Let's face it - most of us know the importance of incorporating whole grain into our everyday meals. The Dietary Guidelines recommends choosing products with a whole grain listed as the first ingredient. Now cereals that display a white check on the top will contain more whole grains than any other single ingredient with the same great taste your families have grew to love. You'll see the "whole grain" as part of the first ingredient on the ingredient list, indicating that whole grain is the first and most prevalent ingredient.
With all the health messages facing grocery store shoppers, it can be very confusing to translate what appears on food labels into nutritional needs, and hard to determine which foods have a meaningful amount of whole grain. Below I will provide you some very useful tips by Dr. Stork that will help you include whole grain easily into your diet.
They include:
- Start Early! The Dietary Guidelines recommend people get at least 48 grams of whole grain in their daily diets. Get a jump-start on the day´s nutrition by incorporating whole grain into your morning routine. For instance, when choosing cereal make sure whole grain is listed as the first ingredient. One easy choice is cereal with the white check, which have more whole grain than any other single ingredient.
- Make Simple Swaps. Choose whole grain versions of the foods you love. Great options include whole wheat pasta and whole wheat bread or even whole grain crackers. Also, try different types of whole grain. Use brown rice instead of white rice as a side dish at dinner or popcorn, which is a whole grain, for a snack.
- Don´t Judge a Food by Its Cover. The front of food packages provide good nutritional cues, but don´t forget to read the ingredients and check the nutrition label and side labels for additional health information. Cereals with the white check even include the amount of whole grain per serving on packaging.
To help with choosing products with whole grain, General Mills developed "Fast Lane for Whole Grain," an online educational game. Consumers can navigate virtual grocery store aisles and identify products that have whole grain as the first ingredient, with the option to enter a sweepstakes to win one of each of the 50 cereals with the white check. Make a commitment to add more whole grain to your diet by simply pouring a bowl of cereal with the white check including Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Honey Nut Cheerios and Total. For more information on the importance of whole grain and a chance to enter the "Fast Lane for Whole Grain" sweepstakes, visit www.WholeGrainNation.com.
Disclosure: The prize pack, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.