Crunchy Fried Wheat Nuts

• Cooked Whole Wheat Berries
• Oil for deep frying
• Salt

Cook up a batch of whole wheat berries using your preferred method. They can be boiled in water to cover for an hour, if you don’t already have some cooked. I usually cook a cup at a time. Make sure the wheat is well cleaned before you cook it. Drain the cooked wheat in a fine mesh strainer in the sink. Allow the wheat to sit in the strainer for about half an hour, to make sure it is as dry as possible.

Heat your oil up to 375F. Put in no more than 1/4-cup of cooked wheat at a time because the fat will bubble up something fierce. Fry the wheat for about 2 minutes. It won’t pop the way popcorn does, but it will puff up pleasantly. Remove the wheat from the hot oil and place it on a brown paper grocery bag or paper toweling to dry. Repeat until all the wheat is cooked. Salt the Wheat-Nuts and eat like sunflower seeds or peanuts.

If the wheat is chewy instead of crispy, it wasn’t fried long enough. Put it back into the oil (a little at a time) and fry it for another minute or two, until it is crispy. This stuff is addictive. Makes a great alternative to unhealthy snacky foods.