Healthy Barley Drink

The nutritional benefit of Barley is enormous. I have heard so much about this grain that is hard to ignore its health benefits. I wanted to document some of its health benefits in this post and refereed to this link here.  I looked at it for about 2 minutes and I could already feel my head spin. It is as if nature has created a wonder-grain for us and it is waiting for us to take advantage of it.
 I have highlighted some of the benefits mentioned in the link from that website.

• Barley’s Fiber can be used to lower Cholesterol & Intestinal Protection
• Additional Protection Against Atherosclerosis
• Significant Cardiovascular Benefits for Postmenopausal Women
• Barley and Other Whole Grains Substantially Lower Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
• Barley Can Help Prevent Gallstones
• Whole Grains Highly Protective against Childhood Asthma
• Lignans Protect against Cancers and Heart Disease
• Development and Repair of Body Tissue

I got this recipe from my MIL few days ago, it is very easy to prepare and I have been making this ever since. I sometimes even carry barley powder to work and prepare this drink using hot water and salt.
Ingredients:
1 cup whole barley (use barley flour if that is available)
Water
Salt
Pepper
Ginger (optional)
Procedure:
1. If using the whole barley, then lightly roast it on low flame until it turns very light brown. Keep aside to cool and then make fine powder out of this.
2. If using the readily available barley flour then skip step 1.
3. Take 2 cups of water and bring it to a boil. Add 2 tsps of barley powder, salt and let it come to a roaring boil. Stir frequently as it tends to develop lumps.
4. Allow it to cool, add pepper powder and optionally ginger.
5. This can be served hot or cold and can be stored in the fridge for 1-2 days.