Spicy Millet Salad with Corn and Peanuts

You know we preach the gospel of whole grains. Yes, we've got the book on GRAIN MAINS, just out. (Look to the right for it.) But really, our devotion is more than a mere cookbook. It's personal, too. And a story we've never told.

About two years ago, one of us had a health scare: a scary colon matter, more than a polyp, with a 100% chance of its turning into cancer. It was removed--and we're all the better for it. But we started eating more whole grains--partly because the health professionals encouraged it. Brown rice at first, mostly because we didn't know much better. Then wheat berries. Maybe wild rice, too. We started by putting them on the side of the plate--with that pat-of-butter cliché.

But something happened: those whole grains were so darn delicious, we wanted more. And more kinds. We started moving them to the center of the plate. Bye bye, pat of butter. Hello, some of the most satisfying main courses we've ever created.

Then something else happened: because of the way whole grains interact in the body, both of us ended up losing over ten pounds each, despite heaping platefuls--that is, by eating MORE, not less.

Ahem. Great taste, good health, weight loss. Convinced yet? Dig in to this freebie recipe, adapted from our new book:

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Kamut, Tuna, and White Bean Salad

Okay, we're excited. It's less a little over two months until our new book comes out: GRAIN MAINS. All whole grain main courses. And we mean whole grains. No desserts, no side dishes. And no flours, no pasta. Or if there is a whole grain flour in a recipe, there's a "true" whole grain in there as well. It's the first book of its kind--moving whole grains to the center of the plate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. (To get your copy, click here for amazon, here for Barnes & Noble, or here for indepedent booksellers.)

To celebrate, we thought we'd blog a simple, whole-grain recipe that's something of a lunch standard in our house. It's made with KAMUT, an organic brand of ancient khorasan wheat--and surely one of our favorite whole grains on the market. Kamut has a nutty, chewy pop; it's mild and sweet as well, a perfect foil to the tuna in this whole-grain rendition of lunch.

So let's get to it.

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Wheat Berry Salad with Zucchini, Boiled Lemon Rind, and Toasted Almonds

When I see these two pots on the stove, boiling lemons and simmering wheat berries, I know there's something delicious ahead--that is, one of my all-time favorite grain salads: tasty, summery, and fresh.

And there's something delicious ahead for you. This is the first recipe I've posted from our new cookbook, GRAIN MAINS: 101 SURPRISING AND SATISFYING WHOLE GRAIN RECIPES FOR EVERY MEAL OF THE DAY. It hits stores in August, but I wanted to give you a sneak peek at one of its many whole-grain salads. If you want, you can even pre-order a copy--click here for Barnes & Noble, click here for amazon, or here for indepedent booksellers.

But for now, the salad.

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