On Sun, 19 Oct 2003 09:02:59 -0400, "<RJ>" >
wrote:
>
>I just finished reading the "nutrition" article in TIME magazine.
>They've convinced me;
>Reduce sugars, rice, processed flours etc,
>and eat more "Whole Grains".
>
>They even gave a hint; "Barley is a whole grain"
"Pot barley" is the closest you'll get to a whole grain barley. It's
had the least amount of bran and germ removed in the polishing process
necessary to get the hull off. "Pearl barley" spends more time in the
polisher and is mostly just endosperm with little bran or germ left.
>But when I go to my grocers, what should I be looking for ?
>I don't just want to buy a bag of whole-wheat flour.
True 100% whole wheat flour stores poorly relative to white flour so
read not only the ingredients listings, but look for "best by" dates
as well. If you want to be sure that your 100% whole wheat flour is
fresh you'll probably have to mill it yourself or have it milled for
you. Fortunately, there's a lot of home grain mills on the market,
though you'll probably have to purchase via the Internet to get any
real selection.
For an electric mill I'd go with the Grainmaster Whispermill.
For a manual I'm partial to the Country Living mill.
Walton Feed (
http://waltonfeed.com/self/grinders.html) has a nice
comparison and contrast of various mills on their web site.
>Is Grits a whole grain ?
Grits is corn that has had the hull and germ removed so it's a lot
like white flour but made from corn instead of wheat. That is, if you
buy it in the supermarket.
If you buy it from places like living history events, old time water
powered grist mills, and the like it may be 100% whole corn just
coarsely ground. One way to tell the difference is to look on the
label to see if it's been "fortified". Hulled corn grits, like white
flour, is required to be fortified by replacing some of the vitamins
that were lost in processing. Grits made from whole corn simply by
coarsely milling them don't have to be fortified. But much like real
whole wheat flour it doesn't keep well either so should be
refrigerated or frozen.
Again, if you're really going to get into whole grains get your own
mill. Corn bread made from meal you just milled yourself is a far
different animal than what you make from industrial corn meal.
> Raisin Bran ? Oat meal ?
>( these all sound like breakfast foods )
Raisin Bran may or may not have whole wheat in it, or it may just have
the bran. In any event, it is a highly processed food so is beginning
to stray from the goals generally sought in eating less processed
whole foods. Not that I'm against raisin bran, it's my favorite cold
cereal, but even if it's made with 100% whole wheat it's not quite the
same as fresh milled whole wheat. You might also examine Post
Grape-Nuts. As I recall it's made from whole wheat.
Oats and barley are difficult to find in a truly 100% whole grain form
because they both have hulls that are difficult to remove. Oatmeal is
hulled barley that's been partially (or fully) steamed then rolled
flat. Most of the bran, germ, and endosperm is still there, but it's
seen a fair degree of processing. If you're going to go for oatmeal
(and I certainly do) use the old-fashioned thicker rolled oats.
Better still are steel cut (pin head) oats which are whole groats cut
into roughly three pieces, but not otherwise cooked or processed.
Takes longer to cook, but it's a very different product. Instant
oatmeal is an abomination as is instant grits.
Now, there are hulless oats to be found. This comes from a variety
known as "naked" oats since their hulls are very loose and come off
easily. Cooking a whole oat groat is much different from cooking
rolled or cut oats so you'll need to experiment. Hulless oats are a
bit difficult to find relative to the other types because they're not
as widely grown.
>Any help here on which prepared foods are "whole grain" ?
Your best bet will be a careful reading of the ingredients listings.
If you really want the benefits of whole grains then the fresher the
better which usually translates to "do it yourself."
Fortunately, it's not that hard to do. As I mentioned above home
grain mills are easy to come by. You can even make your own rolled
oats as roller mills are available as well.
......Alan.
--
Curiosity killed the cat -
lack of it is killing mankind.