Switching to whole grain

momof2boysvn

I am finally going to make the leap and switch from white rice and pasta to whole grain. I have only tried a brwon rice and whole grain pasta once before and it was terrible. What brands have you found that taste good? Thanks for any advice!

momof2boysvn

"brown" rice

neanderthin

Why bother, there isn't that much difference in the bid picture, being a fairly balanced natural diet to begin with, wspeically if you don't like the taste......I agree both those foods are nasty.

dls06

Barilla Plus is good.
I still have white pasta once in a while. For me it's more about portions size.

Food Portion Size Looks Like
3 oz. of meat - Deck of cards
Baked potato- Computer mouse
Bagel Hockey- puck
Potato chips, pretzels, popcorn- Teacup
Rice- Cupcake wrapper
1 oz. of cheese -Roll of film
Nuts- Egg
Pasta -Lightbulb

SMarie10

Why bother, there isn't that much difference in the bid picture, being a fairly balanced natural diet to begin with, wspeically if you don't like the taste......I agree both those foods are nasty.

Sorry, but this is terrible advice. Good choice for y ou to swich to whole grains and try to incorporate better food choices in your diet. Check out the health food isle / organic area of your local store - you may have to experiment to find products you like, but you're taking the right step to get complex carbs. Bonus is they will help you feel fuller than fluffy white breads.

You might try cous cous, quinoa as a healthy grain alternative to rice. for brown rice, try mixing in peas, onions carrots - they help add a lot of flavor, and use chicken broth when you cook the rice.

fisherlassie

I agree with smarie10. White rice and flour are, except for carbohydrates, nutritionally void. If the brown rice you had was disgusting it might have been rancid. Buy where there is a high turnover. Once get good rice, learn how to cook it, and get used to the favour you will probably think the white forms are disgusting. Meanwhile you'll be getting more B vitamins!

llamalland

agree with fisherlassie, et al....brown rice and whole wheat pasta are good for you, and taste good too. When I started using whole wheat pasta, for example, I did 1/2 & 1/2 with white pasta. Then discovered the nuttiness of the whole wheat added a great element to the spaghetti (or whatever). An easier switch than from ground beef to ground turkey!

I finally made brown rice "right" last week. I used chicken stock and let it simmer, covered, untouched, for 50 minutes. Very good. Fluffy, again the slight nuttiness in flavor. The whole grains add a dimension of flavor, rather than just being a vehicle for the sauce or protein....

My family hasn't missed a meal with the change, in fact, my husband prefers it, and my 20 y/o son has quit griping, so apparently he likes it too! He's always a hard sell....

issyfit

I switched to whole grains about 6 years ago and now prefer them for taste and texture. I love brown rice but like wheat berries even better--sort of a crunchy texture--cook and use them like rice. I buy most of my grains from the bins so don't know the brand.

For the person who said "why switch?"--because whole grains slow digestion which helps prevent big swings in blood sugar, which in turn helps prevent hunger and cravings. They also provide more fiber.

neanderthin

Why bother, there isn't that much difference in the bid picture, being a fairly balanced natural diet to begin with, wspeically if you don't like the taste......I agree both those foods are nasty.

Sorry, but this is terrible advice. Good choice for y ou to swich to whole grains and try to incorporate better food choices in your diet. Check out the health food isle / organic area of your local store - you may have to experiment to find products you like, but you're taking the right step to get complex carbs. Bonus is they will help you feel fuller than fluffy white breads.

You might try cous cous, quinoa as a healthy grain alternative to rice. for brown rice, try mixing in peas, onions carrots - they help add a lot of flavor, and use chicken broth when you cook the rice.

Er cous cous is a white pasta btw made from semolina, just like that terrible Italian white pasta.

Also whole wheat pasta is slightly less on the GI scale, about 3 points, so it makes no difference and that is if you believe the GI really makes a difference in the first place, which it doesn't unless you have a disease that calls for removing most carbs . and if everyone wants better and healthier choices removing grains and replacing them with other veg or sweet potato is the healthier option on a calorie for calorie basis.

The reason why diets fail is because their not sustainable and if someone doesn't like a particular food, why ger rightous and say eat eat because it's healthy. If someones overall diet is healthy adding a few whole grains into bread or refining wheat that still has the husk attached is somehow going to make a big difference then ya'll might want to take a closer look at your diet......Italians or people from the med area wouldn't touch whole grain pasta with a ten foot pole, and I'm sorry a good white Portugese or French white bread isn't going to be replaced by some kind of whole wheat..........I consume whole wheat bread for some occations but i also eat white bread.

Acg67

I agree with smarie10. White rice and flour are, except for carbohydrates, nutritionally void. If the brown rice you had was disgusting it might have been rancid. Buy where there is a high turnover. Once get good rice, learn how to cook it, and get used to the favour you will probably think the white forms are disgusting. Meanwhile you'll be getting more B vitamins!

There is evidence to support that whole grains are actually worse for you then refined grains, as they contain more anti nutrients

DrBorkBork

If you hate it, don't eat it. Part with grains completely. You'll be healthier for it. For kicks and giggles, read "Wheat Belly" and watch "Fat Head"

77tes

DeCecco whole wheat spaghetti is good. With these options, how you prepare them is key. It took me about 5 tries before I got how to prepare brown rice correctly -- the package directions were all wrong. Finding a really good whole wheat bread can also take some trial and error. After you get used to these flavors, you'll never go back.

kbmnurse

Barilla whole wheat pasta is the best. Can't tell the difference. But, if I could i would eat a whole loaf of crusty bread every day until I die. LOL

kbmnurse

Barilla whole wheat pasta is the best. Can't tell the difference. But, if I could i would eat a whole loaf of crusty bread every day until I die. LOL

MeTime37

We've been switching over as well. Wasnt sure about eating brown pasta but it turns out its not that bad. Good For You!!!

amyrobynne

Here's America's Test Kitchen's taste test results for whole wheat pastas:
http://www.americastestkitchen.com/taste-tests/detail.php?docid=21524

PrettyLydie

It's an acquired taste. When I was in my late teens, my 8 year old sister was diagnosed with diabetes, so my parents made us all switch over to diet things, and whole wheat things. At first, it was gross, but I went along with it for her sake. Now, refined sugars, white bread/pasta/rice etc. just taste weird to me and I can't eat them very often. I guess my point is, if you really want to switch, just do it, and soon enough you won't want the other stuff anymore.

spiralated

Barilla Plus is good.
I still have white pasta once in a while. For me it's more about portions size.

Food Portion Size Looks Like
3 oz. of meat - Deck of cards
Baked potato- Computer mouse
Bagel Hockey- puck
Potato chips, pretzels, popcorn- Teacup
Rice- Cupcake wrapper
1 oz. of cheese -Roll of film
Nuts- Egg
Pasta -Lightbulb

omg these are awesome! i could never figure out what one 1oz of cheese was.

But back on topic - try wild rice too! different flavor/texture than brown. Barilla and Rotini have good whole wheat pastas. Also try couscous or quinoa. Different tastes, mix and match by adding variety sometimes you can have teh "bad" stuff too!