How to Make Healthy Whole Grain Substitutions

Adding more whole grains to your daily diet is a great way to increase your intake of healthy nutrients and fiber. Most people, however, aren't used to eating lots of whole grains. Fortunately, it can be easy if you simply make whole grain substitutions for foods you normally eat.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Brown rice
• Whole grain pasta
• Whole grain bread
• Whole grain cereal
• Barley
• Popcorn

1. Substitute brown rice for white rice. Use brown rice whenever you make stir-fries, pilafs, casseroles or fried rice dishes. If you need some time to get used to the taste, try a mixture of half brown rice and half white rice.

2. Substitute whole grain cereals for sugary cereals. Forget about those sugary breakfast cereals! There are plenty of healthy whole grain options that taste good, too.

3. Substitute whole wheat pasta for white pasta. Whenever you make a pasta dish--like lasagna, spaghetti, or macaroni and cheese--use whole wheat pasta instead of the refined, white version. If you need to adjust to the taste, consider purchasing a "whole wheat blend" pasta which tastes similar to its refined counterpart.

4. Substitute whole grain bread for white bread. Instead of making sandwiches with white bread, use whole grain breads. Make sure the first ingredient on the bread is "whole wheat" or "whole oats" or another whole grain.

5. Substitute barley for meat. Making a soup? Instead of adding chunks of meat, consider adding some pearled barley. This whole grain is so hearty that you won't even miss the meat.

6. Substitute popcorn for chips. Surprisingly, popcorn is a whole grain food! So serve it instead of potato chips or pretzels when you need a crunchy snack.

Tips & Warnings

• To make popcorn healthy, avoid drowning it in melted butter and salt.
• Look for other ways to add whole grains to your diet, such as tossing them into soups, stews and casseroles.