30 Day Protein Challenge

Every once in a while it's a good idea to take a step back and look at and think about what you're eating. About thirty minutes ago I learned about the Beef It's What's For Dinner 30 Day Protein Challenge and I decided rather spur of the moment to do it. This is not an April Fool's Day Joke.


Even though the challenge is being put on by Beef It's What's For Dinner, the challenge itself is not beef-specific. Rather, it's about simply eating a balanced diet that includes 25-30 grams of lean protein in each meal. I decided to do it for a few reasons. First, I really don't actually have an idea of how much protein I eat in a day, so it will be nice to simply learn more about my eating habits as they currently stand. Maybe I'll learn something and be able to make a smarter shift in my diet. Second, my family ranches, so I'm all about learning to find new ways to eat beef as part of a healthy, balanced diet. Third, I think it's a good idea to be mindful of what we are eating, so journaling on and off for a month will likely help with that.

I've already taken the first step toward completing the challenge. I printed off the calendar they have on their website and I'm starting this first week with simply journaling about what I'm eating, noting how much protein, and noting how I feel after I eat what I eat.  Since I also love fitness, and fitness and fuel go hand in hand, I'm also going to journal about my fitness activities and how/if they are being affected by what I am eating.

Throughout the challenge, I'll be blogging about my progress and what I've learned, as well as hopefully posting some images of protein-rich balanced meals I'm eating, and how I'm fueling my fitness and recovery. You can follow along here on the blog, or on my FB page, or on my Instagram, which is (at)katie(dot)r(dot)bangs. I'm excited to give this challenge a try and to share what I'm learning with each of you!

Think you're interested in participating in the 30 Day Protein Challenge, too? Click on over to Beef It's What's For Dinner to get started! There's no cost to participate. Just like anything else, you'll get out of it what you put into it.

I Should Be Selling Wheat Berries!

Jeff and I, along with Tom and Carol, Katie and Josh, and a few other friends are participating again this year in Shape Up Montana, which started on February 1 and runs through April. Each week with SUM, there is a different Weekly Challenge designed to get our team moving more or in a different way, or to eat healthy. For this week's challenge, we are sharing and trying healthy recipes with our teammates. I decided to choose a recipe using an ingredient I have in great abundance: Wheat Berries.

The number one crop on our farm is wheat. Our wheat is primarily, if not 100%, used in making flour. Wheat is edible on its own, of course, and wheat berry dishes are becoming increasingly popular and common. Even though we have sold all our wheat and hauled it to the elevator in town, we do still have some of our samples on the premises. This is where I got the star ingredient for my wheat berry recipe. 

Wheat berries are simple to prepare. Just clean, then boil or simmer to cook, like you would for rice. I had cleaned out wheat berries before, once, and found it to be rather tedious. I had simply taken a handful at a time and blown on them to physically blow away the chafe. Took forever! There had to be a better way! This time, I did an internet search. The internet knows all, and it didn't fail me this time either! I found this super handy YouTube video with a much, much easier method of cleaning. 

I put my wheat in a bowl and rinsed and drained it probably four times to make sure it was good and clean. Soooooooo much easier and more time effective than physically blowing the chafe out, one handful at a time! (Why didn't I consult Google before!?)

Chafe floats to the top and water can be easily drained off while wheat stays in the bowl.

Then into a pot with an "abundant amount" of salted water. (That's the verbage the video used!)

Meanwhile, I prepped the other ingredients I'd need to make the Wheat Berry Salad with Red Fruit I was planning on taking for the Healthy Potluck later in the evening. When the wheat was done simmering, fully cooked, I let it cool off for a little while, then measured out what I'd need for my The leftover wheat will keep in the fridge for up to a week, or I can freeze it.

What originally got me started thinking about whet berries was seeing this display at a local grocery store recently:

Duh! Why would I buy wheat berries (especially at that price!) when I can use my own?! That's the major crop we produce on this farm, after all!

The other thing I was thinking about is the price per pound and per bushel that this product is selling for, compared to what our wheat sells for at the elevator. Regular price of this product is $8.00 per pound, or $480.00 per bushel. Right now, wheat we sell to the elevator brings us $6.00 per bushel. I think I need to get into the business of cleaning some of our wheat and selling it directly! Would I have any takers?! Man, oh man, what a difference in price.

Jeff told me about someone from our area who did sell wheat direct to consumer, but was unsuccessful. That was many several years ago. These days, eating whole grains like wheat berries is trendy. We know more about the benefits to incorporating whole grains into our diets (so long as your not a gluten-free person, but that's another topic for another day) and there are more and more yummy whole grain recipes in our favorite cookbooks, magazines, and all over the internet, so now we also know tastier ways to use whole grains like wheat berries.

Oh yeah, and here's what the final recipe looks like, as I made it:

I followed the recipe pretty close, but made a few adaptations based on ingredients I did or did not have on hand. I used hard red spring wheat, because that's what we grew last year. If you look for wheat in the store, you may see a different variety, but when using for salads, they're interchangeable. This wheat is a little more red in color than some other varieties, as you can see in the photo above. Mixed in with the wheat is dried cranberries, toasted walnuts, and chopped apple. The vinaigrette was made with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and fresh squeezed OJ from blood oranges. I also added a bit of salt, pepper, and dried basil leaves. I think this recipe would have been even better with raspberry vinegar, like the actual recipe suggests, or a mixture of balsamic and raspberry. Also, fresh chopped basil ribbons would have been better, if available. I think it would be great with a bit of crumbled tangy cheese, such as bleu cheese or goat cheese, too. All in all, it was really yummy and seemed to go over fairly well at the potluck. I had some for breakfast again this morning, too, and it was great!

Any of my readers have any favorite wheat berry (or other whole grain) salads? If so, do share!  If anyone wants to buy any wheat berries... (Kidding. Or, not kidding-- I mean if you actually want some, let's talk!) I hope you all had a fabulous weekend!