Glycemic Index

For my naturopathy course I was responsible for doing the research about glycemic index and found some really interesting things about it. First off, glycemic index has to do with post meal blood sugar levels within 2 hours of eating per gram of carbonhydrate in that food. The foods with high glycemic index make you spike in sugar levels and then crash. As a result you end up hungry and eat more. However, low glycemic index make you have more stable sugar levels and keep you full for longer. 

Now big surprise! Oatmeal has medium glycemic index! Say Wha! On the other hand pasta (even plain white pasta), barley, bulgur, and bran had really low glycemic index. Since I'm not home most of the day, I need a good filling breakfast so I decided to experiment with barley. It actually turned out tasty and very risotto like! So creamy and actually kept me full for a while (I did have an yogurt and an apple on the side).

Barley Strawberry Risotto Delight

Ingredients (Serves: 4)

·         1 cup barley

·         1 ½ cup plain soya milk

·         1 ½ cup water

·         1 cup chopped strawberries

·         1 tbsp honey (or maple syrup)

·         4 tbsp flax seeds

Directions

1.      1. Make sure to soak the barley overnight as it will save your cooking time by 30 min

2.      2. In the morning bring barley to a boil with soya milk and water

3.      3. Lower down to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes

4.      4. Add in the strawberries, honey, and flax seeds

5.      5. Cook for another 5 minutes

          6. Enjoy the warm, risotto delight