refreshing barley, greens & corn salad

Guess what? I've got the perfect recipe for when it's hot out and you know you should be eating something healthy and refreshing.

Trust me, I'm always down for a hot panini all day everyday, but I'm trying to be better with my eating habits lately. In fact, that is a huge reason why I'm blogging about food and cooking so much. The first step to eating better is to prepare your own meals and adapt the meals to what you like. I'm a carb girl. I can do without cookies, cake, chocolate, etc. But carbs? Bleh. My absolute downfall. SO when I discovered this barley salad recipe at the Small Kitchen College picnic, I knew I needed to try making it myself. Barley is an extremely versatile (and basically guilt free) grain that can have a similar consistency of rice/pasta but with a ton of fiber.

It's an extremely simple and clean recipe that tastes delicious cold, wakes up your taste buds and fills you up without putting you into a food coma.

Adapted from Big Girls Small Kitchen's recipe here.

What You Will Need

-One cup of barley (rinsed clean)

-One 15oz can of corn

-3 tsp chopped chives

-2 tsp fresh basil (julienned!)

-2 tsp mint

-Juice of one lemon

-1 1/2 tbsp of Olive Oil

-2 tsp of Apple Cider Vinegar

-1 tsp of Oregano

-1 tsp of Parsley

-1 1/2 tsp of Cumin

-Decent sprinkling of salt & pepper

note: adding green onions would be SO good too.

1- In a medium sized cooking pot, bring 2 1/2 cups water and 1 tsp of salt to a boil.

2- Add the barley & return to low heat.

3- You're going to want to simmer uncovered for about 45 minutes until the liquid is almost gone (if any remains, just drain it using the lid of the pot)

4- Once the barley is drained and cooled, combine in a bowl with all of the remaining ingredients.

5- Mix together thoroughly and then chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

enjoy!