by aggieteacher

Created on: February 15, 2009

Whole grains are a must in a healthy diet. They add fiber, which can decrease bad cholesterol, make the digestive tract healthier, improve heart health, and even out blood glucose levels for those who have hypoglycemia or diabetes.

It is very easy to switch your family to a whole grain diet if you do so gradually. There are many ways to integrate healthier grains into all aspects of the family diet, from breakfast, to dinner, to dessert!

First of all, make the switch to whole grain breakfast breads and bagels. Beware that not all "wheat" bread is whole grain. Read the ingredients carefully! Breakfast cereals are a huge opportunity to sneak in healthier alternatives. Of course, oatmeal is a good choice, but there are many other whole grain cereals available that are great, too. Bulghur wheat and oat groats can be mixed with oatmeal to make delicious hot cereals. A little cinnamon and honey is a good way to make it palatable for the younger set!If your family uses cold cereals, check ingredients to be sure there is a healthy amount of fiber in the cereal you are buying.

You can also sneak whole grains into your homemade pancakes. To ease into it, you can replace about 1/3 of the flour with the following mixture and then increase it gradually until you are up to 3/4 of the flour. Using your food processor, grind any combination of bulghur wheat, malted cereal, corn meal, oat groats, and oatmeal. (You will need to add a tad more baking powder due to the increased weight of the grains.)

If you have a bread machine, there are a plethora of whole grain bread recipes available on the net. A good wheat bread dough can be made in the machine and used for an excellent homemade pizza dough, too! Calzones made with whole grain homemade pizza dough are a hit with kids!

Make the switch from white rice to brown by substituting small amounts at first and gradually increasing the amount of brown rice. Wild rice can easily be mixed in as well, for a nutty flavor! Quinoa is an excellent alternative to rice that is quick to cook, full of protein, and nutty in flavor. Barley is a wonderful substitute for rice or addition to soups and stews!

Finally, sneak whole grains into your desserts. It is very easy to substitute wheat flour for half of the flour in cookie doughs and pie crusts! Make your own granola bars with honey, oats, whole wheat flour, Smart Balance sticks, and your choice of raisins, craisins, chocolate chips, or peanut butter chips. Make fruit crisps with whole wheat and oatmeal toppings! My kids never know that they are having a healthy dessert!

Once you begin the process, you will find tons of good ways to integrate whole grains into your family's diet. Soon you'll find that you don't buy nearly as much processed flour. This is an easy way to save grocery money, increase the health of your family, and add interesting flavors to your meals and desserts!

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