Learning to Love Whole Grains

Filed in archive Food for Thought on January 5, 2007

Now that we are all very conscious about the food that we eat, fellow moms and foodies have asked me how I started incorporating whole grains into our diet. I've tried it several ways, but I find that if one technique isn't working, it may be worth it to approach it from the other side of the continuum. What am I talking about? Often when we try new things, we try to add it to our existing diet, tweaking what we usually have on our plate and replacing something familiar thing with whatever it is that's healthier. At times, this approach will work. But there are instances when it's exactly this method that triggers a common response - resistance to change. For example, my children are very much used to eating regular white rice, long grain, preferably jasmine, with just about anything, especially foods cooked with Asian flavors. So changing the white to brown or combining both in a dish didn't go over well with them. Sometimes presenting a totally different dish will enable you to bypass this resistance. If they've never or rarely had risotto, or pilaf, or tabbouleh, perhaps these dishes will work better. Since you are not changing anything, there is nothing familiar to grapple with. You are simply adding something new. The novelty is there, and there is no connection to something that we already love to stop us from liking the unfamiliar. Hey, it just might do the trick. Try it!

Some recipes from other bloggers you might want to try:
Whole Wheat Spaghetti & Orange Chicken from Mom's Daily Dose
Whole Wheat Bread from the folks at Forno Bravo
Kibbeh from F-Food
A saffron flavored Bulgure and Pine Nut Pilaf from Secrets and Lies
Slow Cooked Beef with Craked Wheat from Haute Cuisine/FoxyChef
Quinoa-Bulgur Wheat Pilaf from SoyChick
Tips on Using Quinoa from Restricted Gourmet
Insalata di Cavolo Romano, Quinoa, Uova e Capperi, from Lucullian Delights
Quinoa Pilaf with Cardamom and Sage from Gluten-Free By The Bay
African Inspired Quinoa Peanut Soup from Eat Peace Please
Millet Rice from Mahanandi / Indira
Oat Millet Bread from Utopian Kitchen