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"

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.

Is Grits a whole grain ? Raisin Bran ? Oat meal ?
( these all sound like breakfast foods )

Any help here on which prepared foods are "whole grain" ?


<rj>

On Sun, 19 Oct 2003 09:02:59 -0400, "<RJ>" >
wrote:

>
>I just finished reading the "nutrition" article in TIME magazine.

It is a pretty good article. I saw the article on the cnn.com website
(under "Time Magazine") and went out and bought the issue.

>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"
>
>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.
>
>Is Grits a whole grain ?
Interesting question. The answer is no, as I found out he
http://www.mycustompak.com/healthNot...Guide/Corn.htm

> Raisin Bran?
Well, it contains "bran" which technically isn't a whole grain but
practically-speaking it is the part of the grain that "whole grain" is
supposed to keep. So, that works as a "whole grain" for your
purposes.

> Oat meal ?
Yes.

>( these all sound like breakfast foods )

brown rice too :>

>Any help here on which prepared foods are "whole grain" ?

Look for packages that say "whole wheat" or "whole grain _____".
Here are a couple of guides:
http://www.cspinet.org/nah/wwheat.html
http://www.mycustompak.com/healthNot...-Contents-List
(this one is nice, it has photos)

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

Curly Sue wrote:
> On Sun, 19 Oct 2003 09:02:59 -0400, "<RJ>" >
> wrote:
>
>>
>> I just finished reading the "nutrition" article in TIME magazine.
>
> It is a pretty good article. I saw the article on the cnn.com website
> (under "Time Magazine") and went out and bought the issue.
>
>> 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"
>>
>> 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.
>>
>> Is Grits a whole grain ?
> Interesting question. The answer is no, as I found out he
> http://www.mycustompak.com/healthNot...Guide/Corn.htm
>
>> Raisin Bran?
> Well, it contains "bran" which technically isn't a whole grain but
> practically-speaking it is the part of the grain that "whole grain" is
> supposed to keep. So, that works as a "whole grain" for your
> purposes.
>
>> Oat meal ?
> Yes.
>
>> ( these all sound like breakfast foods )
>
> brown rice too :>
>
>> Any help here on which prepared foods are "whole grain" ?
>
> Look for packages that say "whole wheat" or "whole grain _____".
> Here are a couple of guides:
> http://www.cspinet.org/nah/wwheat.html
>
http://www.mycustompak.com/healthNot...ood-Contents-L
ist
> (this one is nice, it has photos)
>
> Sue(tm)
> Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

And barley is great to cook if you're tired of rice (look for it by the
dried beans and bean soup mixes). It's also good if you simply add it to
vegetable soup to thicken it.

Jill

"<RJ>" > writes:

>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"
>
>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.
>
>Is Grits a whole grain ? Raisin Bran ? Oat meal ?
>( these all sound like breakfast foods )
>
>Any help here on which prepared foods are "whole grain" ?

Technically not a grain but with this you don't need any others:

