!
Notes
Fa-la-la-la Lectins!
You may be wondering, what is a lectin? Lectins are a type of protein found in most plant foods such as beans, grains, potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, berries, nuts, and many more. As you can see, a lot of foods contain lectins.
In recent years, lectins have been the topic of controversy due to non-nutrition professionals stating that lectins are responsible for a variety of diseases.
Lectin-containing foods are primarily fruits and vegetables, which the average American does not consume enough of as is! While the lectins found in raw beans and uncooked grains can cause an upset stomach in humans, cooking removes this side effect, making cooked beans and grains safe and incredibly nutritious for us. Furthermore, humans have adapted
to consume lectins in fruits and vegetables. So, while there isn’t evidence that lectin-containing foods are harmful to us, there is an overabundance of evidence on the importance of consuming fruits and vegetables every day. The benefits of eating fruits and vegetables far outweigh the risks of consuming lectins. If you have more questions about lectins or how to increase your fruit & vegetable intake, ask a registered dietitian!
Lectin-containing foods are primarily fruits and vegetables, which the average American does not consume enough of as is! While the lectins found in raw beans and uncooked grains can cause an upset stomach in humans, cooking removes this side effect, making cooked beans and grains safe and incredibly nutritious for us. Furthermore, humans have adapted
to consume lectins in fruits and vegetables. So, while there isn’t evidence that lectin-containing foods are harmful to us, there is an overabundance of evidence on the importance of consuming fruits and vegetables every day. The benefits of eating fruits and vegetables far outweigh the risks of consuming lectins. If you have more questions about lectins or how to increase your fruit & vegetable intake, ask a registered dietitian!