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Alioop -- My husband and I have gotten more and more into whole grains. Now we swear by them.
Things I particularly like:
- 7 grain Kashi
- brown rice and barley, in equal proportion
- quinoa - actually, I prefer it mixed with both of the above
- believe it or not, Uncle Ben's has very good whole grain mixtures that you can microwave in 90 seconds! I just found those this week
- whole wheat pasta
- a multigrain bread (mostly whole grains, not all) from Whole Foods called "Seeduction", full of many seeds like pumpkin, sesame, and millet -- it makes the best nutty-tasting toast I've ever eaten, bar none
When we are eating pasta as a meal (not a side dish), I use 1 cup of pasta + sauce as the portion. When I use it as a side dish, I use 1/2 cup. For rice/barley/etc. I usually have 1/2 cooked cup as a side dish, 3/4 - 1 cup if it's for breakfast.
Most of the grains above I prefer with something on them. If I serve them hot, I like to put a little sauce of some kind on top -- like a little pasta sauce, or mushroom & onions in olive oil, or stirfried veggies. I have also REALLY gotten into serving them cold, with some kind of seasoning or even a vinaigrette.
For instance, I like a cold salad of barley and whole wheat couscous, cucumber, a little chopped tomato, heart of palm, and maybe a little corn with some curry seasoning and vinaigrette. Delicious! Or, today I had a cold roll up of ground turkey (w/ mushroom and onion), kashi + quinoa, corn, diced tomato, and low-fat mayo rolled in a whole wheat tortilla.
I use a rice cooker. It is a godsend because it makes short work of all grains, and you don't even have to watch -- it switches off when it's done from cook to "warm". I make enough grains to last us several days, and I use them in myriad ways, like throwing them in soup. The right whole grain will even taste good w/ yogurt and fruit as a breakfast.
One reason I like barley mixed in is that barley is very, very low on the glycemic index -- it fills you up longer than just about anything else, and is good both hot and cold. Barley is your friend! LOL!
Hope this helps --
Linda E.
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