http://www.thebirkettmills.com


---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
Sheldon
````````````
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."

"jmcquown" > wrote in
:

> And barley is great to cook if you're tired of rice (look for it by the
> dried beans and bean soup mixes). It's also good if you simply add it to
> vegetable soup to thicken it.
>
> Jill
>
>

These are just a few.
Pearl barley or pot barley.
CouCous
Granola, Muesil (good as breakfast or snaking food)
Red River Cerial, cream of wheat etc...
Rolled oats, oatmeal

> Any help here on which prepared foods are "whole grain" ?


It is quite an old cookbook but a useful one: Laurel's Kitchen. You
don't have to like the whole philosophy; the information on grains and
whole grains is good. The trouble, you'll find, is that most prepared
cereals can come in whole or polished varieties. For example, pearled
barley has had the outer bran taken off, but you can get whole barley at
the health food store.

--Lia

Quinoa is pretty good as a rice 'substitute' as well.

>These are just a few.
>Pearl barley or pot barley.
>CouCous
>Granola, Muesil (good as breakfast or snaking food)
>Red River Cerial, cream of wheat etc...
>Rolled oats, oatmeal
>
>
>

On Sun, 19 Oct 2003 13:28:12 -0400, "John Misrahi"
> wrote:

>Quinoa is pretty good as a rice 'substitute' as well.

Strangely enough, there's confusion about whether it's a grain (who
woulda thought otherwise?)

http://www.mycustompak.com/healthNot...-Contents-List
>Pronounced "keen-wa," this so-called grain is actually a fruit.
> Cultivation of the tiny, disc-shaped quinoa began about 3,000
> years ago in the Andes mountain region, mostly in Peru and
> Bolivia. It was the most widely cultivated crop among the Incas,
> who considered it a sacred plant and used it in rituals. Today,
> quinoa is grown in South America and in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

http://64.106.220.190/recipes/d/quinoa/

OTOH,
http://www.quinoa.net/index.html
http://www.cspinet.org/nah/wwheat.html

>"Quinoa and oatmeal are whole grains. Bulgur and couscous
> sometimes are and sometimes aren't."

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

Hahabogus > writes:

>These are just a few.
>Pearl barley or pot barley.

Only the pot barley is whole grain, pearl barley has had the bran removed.

>CouCous

Couscous is pasta, duh.

>Granola, Muesil (good as breakfast or snaking food)

These are cereals, almost always contain polished grains, not whole grains...
and what the frig is "snaking food"... live mice?

>Red River Cerial, cream of wheat etc...
>Rolled oats, oatmeal

Cream of wheat and rolled oats are not whole grain, the bran has been removed.

oats
According to a definition in Samuel Johnson's 1755 Dictionary of the English
Language , oats were "a grain which in England is generally given to horses,
but which in Scotland supports the people." Since oats are by far the most
nutritious of the cereal grasses, it would appear that the Scots were ahead of
the rest of us. Today, whole oats are still used as animal fodder. Humans don't
usually consume them until after the oats have been cleaned, toasted, hulled
and cleaned again, after which time they become oat groats (which still contain
most of the original nutrients). Oat groats can be cooked and served as cereal,
or prepared in the same manner as rice and used as a side dish or in a dish
such as a salad or stuffing. When steamed and flattened with huge rollers, oat
groats become regular rolled oats (also called old-fashioned oats ). They take
about 15 minutes to cook. Quick-cooking rolled oats are groats that have been
cut into several pieces before being steamed and rolled into thinner flakes.
Though they cook in about 5 minutes, many think the flavor and texture are
never quite as satisfying as with regular rolled oats. Old-fashioned oats and
quick-cooking oats can usually be interchanged in recipes. Instant oats,
however, are not interchangeable because they're made with cut groats that have
been precooked and dried before being rolled. This precooking process so
softens the oat pieces that, after being combined with a liquid, the mixture
can turn baked goods such as muffins or cookies into gooey lumps. Most instant
oatmeal is packaged with salt, sugar and other flavorings. Scotch oats or
steel-cut oats or Irish oatmeal are all names for groats that have been cut
into 2 to 3 pieces and not rolled. They take considerably longer to cook than
rolled oats and have a decidedly chewy texture. Oat flour is made from groats
that have been ground into powder. It contains no gluten, however, so €” for
baked goods that need to rise, like yeast breads €” must be combined with a
flour that does. Oat bran is the outer casing of the oat and is particularly
high in soluble fiber, thought to be a leading contender in the fight against
high cholesterol. Oat bran, groats, flour and Scotch oats are more likely to be
found in health-food stores than supermarkets. Oats are high in vitamin B-1 and
contain a good amount of vitamins B-2 and E.

© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995
based on THE FOOD LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.



---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
Sheldon
````````````
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."

"John Misrahi" > writes:

>Quinoa is pretty good as a rice 'substitute' as well.

Actually quinoa is far more nutritious than rice.

[KEEN-wah]
Although quinoa is new to the American market, it was a staple of the ancient
Incas, who called it "the mother grain." To this day it's an important food in
South American cuisine. Hailed as the "supergrain of the future," quinoa
contains more protein than any other grain. It's considered a complete protein
because it contains all eight essential amino acids. Quinoa is also higher in
unsaturated fats and lower in carbohydrates than most grains, and it provides a
rich and balanced source of vital nutrients. Tiny and bead-shaped, the
ivory-colored quinoa cooks like rice (taking half the time of regular rice) and
expands to four times its original volume. Its flavor is delicate, almost
bland, and has been compared to that of COUSCOUS. Quinoa is lighter than but
can be used in any way suitable for rice €” as part of a main dish, a side
dish, in soups, in salads and even in puddings. It's available packaged as a
grain, ground into flour and in several forms of pasta. Quinoa can be found in
most health-food stores and some supermarkets.

© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995
based on THE FOOD LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.

---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
Sheldon
````````````
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."

Hahabogus > wrote in message . 1>...
> "jmcquown" > wrote in
> :
>
> > And barley is great to cook if you're tired of rice (look for it by the
> > dried beans and bean soup mixes). It's also good if you simply add it to
> > vegetable soup to thicken it.
> >
> > Jill
> >
> >
>
> These are just a few.
> Pearl barley or pot barley.
> CouCous
> Granola, Muesili (good as breakfast or snaking food)

Snaking food???
Do you use that when you hypnotize cobras? ;-D

Just kidding, we knew what you meant..... but I could not resist. :-)

> Red River Cereal, cream of wheat etc...
> Rolled oats, oatmeal

If you use cream of wheat, be sure to NOT get the instant...

Same with the oatmeal.

If you are just after the fiber, try oat bran.
It's actually quite good cooked as a breakfast cereal.

C.

(PENMART01) wrote in
:

> Couscous is pasta, duh.
>

couscous
[KOOS-koos]
A staple of North African cuisine, couscous is granular SEMOLINA. Cooked,
it may be served with milk as porridge, with a dressing as a salad or
sweetened and mixed with fruits for dessert. Packaged precooked couscous is
available in Middle Eastern markets and large supermarkets. The name
couscous also refers to the famous Maghreb dish in which semolina or
cracked WHEAT is steamed in the perforated top part of a special pot called
a couscoussière , while chunks of meat (usually lamb or chicken), various
vegetables, chickpeas and raisins simmer in the bottom part. In lieu of a
couscoussière , a colander set over a large pot will do. The cooked
semolina is heaped onto a platter, with the meats and vegetables placed on
top. All diners use chunks of bread to scoop the couscous from this central
platter. Couscous varies from country to country — Moroccans include
saffron, Algerians like to add tomatoes and Tunisians spice theirs up with
the hot-pepper-based HARISSA SAUCE.
© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD
LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.

"" wrote:

> 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.

Contrary to popular belief, "whole-wheat" flour is NOT
a whole-grain flour. It has had the wheat germ removed.

The whole-grain flour made with the wheat germ
is called "Graham" flour, after Sylvester Graham,
a 19th-century food faddist.

http://www.ivu.org/history/usa19/graham.html

Hahabogus > writes:

>(PENMART01) wrote
>
>> Couscous is pasta, duh.
>>
>
>couscous
>[KOOS-koos]
>A staple of North African cuisine, couscous is granular SEMOLINA.

Like I said, pasta. Same as most other other pasta, couscous is made from a
dough of semolina flour, rubbed to form an irregularly shaped granular pasta.
Naturally semolina (the endosperm of Durum wheat) is not whole grain, its bran
has been removed, same as with other pastas, same as it is with couscous made
with cracked semolina. Couscous in of itself is not very nutritious, same with
pasta... with both, their nutrition depends primarilly on the added ingredients
used in the dish, same as with white rice... they are just starch. If your
diet consisted primarilly of plain couscous and/or white rice you'd certainly
die a long and very painful death, essentially by starvation.

Encyclopædia Britannica Article

beriberi

also called vitamin B1 deficiency, nutritional disorder caused by a deficiency
of vitamin B1 (thiamine) and characterized by impairment of the nerves and
heart. General symptoms include loss of appetite and overall lassitude,
digestive irregularities, and a feeling of numbness and weakness in the limbs
and extremities. (The term beriberi is derived from the Sinhalese word meaning
€œextreme weakness.€�) In the form known as dry beriberi, there is a gradual
degeneration of the long nerves, first of the legs and then of the arms, with
associated atrophy of muscle and loss of reflexes. In wet beriberi, a more
acute form, there is edema (overabundance of fluid in the tissues) resulting
largely from cardiac failure and poor circulation. In infants breast-fed by
mothers who are deficient in thiamine, beriberi may lead to rapidly progressing
heart failure.

The cardiac symptoms, in both infants and adults, generally respond promptly
and dramatically to the administration of thiamine. When neurological
involvement is present, response to thiamine therapy is much more gradual; in
more severe cases, the structural lesions of the nerve cells may be
irreversible.

Thiamine normally plays an essential role as a coenzyme in the metabolism of
carbohydrates; in its absence, pyruvic acid and lactic acid (products of
carbohydrate digestion) accumulate in the tissues, where they are believed to
be responsible for most of the neurological and cardiac manifestations.

Vitamin B1 occurs widely in food but may be lost in the course of processing,
particularly in the milling of grains. In East Asian countries, where polished
white rice is a dietary staple, beriberi has been known for over 1,000 years.
The history of the recognition, the cause, and the cure of beriberi is dramatic
and is well documented in medical literature. In the 1870s the Japanese navy
reported that beriberi had been eradicated among its sailors as a result of
adding extra meat, fish, and vegetables to their regular diet. Before that
time, almost half of the sailors were likely to develop beriberi, and many died
of it. In 1897 Christiaan Eijkman , working in the Dutch East Indies (now
Indonesia), showed that a beriberi-like disease could be produced in chickens
by a diet of polished rice. That beriberi in humans was also related to the
ingestion of white rice was confirmed by British researchers in Malaysia.
There, W. Fletcher in 1907 and Henry Fraser and A.T. Stanton in 1909 showed
that in selected groups under close observation beriberi occurred in persons
who were eating a polished-rice diet whereas those eating parboiled or brown
rice did not develop the disease. In 1912 Casimir Funk demonstrated that
beriberi could be cured in pigeons by feeding them a concentrate made from rice
polishings. Following this discovery he proposed that this, as well as several
other conditions, were due to the ingestion of diets that were deficient in
specific factors which he termed €œvitamines.€�

The incidence of beriberi in Asia has markedly decreased, partly because an
improved standard of living has allowed a more varied diet and partly because
of the gradual popular acceptance of partially dehusked, parboiled, and
enriched rice€”forms that contain higher concentrations of thiamine. The
prevention of beriberi is accomplished by eating a well-balanced diet, since
thiamine is present in most raw and untreated foods. In Western countries,
thiamine deficiency is encountered almost solely in cases of chronic
alcoholism.

Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service.
<http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?eu=80894>
[Accessed October 19, 2003].



---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
Sheldon
````````````
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."

