When one thinks of whole grain, one tends to automatically think of whole wheat. This is not so surprising though, considering that Americans consume so much of it in products such as bread, bagels and almost all products made with the infamous “all-purpose” flour (cakes, muffins, pastries).

But there is more to whole grain than wheat alone. Popcorn is, unbelievably, an excellent source of whole grain (now if only people would stop drowning it in movie-theatre butter!) and so is brown rice. And then there is oatmeal: the venerable king of whole grains because of its almost perfect balance of the macro-nutrients carbs, proteins and fats.

Nutrition:

The following is the nutritional data for 1 serving (1/2 cup) of Quaker’s Quick Oats:

Right there is a potent combination of good fats, fiber and protein!

Benefits of eating oatmeal:

1. Oatmeal is a whole grain food that comes with all the goodness of 100% natural ingredients (rolled or steel-cut oats). It’s very important to choose natural oatmeal and not any of the sweetened or flavored oatmeals that often come with added sugars and other ingredients). Later I will give you quick tips to really spice up your breakfast!
2. 4g of fiber of which 2g are soluble and 2g are insoluble. So what is the difference? While both forms are not digested or absorbed as energy, they are useful to the digestive system. Soluble fibers combine with fatty acids to form a kind of gel in your intestine releasing energy slowly from food making you feel full longer and also helps in lowering total and bad cholesterol. Insoluble fiber, on the other hand helps in moving food through the intestine and promotes regularity, while also maintaining a steady pH (acidity) in the intestines.
3. 5g of protein further adding to the nutritional density.
4. Just 1g of natural sugar making oatmeal an extremely low glycemic food (one that is absorbed more slowly by the body giving you a uniform supply of energy)
5. Easy to make - after all you don’t want to hear about the world’s best food only to find out it takes an hour of careful preparation to enjoy! Quick Oatmeal takes a minute to prepare and less than 10 seconds to garnish!

How I eat my oatmeal:

Mix 1/2 cup of quick, natural instant oatmeal with 1/2 cup skim milk and about 10 almonds. Microwave on high for about a minute. Stir and microwave again for about 1/2 minute or as required. Toss a few strawberries or blueberries on top for a healthful, easy to prepare breakfast/snack!

Oatmeal is probably the best breakfast you can have since it replenishes so many of the nutrients your body has used up during the night while keeping you satiated for a longer period time (until your mid-morning snack, anyway!).

Add a bag to your pantry today.

Technorati Tags: health, fitness, nutrition, oatmeal, instant oatmeal

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Walk down the bread aisle in your local grocery and you are likely to be confronted by a plethora of nutrition labels with “High Fiber”, “Low Carb” and “Eat this or else …!” printed boldly on them.

The important thing to remember about any whole wheat product is this: since manufacturers are required to list ingredients in order of their quantity (weight) in the finished product, a whole wheat product will always have one of the following listed as the first ingredient: “whole grain”, “100% whole wheat”, “100% stone ground whole wheat” or something very similar.

If you see something like “unbleached wheat flour” or “unbromated wheat flour”, beware since these are just clever ways of saying “Foolish consumer, I have stripped the whole grain of all its goodness and made it highly refined”.

As for fiber, a good measure is that each slice should have atleast 2g of it. Also make sure the dough is not doused in High-Fructose Corn Syrup (you do know why it is harmful, don’t you?) before it’s baked.

The FitMan household uses Arnold Double Fiber 100% Whole Wheat Bread from their Whole Grain Classics Series.

Each slice has:

1. 90 calories with only 1.5 g of fat (no saturated or trans fats)
2. 4g of protein
3. Best of all: 5g of fiber! This means a 2-slice sandwich will make up 40% of your daily fiber needs!

This brand is easy to find in most large stores and tastes great with peanut butter! That’s a solid carb-protein-fiber combination that’s hard to beat!

Did you get your fill of whole grains today?

Technorati Tags: health, fitness, whole grain, whole wheat bread

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