Nutritional Benefits of Cooking Two Grains Together
Mix It Up: Two Whole Grains Are Better Than One
I'm a whole grain junkie. Check my pantry; I have at least five on hand at all times. I get a little crazy with my grains, too, and instead of cooking quinoa all by its lonesome self, I mix in another grains, like millet. The combo takes your taste buds on a flavorful ride. And if you're not a fan of a grain's texture, say the chewiness of barley, adding in another grain can disguise the texture a little, making it more palatable. You also reap the nutritional benefits of both grains at the same time.

It's best to pair grains with similar cooking times. You might need to experiment with adding extra water or increasing the cooking, but once you perfect cooking two grains together, you'll never look back. I usually measure out half a cup of each dry grain to yield about two cups total once cooked. A half-cup serving of the mixed cooked grains contains approximately an 1/8 cup of each dry grain. Here is the nutritional info below for my favorite combinations.
| Dry Grain Combo | Calories | Fiber | Protein |
| 1/8 cup millet, 1/8 cup long grain brown rice | 180 (95 + 85) | 3.6 (2.1 + 1.5) | 4.3 (2.8 + 1.5) |
| 1/8 cup quinoa, 1/8 cup pearled barley | 166 (78 + 88) | 5.4 (1.5 + 3.9) | 5.5 (3 + 2.5) |
| 1/8 cup sushi rice, 1/8 cup brown basmati rice | 155 (75 + 80) | 1.5 (.5 + 1) | 4 (2 + 2) |
| 1/8 cup teff, 1/8 cup short grain brown rice | 175 (90 + 85) | 3.5 (2 + 1.5) | 5 (3.5 + 1.5) |
| 1/8 cup wild rice, 1/8 cup white basmati rice | 160 (75 + 85) | 1.5 (1 + .5) | 5 (3 + 2) |
| 1/8 cup amaranth, 1/8 cup rolled oats | 138 (90 + 48) | 4.8 (3.5 + 1.3) | 5.3 (3.5 + 1.8) |
| 1/8 cup buckwheat groats, 1/8 cup oat groats | 126 (71 + 55) | 4.1 (2.1 + 2) | 5.9 (2.4 + 3.5) |
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