I know who you are. I am you. We're both wanting to eat a little healthier (okay, a lot healthier). We both buy those boxes of pre-washed spinach faithfully each week from the grocery store. We make that one recipe that calls for it on the same day we bought the spinach., and then somehow it's five days later and that spinach is getting those gross dark green, glistening edges. It smells bad. But maybe this week you're trying to use the spinach in multiple recipes the same day you bought it! Perhaps it's two days later and you only have to blessedly pick out a few gross leaves. This recipe for tomatoes and spinach over pearl barley is for whichever version of a spinach buyer you are this week.
Seriously though, this is a pretty healthy and tasty recipe. It's all vegetables and whole grains, with just a smidge of cheese and booze for flavor. The fiber from the pearl barley (24% per serving of your daily value) will keep you feeling full long after eating, and the umami flavors from the tomatoes and cheese are satisfactorily salty but won't leave you with that sodium hangover feeling.
This tomatoes and spinach over pearl barley recipe is a workhorse in that it's just as delicious fresh for dinner as it is reheated for lunch the next day. In fact, it might be better the next day, since the cheese has the chance to melt again in the microwave, spilling over even more surface area of each barley grain. If that's not what you're looking for out of healthy eating, what are you even doing?
Tomatoes and Spinach Over Pearl Barley
Ingredients
- ½ tbsp olive oil
- ½ onion diced
- 1 cup pearl barley
- ½ cup sherry (sub dry white wine like pinot grigio)
- 1 ½ cups vegetable or chicken stock
- 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
- 2-4 cups chopped fresh spinach
- ½ to ¾ cup grated or shaved Parmesan cheese
- ½ tsp cracked black pepper
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering add the onions and stir til translucent, about 3 minutes. Do not let them brown.
- Add the pearl barley and stir to coat with the oil in the pan. Let toast for about 30 seconds.
- Stir in the broth, sherry, and tomatoes and mix well. Turn the heat up and let the mixture come to a boil.
- Turn the heat down to low and let simmer for 25-30 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Turn off the heat and add in the spinach, stir well so the spinach wilts under the heat of the hot grains. Add in the cheese, pepper, and salt once the spinach is wilted.
- Serve immediately, or this is great reheated for lunch later.
But really though, this tomatoes and spinach over pearl barley recipe is a favorite of mine for many reasons, including the fact that it really is a great way to use the other half of that box of spinach. Confession: I am the worst when it comes to wasting greens. I am forever throwing away half a box, even when I put a folded up paper towel in the sealed container to try and absorb up some of the extra moisture that makes it go bad faster.This year I want to not do that. It's bad for my bank account, the environment, and everything else.
Beyond the spinach, everything else in this recipe is a pantry or fridge staple, something that everyone can and should have on hand at all times. This is definitely going into regular rotation in my weekly meal plan. It's too easy to pass up.
Here's to us, trying to eat healthier for the month of January so we can feel like we at least gave our resolutions a decent shot. But really, with a recipe this good, I could probably eat it once a week, and that would cut down on a lot of cooking anxiety that healthy eating brings out, even in seasoned food bloggers.
Find more healthy recipes here (and some less healthy ones, but avert your eyes, at least until February!).
Finally, when it comes to weight loss as a resolution, remember, it isn't about the number on the scale, it's how you feel in your own body.