In article >,
"<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"
>
>But when I go to my grocers, what should I be looking for ?

You can get all the barley you want in the form of beer. Proper
beer is made from large amounts of malted barley and water
(another thing it's good to consume a lot of) and small amounts
of yeast and hops.

Okay, I'm kidding.

Alton had a show on whole grains recently -- check foodtv.com
for his recipes.

--
Mark Shaw contact info at homepage --> http://www.panix.com/~mshaw
================================================== ======================
Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish. - Euripides

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"
>
>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.
>
>Is Grits a whole grain ? Raisin Bran ? Oat meal ?
>( these all sound like breakfast foods )
>
>Any help here on which prepared foods are "whole grain" ?

Here's an introduction:

http://www.generalmills.com/nutrition/hn/wg_101.htm

and

http://www.cspinet.org/nah/wwheat.html

Yours is not a simple question. You're going to have to read labels.
Rather than dive headfirst into a barrel of whole grain, try adding a
few different grain products to your cooking. Bulgar wheat is
processed to a certain extent, but a more nutritious product than
white rice (pilaf, etc.). Grits and many corn products have the fiber
and bran stripped off -- not whole grain (corn on the cob or, I
suppose, from the can is a whole grain). Plain ol' Cheerios are whole
grain (who knew?), but not Puffed Wheat. One point to note is that
most whole grain products have a shorter shelf-life than their refined
counterparts -- oil in the bran/germ can make brown rice and whole
wheat flour go rancid. If you don't use it up quickly, refrigerate it.

As for "prepared foods," the proportion of whole grains in many
supermarket products is low. Try health food stores for whole grain
pastas, flours, mixes, etc. Wholegrain bread tends to be dense and
heavy. If you make bread, try substituting *some* whole wheat or other
grain in a regular recipe. Add a bit of oatmeal or barley to a sloppy
joe-type prep or use in meatloaf.

