Whole Grains Tips

Posted on May 5, 2008

Whole Grains Tips

Bump Up Breakfast With Whole Grain Muffins And Oatmeal

Breakfast foods are a great venue for whole grain recipes. Muffins, pancakes, and even crepes made with whole grain flours provide more protein, vitamins, and fiber than those made with processed grains. And don’t forget the oatmeal. Oatmeal, whether it’s the old-fashioned or “quick oats” variety, is a whole grain food. Try substituting half or even a third of the flour in your favorite muffin or pancake recipe with whole wheat flour. You may find that your favorite recipe tastes even better, and it is better for you! When shopping for dry cereal, be sure to read the labels and look for those made primarily with whole grains, such as Total (whole wheat) or Cheerios (oats) as their primary ingredients.

Choose Whole Grain Foods You Know, And Some That Are New

To maximize the health benefits of your diet meals, choose whole grain products whenever possible. Whole grains have more fiber than processed grain (although the amount of fiber varies by type of grain), and the added fiber helps with nutrient absorption and with digestion. So whole grain helps you keep the nutrients you need and eliminate what you don’t need. Some whole grains may be familiar, such as rye, barley, oats, and wheat, but expand your nutritional horizons and look for spelt, millet, and quinoa, too. These other grains are becoming increasingly popular with the surge in awareness of the benefits of whole grains and you can find these grains in many big-name grocery stores, not just in small health food stores.

Cook Whole Grains The Right Way

To get the best flavor and texture from your whole grain foods, cook them following these simple steps: -Rinse: Before cooking, rinse whole grains such as rice, barley, or millet in cool water to remove any dirt or debris, especially if you bought them in bulk. -Boil: For most whole grains, combine grains to water in a ratio of 1 cup of grains to 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes. -Test: Most whole grains are slightly chewy when fully cooked; you don’t need to overcook them. -Fluff: When the whole grains are cooked, remove them from heat and use a fork to stir and separate them. Replace the lid on the pot and let the grains stand for 5-15 minutes before serving.

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Eat The Whole Grain To Get The Whole Benefit

For a food to be made from whole grain, it must include all edible parts of the grain, each of which has its own benefits: -Bran: The bran is a key source of fiber as well as B vitamins, and it gives whole grain products their texture. -Germ: The germ is a source of minerals, protein, vitamins B and E, and healthy oils. The oils contribute most of the flavor to whole grain foods. -Endosperm: This is the outer layer of the grain and provides some protein but consists mostly of starch. Most bread and pasta products made from processed grain use mostly this outer layer and discard the bran and germ, which are the sources of most of a grain’s nutrients.

How Much Whole Grain: Strive for Three To Five (Servings) Daily

The current dietary guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommend 3 to 8 ounce-equivalent servings of grains daily, depending on age, gender, and activity level. Preschoolers only need about 3 ounces, while men aged 19-30 years need 8 ounce-equivalents. If you’re active, you will need 8 or more. The guidelines also recommend making “half your grains whole,” meaning that if you eat 8 servings of grains daily, 4 servings should be whole grains. One ounce-equivalent serving equals about one ounce; that’s a slice of bread, one-half cup of cooked pasta or rice, or a serving of dry cereal. Be wary of portion sizes if you are counting calories. A whole grain muffin may give you 2-3 ounces of whole grains, depending on the size of the muffin, but a muffin is more calorie-dense than cereal.
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Learn Your Whole Grain Labels

Labels can be deceiving when it comes to whole grains. Visit any grocery store and be bombarded by terms like multigrain, wheat, stone ground, 100% wheat, and bran. But none of these terms actually guarantees a whole grain food. Look for the word “whole” before the word “grain” or the type of grain. Choose foods with labels that read “whole wheat,” or “whole bran,” rather than those that read “100% wheat” or “stone ground wheat,” or “multi-grain.” Also, oats or oatmeal and brown rice are whole grain foods. And don’t be fooled by color. Bread that’s brown isn’t necessarily made from whole grain. Some types of wheat breads made from processed grain include molasses for a browner, “wheatier” color. The bottom line: Read those labels.

Pass The Popcorn For A Whole Grain Snack

That’s right—popcorn is a whole grain food. But to enjoy popcorn in its healthiest form, pop it yourself instead of buying the microwave variety. Use an air popper if you have one, or you can make it the old-fashioned way: Pour enough oil into a large soup pot to lightly cover the bottom. Add enough popcorn to cover the bottom of the pot and the oil, about ½ cup of popcorn for a 6-8 quart pot. You’ll have a healthy snack in not much more time than it takes to microwave popcorn, and you avoid the preservatives. For an extra healthy bonus, use olive oil rather than standard vegetable oil, you’ll get omega-3s as well as whole grains, and you won’t notice any difference in taste. Sprinkle with pepper or oregano to avoid salt, or keep salt light and go heavier on the pepper. Also, if you want some butter, use a few tablespoons and mix it with lemon juice for a zesty flavor with less fat.

Power Up Your Baking With Whole Wheat Flour

When cooking or baking with whole wheat flour, be aware that it will not rise as much as white flour. Also, some baked goods, such as cookies or pizza dough, that are made with only whole wheat flour, can be rather gummy in texture. To solve this problem, use ½ regular all-purpose flour and ½ whole wheat flour and you’ll get the health benefits and hearty flavor of whole wheat with a less gummy texture than dough made from all whole wheat flour. Also, using half of each type may be more appealing to anyone not used to eating a lot of whole grain foods than completely substituting whole wheat flour for white flour in a favorite recipe. So, if a recipe calls for two cups of flour, use one cup of whole wheat and one cup of standard flour. Try it, you might like it!

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Whole Grain Flour Stays Freshest In FreezerMost whole grain flour of any type, whether it is whole wheat all-purpose flour, rye flour, buckwheat flour, or whole grain cornmeal, will keep well for two to four months in the refrigerator or even longer in the freezer. Transfer the flour to an airtight container or put the bag of flour inside a zippered freezer storage bag. For best results, let the flour come to room temperature before using it for baking, but you can put whole wheat flour into whole wheat muffins, pancakes, or pizza right out of the freezer. If you do a lot of baking, keep a small amount in a flour jar on the counter for convenience and refill it from the refrigerator or freezer as needed. If you have many different types of flour and you empty them out of the original packaging, make sure to label the freezer bags or containers so you don’t end up with rye flour when you meant to have oat bran.

Whole Grain Myths: They Won’t Break Your Taste Buds Or Budget

Some people harbor a stereotype that whole-grain foods are flat and tasteless. Not so. Many foods made with whole grains are delicious and indistinguishable from their processed grain counterparts, and other whole grain foods have a distinct flavor that is appealing on its own. Alternatively, whole grain foods such as whole grain pasta can be substituted for your usual pasta when making spaghetti and macaroni and cheese. You may not notice a difference in flavor because you’ll taste mostly the sauce, but you’ll reap the healthy diet benefits of these whole grain products. Adding more whole grains to your diet meals won’t cause any bulges in your meal budget. Although some whole grain products cost more than their processed counterparts, if you shop around and buy whole grains in bulk you’ll find that any price difference is slim. And if you are eating prepared meals, there’s usually little if any difference in price between whole grain products and non-whole grain products.

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