Breakfast Low Calorie Vegetarian

Clean Slate: Barley with Pineapple, Coconut, & Flaxseed

February 15, 2015

My mindset about food is very familiar this time of year. I’m always trying to clean up my eating from the holiday splurge and it can go well into spring. When the folks at Martha Stewart approached me about reviewing Clean Slate, I jumped at the chance. It’s not a diet cookbook at all. It focuses on clean eating and resetting your health. I’ve never jumped on the gluten-free, dairy-free bandwagon, so I was a tad bit skeptical going in, but not all recipes are that way and some include meat. I decided to test this cookbook by trying out a breakfast, lunch, dinner, and (yes!) dessert recipe. Every recipe has a beautiful photo with it, so it was hard to narrow it down.

Barley with Pineapple, Coconut, and Flaxseed

For breakfast, I decided on Barley with Pineapple, Coconut, & Flaxseed. Coconut and pineapple this time of year? Yes, please! I can pretend I’m somewhere tropical as I start my morning. In the cookbook, they use millet, which I couldn’t find at my grocery store, so I substituted barley. Using millet would make this recipe gluten-free. I’m a fan of oatmeal, but wasn’t sure about a big bowl of barley.

So, how’s it taste?

This one really surprised me! It’s sweet, tangy and has such great texture! I made the barley ahead of time and scooped out what I needed for each serving. It was a cinch to put together in the morning before work. I already use almond milk instead of regular milk and I loved the maple syrup flavor in this. Fresh pineapple is one of my favorite fruits and it balances out the sweet. It was almost like eating dessert! I can’t wait to get my hands on millet to try it that way. I think this combo would work great with oatmeal, too.

Barley with Pineapple, Coconut, and Flaxseed

For the next couple of posts, I’ll be sharing what I made for lunch, dinner, and dessert. I’ve got some photo teasers for you to get excited about! I was not disappointed with any of the recipes and I can’t wait to share the dessert with you. I don’t like to mess with dessert, so this was the biggest shocker of them all!

Lunch

Quinoa Salad with Zucchini, Mint, & Pistachios

Dinner

Almond Chicken Soup with Sweet Potato, Kale, & Ginger

Dessert

Chocolate Walnut Brownies

The dishes you see in the pictures above are part of the Martha Stewart Collection white dishware available exclusively at Macy’s. I used the dinner plates, lunch plates, pasta bowls, and dessert plates. Fantastic dishware for everyday use, plus they’re dishwasher and microwave safe!

* GIVEAWAY CLOSED *

Congrats to Brenda, comment #1!
Winner chosen using random.org.

One winner will receive a copy of Clean Slate along with one bottle of Martha Stewart Essentials Multivitamin and one bottle of the Hair, Skin & Nails vitamin. Giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian residents.

Martha Stewart Essentials

Mandatory: Leave a comment on this post telling me why you want to eat clean! One mandatory entry per person. Multiple entries (except for the optional entry below) will be removed.

Optional entry: For one additional entry, tweet the following: “Win a copy of Clean Slate, a cookbook for clean eating, from @SoHowsItTaste! Enter here: http://bit.ly/1zZu162” and leave a separate comment that you tweeted.

Contest ends Tuesday, February 24, 2015, at 10 a.m. central. Please make sure you enter a valid email address as an alternate winner will be chosen if I don’t hear from you within 48 hours. Good luck!


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Yield: 4 servings

Barley with Pineapple, Coconut, & Flaxseed

Ingredients:

2 cups water*
pinch of coarse salt
1 cup barley*
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk
1/2 cup chopped fresh pineapple
1/4 cup large-flaked unsweetened coconut, toasted
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. whole flaxseed (I used ground)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup

*Note: Use millet to make this gluten-free. If you use millet, increase water to 6 cups total.

Directions:

1. Bring water and salt to boil in medium saucepan. Whisk in barley (or millet). Return to a boil. Reduce heat to low, simmer uncovered, until water has been absorbed and barley (or millet) is tender but still chewy, 12 to 15 minutes for barley (30-35 minutes for millet).

2. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes then fluff with fork.

3. Serve topped with milk, pineapple, coconut, flaxseed, and maple syrup.

per serving: 316 calories, 7g fat, 56g carbs, 7g protein, 6g fiber

*Nutrition based on using millet, not barley.

Disclosure: I received a copy of Clean Slate: A Cookbook and Guide: Reset Your Health, Detox Your Body, and Feel Your Best and the Martha Stewart Collection white dishware at no cost. All opinions expressed here are solely my own, as always. This post contains affiliate links.

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  • Brenda Penton February 16, 2015 at 1:32 pm

    I want to eat clean so I can be as healthy as I can be. I want to see if it helps clear up some of my issues with my hormones.

  • Shannon @ Bake.Frost.Repeat February 16, 2015 at 6:35 pm

    I really want to eat clean so I can just feel better. The pineapple dish looks really good and I can’t wait to see your post about the lunch. That zucchini dish looks fab…..uh, and the brownies 😉

  • Marilynne Kulpa February 16, 2015 at 7:09 pm

    Both my hubby and I are suffering bigtime from the holidays. I’ve developed a spare tire around my middle, my body has morphed into a tree trunk! We both just want to clean up our act, inside and out!

  • Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice February 16, 2015 at 7:50 pm

    What a great idea to have barley for breakfast! Never thought of that before. And I love how you jazzed it up, too. Sounds delish!

  • Lynn February 16, 2015 at 8:41 pm

    I want to eat clean to be healthy, lose some weight but also have more energy. I work 2 jobs and it feels like I always want to take a nap!

  • Kelly - Life Made Sweeter February 17, 2015 at 6:07 am

    Love starting with a clean slate. I could use all the extra energy I can. Barley for breakfast is such a great idea! I love the pineapple and coconut combo!

  • katie February 17, 2015 at 6:18 am

    I really need to start eating clean, it is so hard when the weather stinks! Great giveaway , this flaxseed looks so healthy and yummy!

  • Isadora February 17, 2015 at 5:38 pm

    I just ate so much chocolate all weekend and have continued to eat the half priced stuff today, haha! So, I really need a cookbook like this in my life right now! Each of these dishes sounds delicious and I also love the coconut pineapple combo this time of year 🙂

  • chickie brewer February 18, 2015 at 6:28 pm

    I want to start eating clean because I’m a grandmother and I need to be healthier and more energy to keep up with the young kids.

  • Denise | Sweet Peas & Saffron February 18, 2015 at 11:13 pm

    What an unusual breakfast, I would never think of using barley, but I love all of the flavors in there! I am all for the tropical food right now, I am so done with winter! Looks delicious 🙂

  • Cara February 22, 2015 at 7:54 pm

    I want to eat clean because I want to feel good! I am working hard on exercising, and I need to be as diligent as what I put into my body as fuel as I am about how much I am working out!

  • Chrissy February 23, 2015 at 8:27 pm

    This winter has been hard on my energy levels, and I suspect some clean eating would help perk me up

  • Beth February 24, 2015 at 8:34 am

    I need to eat clean because if I don’t, I’ll never drop these last few pounds that have plagued me since the birth of the kiddo– 3 YEARS AGO. I want to eat clean because I know I just feel better overall when doing so. You know how hard it is when having a food blog!

  • Beth February 24, 2015 at 8:35 am

    Tweet, tweet!

  • Sue (KyddSR) February 24, 2015 at 9:24 am

    I need to start eating cleaner so I can lose the rest of this baby weight & so I can look amazing for my sister’s wedding in June (I’m the Maton of Honor). That’s coming up real soon & I think I can do it by eating clean & getting into a better gym routine. This cookbook sounds perfect to jumpstart it all!

  • Sue (KyddSR) February 24, 2015 at 9:26 am

    tweet, tweet.

  • Becky March 1, 2016 at 10:04 am

    I started eating clean a year ago and have lost 90 pounds so far. I’m always searching the internet for ideas. Thanks for ideas for the barley with pineapple, I’m making it right now.