"John Misrahi" > wrote in message
...
>
> Quinoa is pretty good as a rice 'substitute' as well.
>
> >These are just a few.
> >Pearl barley or pot barley.
> >CouCous
> >Granola, Muesil (good as breakfast or snaking food)
> >Red River Cerial, cream of wheat etc...
> >Rolled oats, oatmeal
> >
> >

Responding to the previous post - couscous is not a whole grain, it is just
plain old pasta.

Peter G. Aitken

In article >,
(Curly Sue) wrote:

> > Raisin Bran?
> Well, it contains "bran" which technically isn't a whole grain but
> practically-speaking it is the part of the grain that "whole grain" is
> supposed to keep. So, that works as a "whole grain" for your
> purposes.

The raisins are good sources of fiber, too. Try to find the brands that
don't coat the raisins in sugar.

> > Oat meal ?
> Yes.
>
> >( these all sound like breakfast foods )
>
> brown rice too :>

Lots of breakfast cereals can be made from whole grains. My co-op offers
wheat berries, cracked wheat (sometimes called bulgur), several
pre-packaged varieties of oatmeal and multi-grain cereals, and even
oatmeal-like flakes made from barley or rye. I usually cook a few
servings at once, eat one, and plate the rest for other mornings.
Whether it's sweet or savory on a given day is up to me.

You can also find whole-grain breads, English muffins, and bagels.
They're probably not as good for you as whole-grain cereals, but they
certainly are more convenient.

sd

> writes:
>
>Try to find the brands that don't coat the raisins in sugar.

Onliest coated raisins I've ever seen are candy coated, ie. Raisinettes,
yogurt, carob, etc. coated... never seen any coated with sugar, in fact why
would anyone want to, raisins is already mostly sugar, in fact when raisins get
old their sugar migrates to the surface, like it does with chocolate bloom, and
dirty old men.


