Whole Grains Are Magically Delicious and Nutritious

Add whole grains to your vegan diet, which are complex carbohydrates your body needs. Plus, discover why our grains are dehulled and the bran removed. Also, you will discover how to prep, soak, cook, and flavor your grains to perfection.

My hubby Jeff had always been the first one in our family to seek out more healthful ways of eating.

So when he switched from white rice to brown rice, I wanted nothing to do with it! I always felt so proud of the fact that I was eating white rice instead of sweets!! Whole grains just seemed a little "too healthy", know what I mean?

But little by little, as I started to care a little more about how to be the most vibrant person I could, I would choose the healthier options. And over the years the amount of whole grains I ate just started to naturally grow.

If you're like me, you'll be able to feel the difference when you eat more whole grains because these complex carbohydrates will just help you to feel more grounded. Not only that, but things move along nicely through the pipes IF you know what I mean!! ;O)

Healthy eating is a process. It might be difficult to picture yourself eating grains like quinoa and millet. Just keep an open mind, trying different grains here and there, and eventually you may find yourself feeling and seeing the benefits of choosing the healthier versions of grains over those that are stripped of their identity.

• * How our grains became stripped down to their "whities"
• * How many servings of whole grains you should eat on a daily basis;
• * A list of grains for you to discover;
• * How to select, clean, soak, cook and flavor these grains to perfection:

Long, long ago in a land not so far away there existed many varieties of whole grains. These grains were one of the staples our ancestors used for food, freshly picked from the fields.

(If you've ever eaten anything "just picked" you understand that the taste and quality of that food simply can't compare to food which has been laying around for a few days let alone a few weeks.)

These very smart ancestors of ours figured out that the outside shell (known as the hull) is difficult to digest, so they discovered how to remove that hull.

And this is a practice we continue to this day so we can enjoy and soak up all those delectable nutrients.

"Mmmmmmmm..." (chew, munch, scarf)

But wait! -- the removal of that shell means it's "naked" and very susceptible to the air. If these dehulled grains are left out of the refrigerator or freezer for too long they can turn rancid. This wasn't a problem for our ancestors, because they'd eat the grain immediately after removing the hull...

...but as our population grew, and the demand for these whole grains became greater, it became difficult to store these dehulled grains without them all "going bad" and becoming inedible.

So a solution was devised...

...if this ONE ASPECT of the grain that causes it to go bad when not refrigerated (known as the "bran") could be removed also, then the grains could sit out, unrefrigerated, for a long, long, long, long, LONG time.

And that's EXACTLY what was done -- the bran was removed.

If you've ever bought a box of white rice, you understand that it can sit in your cupboard for months (years!) and it will look exactly the same as the day you bought it. Is this something you want to put inside your body?

Furthermore, the removal of this part of the grain (the bran) also removes the most nutritious part of the grain leaving a sad little empty carbohydrate in its wake. Boo-hoo!!!

Surely you've heard of the big craze to eliminate carbs from your diet? But this has been misleading because it's not complex carbohydrates you need to eliminate, it's these EMPTY CARBOHYDRATES that you should avoid which fill you up but provide very little nutrition.

Brown rice? -- Complex carbohydrates surrounded by nutrients.

White rice? -- Empty carbohydrates.

You can literally see the difference!

Whole Grain Foods Include...

...any foods made with grains such as:

• brown rice
• barley
• quinoa
• millet
• oats
• wheat
• kamut
• amaranth
• corn
• rye
• spelt

These include whole grain breads, cereals, pastas and, of course, the whole grains themselves.

EAT 6-11 SERVINGS OF WHOLE GRAINS, AND FOODS MADE WITH THESE GRAINS, PER DAY.

Why the great difference in serving amounts? Choose the low end (six servings) for optimal health, and even less if you are trying to lose weight.

While those who are very active and require substantial energy (athletes) should move closer to the higher end, eleven servings.

There is no reason to overload on grains. Everybody is different. Simply eat the amount of grains that feel right to you.

You may be wondering "Why in the world should I eat grains and foods made with grains?"

The answer is quite simple. Whole grains are made up of complex carbohydrates. These complex carbohydrates give our bodies the FUEL we need, the energy that most of our body systems need to function.

Refer to the Vegan Food Pyramid for a better understanding of what a serving size looks like.

The latest anti-carb phase that happened to get a strangle-hold on so many people as of late did a lot of damage to our perception of carbs. Healthy complex carbohydrates are a good thing! And whole grains deliver the goods. :O)

(While we're on the "carb" topic, there are other sources of healthy carbs too, and they include vegetables, fruit, and beans.)

So now that you have a better idea of the difference between a whole grain and a grain which has been stripped of its nutritional value, and how much you should eat on a daily basis, let's take a gander at a list of whole grains I highly recommend you try sometime soon.

Cooking with Whole Grains

* Helpful Tip: Keep your whole grains in a sealed container in a cool, dry place (like your refrigerator or freezer) to keep them fresh, beautiful, and insect free.

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