Better Eating for Life
by Mary S. Choate, M.S., R.D.

Step one: Eat More Whole-grain Foods

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Begin with the possible; begin with one step. There is always a limit; you cannot do more than you can. If you try to do too much, you will do nothing.
—P.D. Ouspensky and G.I. Gurdjieff

For our first step we’re starting at the bottom— the bottom of the Food Guide Pyramid that is. Here is where you’ll find the Bread, Cereal, Rice, and Pasta Group. This month, see if you can increase the amount of whole-grain foods that you eat from this group to at least three servings a day. Remember that every grain product you eat over the course of a day doesn’t have to be whole grain, just three. (Although, you may find them so delicious that you start to choose them even more often. Great!)

Start where you are now. Do you never choose whole grain foods? Choose them only once in a while? The following ideas and tools will help you to move closer to the three-a-day whole grain goal.

Easiest/No Cooking:

	Try a whole-grain cold breakfast cereal. You can ease into this if you like by mixing half of the one you’re using now with half of the whole-grain one.
	Try a whole-grain granola bar or popcorn for a snack.
	Take a Ryvita Fruit Crunch Cracker break. The added fruit makes this a bit sweet and chewy. It’s a favorite snack in our office.
	Order your sandwich made with whole-grain bread.

Minimal Prep:

	For breakfast, try instant oatmeal or, if you have a few more minutes, try regular oats, Maypo, or Bear Mush. You can make extra of this on the weekend and heat it up the next day for a quick breakfast.
	Top each half of a toasted whole-wheat English muffin with tomato sauce and a slice of low fat cheese. Microwave just until the cheese is melted.
	Toast a whole-wheat bagel. Top with sliced turkey, lowfat mayonnaise, and lettuce.

Fast Cooking:

	Try a quick-cooking whole grain such as 10-minute brown rice or whole-wheat couscous instead of white rice.
	Switch to whole-grain instead of white pasta.
	Try Annie’s Organic Whole-wheat Shells and Cheddar.

Sleuthing Around for Truly Whole Grains
Even if the bread looks brown and the front of the package is labeled "whole-wheat," it may still be made with mostly refined wheat flour. Packaging that states "multi-grain," "seven-grain," "whole-grain," or just "wheat" doesn’t guarantee a whole-grain product. Organic wheat is also refined, unless it is organic whole wheat.

To be sure of what you are eating, check the ingredient list and make sure the first ingredient listed is a whole grain. Look for the word "whole" or "whole-grain" before these grains: oats, wheat, rice, corn, rye, and barley.

Packaged breakfast cereals require the same kind of detective work. I recommend going straight to the ingredient list to scope out the first few ingredients, making sure a whole grain is the first ingredient listed.
Quick tip: If the front label says 100 percent whole-wheat or 100 percent whole-grain, then it is truly a whole-grain product.

Where Do I Find Whole-grain Foods?
Here are some brand names to get you started. For a more complete list of whole-grain products that the Co-op carries, please visit our web site: www.coopfoodstore.com.

Bulk Up on Whole Grains
Bulk grains are a low cost, satisfying addition to meals and recipes. Here you’ll find whole yellow and blue cornmeal, brown rice, wild rice, whole-grain flour, and popcorn, as well as whole-grain bulk cereals and whole-grain pastas. A whole-grain "how-to" cooking brochure, "Bulk Grains," is located in this department. Also check out Paula Gray’s pages in this issue and on the web site for delicious recipe ideas.

Baking note: You can substitute whole-grain flour for up to half of the all-purpose flour in baked goods recipes without a noticeable change. To use only whole-wheat flour, substitute 1 cup of whole-wheat flour minus one tablespoon for every 1 cup of all-purpose flour.

Whole-grain Cookies? Yay!
Health Valley cookies are made with organic whole-wheat flour as the first ingredient. Look for Healthy Chips Original Style Cookies and Amaranth Graham Crackers. New Morning Organic Cinnamon or Chocolate Grahams are also made with whole wheat as the first ingredient.

Whole-grain Snacking
Health Valley Granola Bars, Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars or Save the Forest Organic Cereal Bars are good whole-grain choices. Don’t forget popcorn, an all-American favorite whole-grain choice! Switch from Ritz or saltine-type crackers to any Kalvi, Finn Crisps, Ryvita, or Wasa crackers, Ak-mak, or Hains Wheatettes.

More "Better Eating For Life" resources:

January, 2002 Features:
	A Year-Long Guide to Heathier Choices
	Cookbooks Featuring Whole Grains
	Whole Grain Foods at the Co-op
	Whole Grain Information Websites
Archives:
	November, 2001 introduction: Getting Ready for Better Health
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