Healthy Eating Series at Whole Foods Market in Cary

Thanks to our friends at Whole Foods Market in Cary who are proving their committment to eating well in 2010 by hosting a Healthy Eating Series in the store. The 1st class got off to a great start last week with the topic of vegetarian cooking! After a discussion of what a vegetarian diet looks like from Katherine, the class shifted into cooking mode! The cooking demo started off with a Wheat Berry Salad. Everyone loved the combo of wheat berries, beets, carrots and orange zest in the salad. If you could identify with Johnny's video last week about his recent salad rut, this Wheat Berry Salad is sure to get you out of the drab salad mode! After the first recipe, we moved on to cooking kale in a Sautéed Green with White Beans and Garlic dish. Everyone really enjoyed the new ideas for cooking veggies at the class. If you'd like to participate in the next Healthy Eating Series class at Whole Foods Market in Cary about Whole Grains click here for the store's calendar. Enjoy the recipes!

Wheat Berry Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 cups uncooked wheat berries
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 orange
• 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 ½ tablespoons flaxseed oil or canola oil
• 2 small raw beets, peeled and grated
• 1 carrot, grated
• ¾ cup seedless raisins
• 1 small bunch green onions, trimmed and thinly sliced

Method:

Place wheat berries in a large bowl and cover with several inches of cold water. Let soak 8 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse the berries and place them in a large saucepan. Cover by several inches of salted water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and simmer until berries are tender and some break open, about an hour. Drain well and set aside to cool. Zest orange then transfer zest to a large bowl. Add juice of the orange, lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper and whisk to make a dressing. Add cooled wheat berries and toss. Add beets, carrots, raisins, and green onions and toss again. (Note: to avoid staining your hands with beet juice, wear kitchen gloves or use the shredding attachment on the food processor)

Sautéed Green with White Beans and Garlic

serves 6-8

Fresh greens combine with pantry classics of olive oil, crushed red pepper and canned cannellini beans in this simple, nutritious side-dish that pairs well with healthy entrées. This dish can be made with a mix of your favorite greens, such as spinach, mustard greens, curly endive, escarole, kale, and broccoli rabe.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 to 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 ½ pounds mixed greens, trimmed and roughly chopped, such as escarole, curly endive, mustard greens, spinach, kale, or broccoli rabe.
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup white wine
• 2 (15-ounce) cans cannelloni or other white beans, rinsed and drained
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Heat 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sliced garlic and pepper flakes and cook, stirring often, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add greens (in batches, if needed), and cook, tossing often, until wilted and bright green, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a colander as done and drain well. Return skillet to heat. Heat remaining olive oil in pan. Add onion and cook until soft about 5-7 minutes, add minced garlic and cook until fragrant. Add wine to skillet and deglaze pan, scraping up and browned bits. Continue cooking onion, garlic and wine, until wine is reduced by half. Add beans and simmer until hot throughout, 2 to 3 minutes. Return greens to skillet, toss gently and season with salt and pepper.