A few weeks ago, I found a recipe for a salad using wheat berries and read that they are loaded with iron.  I had never had wheat berries, but decided to give it a try.  It contained a lot of our family favorites - corn, spinach, cherry tomatoes, and has an orange-honey flavored dressing - so I figured that maybe my family wouldn't totally notice the wheat berries if they spotted some of their favorites in the bowl.

My thoughts were too optimistic as far as my family is concerned.  I thought it tasted great, but no one else would even eat it.  Martin and Sophie wouldn't even try it.  I was disappointed, especially since a little bit of wheat berries makes a really giant batch.

Not wanting to waste the salad, I started bringing it to work for lunch.  There was so much of it, that I think I ate it for five days in a row.  But the thing is, that as each day passed, I started to like it more.  It was chewy, flavorful, and satisfying.  I'll definitely make it again, but this time just for myself.  Maybe if it is "forbidden" it will have a whole new appeal for the rest of my family.

I made the following changes to the recipe:
- This recipe is fine made ahead, and actually gets better each day.
- I doubled the dressing portion of the recipe.
- I used 2 green onions instead of the 1/4 c. called for
- I used 1/2 pint grape tomatoes instead of 1 c. cherry tomatoes
- I added a lot more spinach each day, placing a handful of spinach leaves at the bottom of a bowl and spooning the salad on top - I thought it really improved the salad.

Print it: Wheat Berry, Roasted Corn and Spinach Salad (from Betty Crocker)