SHIRA MCDERMOTT’S #SpudHAPPYHEART WHEAT BERRY CHICKPEA SALAD

This February is Heart Health Month!  As we all know, food has a beautiful way of bringing people together. The stories and memories behind the meals we prepare pull on our nostalgic heartstrings. In honour of Heart Health Month, we have asked our Ambassadors to share the recipes that make their heart happy, and we would love you to do the same. Share your photo, recipe and stories using #SpudHAPPYHEART as we nourish our community together. 

This is a perfect potluck recipe, which is why I’ll be bringing this beauty to the Spud Ambassador Potluck! In celebration of Happy Heart Month, this recipe brings together the goodness of whole grains and legumes as part of a healthy diet. Incorporating these foods into your daily meals does wonders to help maintain a healthy body weight, a key factor in maintaining optimal heart heath. It’s so, so good and I can’t wait to share this wheat berry chickpea salad with everyone!

Winter Wheat Berry Chickpea Salad

Wheat Berry Chickpea Salad Ingredients:

3 cups cooked GRAIN Wheat Berries (about 1.5 cups dry)
1 heaping cup cooked GRAIN Kabuli chickpeas
3 cups cubed butternut squash
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup dried cranberries
2 cups finely minced Lacinato kale leaves (removed from stems)
1/4-1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1 heaping cup cubed feta cheese
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts (optional)

Dressing Ingredients: 
1 minced shallot
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1-1.5 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar

Directions
First, cook the Wheat Berries and Chickpeas according to package directions. When ready to prepare the salad, heat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the cubed butternut squash with 2 tbsp olive oil and a pinch of salt. Roast, turning once or twice until browned, about 25 minutes.

While the squash cooks, chop the parsley, kale, and feta. Prepare the dressing. Toast the pine nuts in the 400 degree oven for 6-7 minutes, until just turning a golden brown.

When all of the ingredients are ready, and the squash has cooled to room temperature, toss all of the ingredients together in a large bowl with the dressing. Add freshly ground pepper to taste and serve.

Shira McDermott is a Vancouver-based entrepreneur with a focus on food developed from almost 25 years of working in the grocery and foodservice industries. She is the co-founder of GRAIN (Vancouver Magazine’s 2016 Supplier of the Year), a dry goods company focused on supplying restaurants and consumers with premium, 100% traceable dry goods grown by Canadian farmers. She is also the creator of the award winning, vegetarian food blog In Pursuit Of More, which was named ‘Best Food Blog’ by Taste Canada in 2016, and runs Metier Agency, an independent marketing agency that provides communications strategies for consumer brands. She is also a wife and mother of two.