One of my favorite things to get from the salad bar at Whole Foods is wheatberry salad. I love the texture of wheatberries; chewy but still firm. Their flavor is earthy, and a bit nutty. This past weekend, instead of buying some premade salad, I picked up wheatberries from the bulk bin and decided to make my own. So what exactly is a wheatberry? It's the actual wheat kernel, without the hull. They are an awesome source of dietary fiber, and they are also a good source of protein and iron. To make wheatberry salad, you can combine the wheatberries with pretty much any veggies, seeds, nuts, and dressing. Here is my first cut at wheatberry salad.
Wheatberry Salad-1 1/2 cups hard wheatberries
-4 stalks celery, chopped
-3/4 cup walnuts, chopped
-2 scallions, chopped
-1/3 cup parsley, chopped
-1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped
-4 tbsp olive oil
-2 tbsp lemon juice
-2 tbsp red wine vinegar
-salt and pepper
-In a pot, cover wheatberries with 3 inches of water, and bring to a boil. Cook uncovered for about an hour, stirring occasionally, until the wheatberries are tender. You may need to add more water as it cooks. When done, drain and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
-Toss the cooked wheatberries, celery, walnuts, scallions, parsley, and cherries in a bowl.
-Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper together. Pour over the wheatberry mixture and stir to combine. Serve, or store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Since this was a pretty easy thing to throw together tonight, I decided to make cookies when I was done eating. I used my awesome new cookbook,
Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, to make Chocolate Fudgy Oatmeal Cookies. I keep telling myself they're healthy since they have 2 cups of oats in them. I love the chocolate and cherry combination in these. Mark gobbled a few of these and reported that they were indeed tasty, and I went ahead and confirmed it myself. Yum!
I subbed in pecans and dried cranberries, and also added a chopped red bell pepper. This made a tasty afternoon snack and will be handy to have in the fridge for a light lunch or another snack. 
I layered them with romaine leaves, dill pickles, ketchup, mustard, and caramelized onions. Alongside the burgers I made simple roasted potatoes. No recipe needed for these. I just washed a bag of yukon golds, chopped them uniformly, tossed them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and paprika, and roasted them at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes. Yum. It might be a little lowbrow, but I love these dipped in ketchup! After dinner I brewed a big pot of coffee to enjoy. Nothing like a hot cup of coffee when the snow is falling outside.
