Freekeh, the latest ancient grain

Move over, quinoa.

Here comes Freekeh — rhymes with eureka! — the latest in ancient grains.

Freekeh means “to rub” in Arabic. Freekeh was created by accident nearly 2,000 years ago when a Middle Eastern village was attacked and their crop of young green wheat was set ablaze.

0Happily, the villagers managed to salvage their crop. They rubbed off the chaff, cooked it  and created Freekeh, a delicious roasted green wheat that is as easy and fast to prepare as rice.

At our house, we team Freekeh with many of the same foods we serve with other grains. We discovered it’s a nutty, tasty accompaniment to stir-fried shrimp and veggies. Even better, it’s bulletproof, cooking on the stovetop in 20 minutes.

Each 8-ounce package contains four servings with eight grams of protein, four grams of fiber and 130 calories each. No wonder Oprah and Dr. Oz like it. Freekeh comes in various flavors, packaged in resealable pouches. MSRP: $3.99.

You can find Freekeh in Whole Foods, Wegmans, health food stores and various websites.

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