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#TRAINWITHGRAINS Recipe: Barley, Farro, and Couscous Salad

This year we’re teaming up with the Canada Running Series to bring you the best pre and post-run recipes to fuel your marathon training! Each week we’ll feature a new and unique recipe from one of our CRS Community Leader Ambassadors. This week Linda Nguyen shares a fresh and filling Barley, Farro and Couscous Salad, perfect for refueling after a long run. The best part is, you can make this dish ahead and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to eat! Do you have a recipe you’d like to share? Share a photo on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #TrainWithGrains for your chance to win a “Good in Every Grain” Prize Pack valued at $50!

Training for a marathon takes so much work and dedication. It is 16-plus weeks of training and a barely-there social life. Add a full time job on top of this and you can kiss your family and friends goodbye until the marathon is over.

Long runs can take up almost half your day and when you get home all you want to do is eat, shower and nap, preferably in that order! That’s why this salad recipe is the perfect post long-run meal. You can make it the night before you run and keep it chilled in the fridge until you’re ready to eat.

Ingredients:

  • 7 cups water, divided
  • 1 cup barley
  • 1 cup farro
  • 1 cup couscous
  • 1 cucumber, chopped
  • ½ red onion, chopped
  • 1 orange bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 container crumbled feta cheese

Directions:

  1. Bring 2 ½ cups water and barley to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until barley is tender and water has been absorbed, about 45 minutes.
  2. Bring 3 cups water and farro to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until farro is tender and water has been absorbed, about 30 minutes.
  3. Bring 1 ½ cup water and couscous to a boil in a separate saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until couscous is tender yet firm to the bite, about 10 minutes.
  4. Combine farro, quinoa, couscous, cucumber, red onion, orange bell pepper and red bell pepper together in a bowl.
  5. Whisk olive oil, lemon juice and salt together in a bowl. Pour dressing over grain-vegetable mixture; toss to coat.
  6. Sprinkle feta cheese over salad. Refrigerate until chilled and ready to eat. At least 2 hours.

This salad is very versatile and you can use any vegetables you want. This recipe makes quite a large serving so you can enjoy it as a main or side dish and still have enough left to share with others. It stills tastes great after a few days in the fridge and it’s an easy, no-brainer meal for those days when you’re busy hitting the pavement and training hard for your PBs!

* Share your favourite pre or post run snack or meal on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #TrainWithGrains for your chance to win a $50 “Good In Every Grain” prize pack! We’re choosing one winner every week until STWM!