Variety is the spice of life!

You can only have the same foods day in and day out for so long before they start to lose their appeal.  I'm always looking for new foods to try and new recipes to try.  When you add new foods into your diet periodically, your staples can become far more interesting!

I was getting pretty sick of rice and pasta, so I recently added barley into the rotation and I realized that I REALLY like it.  It's chewy, delicious, filling and SUPER good for you! (high fiber, full of vitamins, & antioxidants) 

Last night, I cooked up some of the beef we picked up at the farm along with some mushrooms (what's not to like about beef, mushrooms and barley...) I added some sliced carrots, onions, and baby spinach and served it all over the barley.  The flavors of the foods themselves were so amazing that it required nothing but a little salt. 

And, hey, since we're talking barley...the whole thing went pretty well with a local brew! ;)