Eating Well - Whole-Grain Foods Guidelines

What are some whole-grain foods? Some examples are: brown rice, wild rice, whole wheat, oatmeal, whole oats, barley, whole rye, amaranth, millet, quinoa, sorghum, triticale, and corn-and this includes popcorn.

Brown rice is sold in boxes that include seasoning, and sometimes with lentils and nuts added. It's also sold in the form of frozen dishes, mixed with seasoning and vegetables. Again, read labels to make sure the product is natural, and ideally, organic.

Wild rice tastes more exciting than brown, and one can always experiment with different ways of seasoning this. But it also comes in the form of boxed mixes. You can also add bits of chicken to rice to spruce up the flavor.

Rice and oatmeal are popular whole-grain choices, but many people don't realize just how tasty well-seasoned barley can be. However you like your rice seasoned, is the way you'll most likely enjoy barley.

Many of the other types of whole grains are commonly found in organic breads; plus, you can make breads, muffins and pancakes with whole-grain products. Explore your local whole-foods market. You'll be surprised at all the different kinds of foods that whole grains show up in, such as cookies, pastries, bagels, waffles, freshly-made salads, and even energy bars.

Chuck the white bread, white pasta, and other white-flour-based foods, and replace with foods labeled as whole-grain, or that contain "whole" ingredients. Another way to spot whole-grain products is to look for the whole-grain stamp on the packaging.

The whole-grain stamp is your convenient searching device when browsing aisles for whole-grain products. This stamp has made its way to the packaging of the following types of foods: baking mixes, breads, breakfast/snack bars, cereals (cold and hot), crackers, entrees, flours, grain side dishes, pasta, pizza, soups, tortillas, waffles and other foods such as snack/munchie items, cookies and cakes.

Often, the stamp is dark yellow, and says: WHOLE GRAIN Good Source, or WHOLE GRAIN Excellent Source. Sometimes, the stamp is in a black outline against the clear plastic covering of the product.