Are you one of the 9 out of 10 people in America who are not reaching the minimum recommendation for whole grains (the minimum rec. is 48 grams of whole grain, or 3 servings, per day)? Are you one of the 4 out of 10 Americans who consumes less than one whole grain product in a two week period?! (Source: Today’s Dietitian Magazine)
Why are whole grains so important? Check out this article to find out.
A while back I posted a day of my eats and I realized I wasn’t getting enough servings of grains, according to MyPlate, which recommends that I consume about 6 servings of grains per day. I was (and still am) getting closer to 4 servings of grain, which is fine with me, as I think 6 servings is too much for my needs, personally. I was reaching the minimum amount of whole grains (3), so I still felt confident that I was eating right.
*** If you go to MyPlate and find out how many servings of grains you need, just take half of that and that’s how many servings of whole grains you should consume each day. ***
Apparently in 2009 there were about 3000 new products released with whole grains, compared to year 2000, which had only about 164 new products released with whole grains. In addition, many restaurants (including fast food) are jumping on the bandwagon and including whole grains on their menus. So we no longer have an excuse to not reach our whole grain goal.
It’s a fact that most American’s consume a majority of their whole grains at breakfast. I know I do!
1.5 servings of whole grain (24 grams) in my morning oats
I always look for the Whole Grains Stamp on my grain products. If a food has 8 grams of whole grain, or more, it can bare this symbol. LOOK FOR IT!
I love buying whole grain tortillas (for Nick only, because they contain wheat).
And when we don’t go through them fast enough, I make them into tortilla chips.
(Cut them into rectangles, spray with EVOO, sprinkle with a dash of salt and some garlic powder).
Bake at a low temperature (~200) for about 20 minutes, while continuing to watch them in order to prevent burning.
Something Nick has been doing lately (and I’m very happy about) is buying the burrito bowl at Chipotle……
Then when we get home he adds it to our whole grain tortillas! It definitely beats the tortilla at Chipotle, which has ZERO whole grains, and tons of lard (I don’t do this because I can’t eat our tortillas. Does anyone know of a wheat-free tortilla?!).
Other Favorite Whole Grains
- Popcorn
- Quinoa
- Brown Rice
- Oatmeal
- Whole Wheat products
- Wild Rice
- Bulgar
QUESTION: What’s your favorite whole grain and what are some ways you make sure to get them in your diet? While traveling for training I struggle to eat very healthy and I have found it hard to consume 3 servings of whole grain. An item I have been buying a lot is sushi made with brown rice. It’s definitely helped me reach my 3 serving goal!
Coming Up/Training Update
I’m on my way back to Pittsburgh tomorrow morning, for my last week of training (well, sort of). As I said in my last post I will be starting at another store in Columbus (yeah!) at the beginning of August.
