The world of whole grains are endless so if you’re looking to add more whole grains to your diet, it’s quite easy to replace refined grain products with this type of whole grain “substitute”.

Breakfast Cereals – For breakfast, try my overnight recipe using steel cut oats, oats, and a nice blended cereals from your favorite whole foods store or order great products such as Bob’s Red Mill Muesli – a great blend. If you are a cold cereal lover, try Ezekiel cereals which come in Cinnamon Raisin, Golden Flax, Sprouted Grain and Whole Grain.

Breads -Probably the most popular is choosing to transition over to whole grain is by eating whole grain breads. Be careful when choosing whole grain breads from your local supermarket as many of them have added ingredients that are not healthy. Sprouted grains is my first pick and comes in breads, tortillas, english muffins, etc. read more here.

Rice – Move over white rice! When cooking rice make it brown or wild or try my favorite, Farro. It has a nice texture and is very flavorful. Also, try Quinoa – here is my most talked about recipe – Spanish Rice. Learn more about quinoa and how to cook it here.

Pasta – Instead of regular pasta, try Quinoa, spelt, whole grain, rice etc. See our Choose Wisely post on Quinoa pasta choices. Here is a great lasagne recipe and my family favorite, Crazy Good Casserole. Use our recipe tab or search field to find more great recipes.

Other whole grains, such as barley, can be added to your favorite recipes such as soups and casseroles.

It can be fun to experiment with different whole grains, as each adds a new element to your recipes. If you want to slowly transition, foods like rice and pasta can be mixed, using half white and half whole grain. For more information on whole grains read our page on whole grains and visit Whole Grains Council.

1 Comment

  1. Rachel on March 29, 2012 at 5:58 am

    Great Post Carol and speaking of whole grains have you heard that the Whole Grains Council has introduced a new initiative set for April 4th?  It is the first National Whole Grain Sampling Day? http://wholegrainscouncil.org/get-involved/whole-grain-sampling-day