---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
Sheldon
````````````
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."

Thanks so much for the "Whole Grain" info.

The health folks may say "eat whole grains",
but finding these elusive critters at the grocers is another matter.

But now, I've got a search list for my next shopping trip.


<rj>

"Peter Aitken" > wrote in message news:PmDkb.32936>
> Responding to the previous post - couscous is not a whole grain, it is
just
> plain old pasta.
>


Yes. There is whole wheat couscous, too, which is pretty good, although I
find it doesn't have a long shelf life.

Chris

"sd" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> (Curly Sue) wrote:
>
> > > Raisin Bran?
> > Well, it contains "bran" which technically isn't a whole grain but
> > practically-speaking it is the part of the grain that "whole grain" is
> > supposed to keep. So, that works as a "whole grain" for your
> > purposes.
>
> The raisins are good sources of fiber, too. Try to find the brands that
> don't coat the raisins in sugar.
>

I read an article in the Washington Post that talked about raisin bran. The
article said that Post Raisin bran includes whole grain wheat with the bran,
but that Kellogg's Raisin Bran doesn't include whole grain wheat. Just
checked my box of Post RB; the first ingredient is whole grain wheat (the
bran is the 3rd ingredient; plain wheat flour is one of the last
ingredients). Can't vouch for the Kellogg's RB. We just finished a box
recently.

I'm not a huge raisin bran fan, but I like it a lot better with some chopped
walnuts on top. And since we had both Kellogg's and Post in the house a few
weeks ago, I did a side-by-side taste test. I definitely prefer Post. The
flakes tasted better and held up in milk better.

Chris

On Sun, 19 Oct 2003 21:49:23 -0400, "Chris and Bob Neidecker"
> wrote:

>
>"sd" > wrote in message
...
>> In article >,
>> (Curly Sue) wrote:
>>
>> > > Raisin Bran?
>> > Well, it contains "bran" which technically isn't a whole grain but
>> > practically-speaking it is the part of the grain that "whole grain" is
>> > supposed to keep. So, that works as a "whole grain" for your
>> > purposes.
>>
>> The raisins are good sources of fiber, too. Try to find the brands that
>> don't coat the raisins in sugar.
>>
>
>I read an article in the Washington Post that talked about raisin bran. The
>article said that Post Raisin bran includes whole grain wheat with the bran,
>but that Kellogg's Raisin Bran doesn't include whole grain wheat. Just
>checked my box of Post RB; the first ingredient is whole grain wheat (the
>bran is the 3rd ingredient; plain wheat flour is one of the last
>ingredients). Can't vouch for the Kellogg's RB. We just finished a box
>recently.


Kellogg's Raisin Bran:

Whole wheat, raisins, wheat bran, sugar, high fructose corn syrup,
salt, malt flavoring, niacinamide, reduced iron, zinc oxide,
pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), riboflavin (vitamin B2),
thiamin hydrochloride (vitamin B1), vitamin A palmitate, folic acid,
vitamin B12 and vitamin D.

I couldn't find the list for Post R.B.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

When buying corn meal, look for "stone ground" or "water ground" on the package.
Avoid Alber's, and brands like it, which state something like "specially ground"
which usually means the germ has been removed. This is done to enhance shelf
life, but also results in the loss of nutrition and flavor. Same goes for masa
harina. Quaker brand is de-germinated, whereas Buena Comida brand, and the
fresh or frozen kind found in meat departments, is left intact.

Whole grains should be stored in a cool place as the oil in the germ will become
rancid after a while, depending on age and storage conditions. I live in a warm
climate, so everything goes into the refrigerator or freezer for long-term
storage.

In rec.food.cooking, "<RJ>" > wrote:

> Any help here on which prepared foods are "whole grain" ?

Here's some help: Avoid prepared foods.

I make grains regularly. Try some brown basmati rice, mixed with an equal
part of whole wheat, with a bit of red rice and a pinch of wild rice
thrown in. Yum!

If you like that, try throwing in some whole oats, or upping the
percentage of red rice. Black Japonica rice is good too, but unless you
rinse it, it will turn everything purple.

Whole foods and prepared foods are not usually things that go together.

--
....I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who

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.

On Tue, 21 Oct 2003 17:17:57 +0000 (UTC),
wrote:

> "<RJ>" > wrote:
>
>> Any help here on which prepared foods are "whole grain" ?

>I make grains regularly.

So only God can make a tree, but anyone can fashion a grain?
(Sorry, couldn't resist. :-)

>Try some brown basmati rice, mixed with an equal
>part of whole wheat, with a bit of red rice and a pinch of wild rice
>thrown in. Yum!
>
>If you like that, try throwing in some whole oats, or upping the
>percentage of red rice. Black Japonica rice is good too, but unless you
>rinse it, it will turn everything purple.
>
>Whole foods and prepared foods are not usually things that go together.

I believe, the OP is looking to bring some "whole grain" foods into
his diet, not immediately embrace a new lifestyle. I'm trying to think
what choices can be made in a regular ol' supermarket, and can't come
up with many. I realize that I've had to go to ethnic markets to get
things like bulgar and interesting beans and lentils. As the original
query pointed out, the recommendation to "eat whole grains" rarely
comes with any specific directions or definitions. It doesn't do much
good to learn that a "whole* grain has the bran and germ, as well as
the endosperm, without knowing what (common) products may contain
these. The URL I posted befo

http://www.generalmills.com/nutrition/hn/wg_101.htm

seems solid, as far as it goes. Label-reading is a must. Advertising
hype for "healthy" foods is often very misleading. My supermarket
recently began carrying some sort of 'veggie chips' in the snack aisle
which are no more than pre-formed potato chips with a tiny amount of
vegetable coloring. Nothing like those delicious, but fabulously
expensive Terra Chips made from different veg.

"John Misrahi" > wrote in message
...
>
> Quinoa is pretty good as a rice 'substitute' as well.
>
-----------

quinua is nice. brought back a kilo from peru and bolivia on a recent
holiday. they eat a lot of it there! the grain is round, small, and a
little flat uncooked. once cooked they look a bit different...every grain
has a curly thingie attached to it. very nice in indigenous soup.

Grits are corn that has been soaked in a caustic bath and ground. Check
grits.com for details.

Oatmeal is good... but avoid the flavored instant ones.

Azuki beans used to be touted but then fell off the radar scope. Why?


--

I shave with Occam's Razor
http://www.dwacon.com

d c wrote:
>
> Azuki beans used to be touted but then fell off the radar scope. Why?


They were trendy. Then people realized they're similar in taste and
nutrition to other, more ordinary beans. Lentils, navy beans, black
beans, kidney beans, azuki beans, they're all a little different but
largely the same.

Also-- the original thread was about whole grains. Beans are a whole
'nother animal.

--Lia