Gettin' Freekeh

So the fun grocery find of the week is....

Freekeh!

Jay and I saw a special all about this roasted grain on the Dr. Oz show a few months ago, but we have had the hardest time finding it!  Our local Whole Foods didn't even carry any.  I had pretty much given up, when I accidentally spotted these pre-packaged bags at Sprouts over the weekend (and they were on sale!).  I grabbed two different flavors to work into our dinners for the week.

So, what is Freekeh you may ask?  It's just a young green wheat that has been toasted and cracked.  It works great as a replacement for brown rice or quinoa in almost any recipe.

But why would you want to eat it?  Well, among other reasons, Freekeh has up to three times the amount of fiber and protein as brown rice, plus fewer calories than quinoa and white rice.  Sounds like a no-brainer to me!

Freekeh is prepared in a similar manner to other grains.  Simply use one part Freekeh to 2 1/2 parts of water or broth—bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to simmer for about 20-25 minutes, or until tender.

Last night, I used our tamari flavored Freekeh to make this roasted sweet potato stew from freekeh-foods.com.

I loved the nutty flavor and slightly chewy texture of the grain.  The dish turned out freek-in' amazing.  ( < Sorry, I couldn't help myself.)

If you're lucky enough to find Freekeh at your local grocery store, you should definitely give it a try!

Chickpea McNuggets

I usually form this garbanzo bean mixture into larger parries (to serve on a bun or salad), but the other night I tried shaping it into nugget-sized bites, instead.  When I put the plate down on the table, Jay jokingly asked if we were having Chicken McNuggets for dinner.  Of course, I would never serve such a thing, but I had to admit they did look a little similar.  And while they don't really taste at all like meat, they do have a fried, nugget-y feel to them.  They are especially delicious when dipped in ketchup or drizzled in Sriracha, and they are probably 1,000 times healthier than anything you can buy at McDonald's.

Chickpea McNuggets
Makes 3-4 servings

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 cloves garlic
1/2 small onion
1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1 handful of spinach
1 egg
1 teaspoon curry powder
Dash of turmeric
A hefty pinch of salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil and coat with non-stick spray.  Combine all ingredients in food processor.  Use a spoon to scoop nugget-sized patties on to the foil.  Bake for 30-40 minutes, flipping once, until patties are brown on the outside and firm.

Feel free to play around with this recipe!  You could easily sneak in other veggies instead of/in addition to the spinach.  (I think some shredded carrot might work well.)  You could also try different spices and dipping sauces to mix things up!

And just in case you are still consuming chicken nuggets, this nutritionfact.org video might make you think twice before you eat another one:

"Autopsy of Chicken Nuggets"

I'd eat a chickpea nugget over that any day!