Recipe: Barley Risotto with Shitake Mushrooms

This side dish is a great way to get in barley--the whole grain and LDL or “bad” cholesterol lowering--alternative to oats.

Food weight: 1.5

Ingredients
Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1/6thof the recipe)
1 (32 fluid ounce) container of free range organic chicken broth
½ teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup whole grain barley
1 (10 ounce) package frozen shitake mushrooms, defrosted (I use Woodstock Farms organic shitake mushrooms, available in the frozen foods section of your local health food store)
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese

Directions
In a saucepan, heat chicken broth, bay leaf and thyme and bring to a simmer. Let simmer while preparing barley. In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté until onion is translucent, approximately 3 minutes. Add barley and package of mushrooms and cook an additional 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add chicken broth and simmer, covered for approximately 45 minutes until most of the broth has evaporated and the barley is tender. Season with salt and pepper, add in the parmesan cheese, stir and serve immediately.

Nutritional Information per Serving (1/6thof the recipe):

Food weight: 1.5, Calories: 128, Fat: 5 g, Cholesterol: 6 mg, Sodium: 577 mg, Carbohydrate: 17 g, Dietary Fiber: 4 g, Sugars: 2 g, Protein: 6 g

Enjoy!