One dish meals are great, especially delicious ones like this risotto! To make it even healthier, you can substitute the sausage for another meat like chicken or turkey or even legumes, such as black beans or chickpeas. If you try any of these alternatives, be sure to let me know how it turned out!

Sausage and Spinach Barley Risotto

Ingredients (Makes 6 generous servings)

• 1 cup barley
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 1 lb mushrooms, sliced
• 1 medium red and green bell pepper, each
• 1 – 11 oz container organic spinach
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 1 cup pasta sauce
• 1 honey garlic sausage

Directions

1. Rinse barley and cook according to package directions.
2. Grill sausage until cooked and slice thinly.
3. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté onions until translucent.
4. Seed and core peppers and slice into 1 inch strips. Add peppers and mushrooms to onions. Sauté until tender crisp.
5. Add spinach and sauté until wilted. Stir in cooked barley, tomato, pasta sauce and sausage. Mix together and cook on low until warm. Enjoy!

Nutrition Tip: There are different types of barley, so which one should you buy? Whole grain or pot barley! Whole grain has all three parts of the grain kernel, meaning it contains more fibre, vitamins, and minerals than the refined grains. Pot barley has just been polished a little, so that it cooks faster, but is still a whole grain. Another common type of barley that you will see is pearl barley. Pearl barley does not contain the bran layer of the kernel, so it is not whole grain.

You should make at least half your grain servings whole grain. Barley is rich in fibre and vitamins and minerals, and low in fat, sugar, and salt.

Try barley in a variety of dishes, including soups, salads, or as a main dish!